Whether exploring icy moons, enhancing Martian geology mapping with machine learning, or developing futuristic missions like the Nighthawk Mars helicopter, SETI Institute scientists are pushing the boundaries of discovery. Here's a roundup of recent highlights that show how the SETI Institute is shaping the future of space exploration and the search for life in the universe.
Read the full stories: https://www.seti.org/seti-institute-news-may-roundup
#PPOD: This stunning photograph of comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS), taken by Yuri Beletsky on 19 January from ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile, looks almost like a watercolour painting. The comet is next to one of the Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer. Credit: Y. Beletsky (LCO)/ESO
On May 20, the SETI Institute held its annual Drake Awards event in Mountain View, CA, honoring contributions to SETI or astrobiology through scientific research and space exploration. This year's recipients of the Drake Award were Dr. John Baross and Dr. David Deamer, both renowned for their pioneering work in astrobiology, which focuses on understanding the origins of life.
Read more and see the images: https://www.seti.org/drake-awards-celebrate-search-life-beyond-earth
PRESS RELEASE: https://www.seti.org/press-release/unusual-stellar-nurseries-near-our-galaxys-center-puzzle-scientists
New research led by Dr. James De Buizer at the SETI Institute and Dr. Wanggi Lim at IPAC at Caltech revealed that, although the central part of our Galaxy has a much higher density of star-forming material than the rest of the Milky Way, in the Galactic Center, the current rate of formation of massive stars (those larger than 8 times the mass of our Sun) appears to be lower compared to the rest of the Galaxy.
Drones Deliver Millions Of Mosquitoes to Prevent Bird Extinctions In Hawai‘i, via American Bird Conservancy & Birds Not Mosquitoes
#EndangeredSpecies #ornithology #conservation #birds #Hawaii #mosquitoes #drones https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2025/06/10/drones-deliver-millions-of-mosquitos-to-prevent-bird-extinctions-in-hawaii/
#PPOD: A new panorama from NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter shows one of the Red Planet’s biggest volcanoes, Arsia Mons, poking through a canopy of clouds just before dawn. Arsia Mons and two other volcanoes form what is known as the Tharsis Montes, or Tharsis Mountains, which are often surrounded by water ice clouds (as opposed to Mars’ equally common carbon dioxide clouds), especially in the early morning. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...
A greyscale version of my 2023 illustration of the early dinosaur Eoraptor facing off with Barosaurus (scaled to BYU 9024) and Spinosaurus, from DINOSAUR BEHAVIOUR, by Prof Michael Benton (published by Princeton University Press).
96 years ago today #EOWilson was born. Read more about him in Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature, a warm and respectful biography that focuses on his intellectual achievements.
https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2022/01/07/book-review-scientist-e-o-wilson-a-life-in-nature/
The non-technical talk by Dr. Oliver White (SETI Institute) on "Science at the Edge of the Solar System: Uncovering the Secrets of the Pluto System and Arrokoth," at the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series in late May, is now available to the public.
The YouTube video is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHKodNz22T4
#PPOD: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope picture shows a beautiful but skewed spiral galaxy, Arp 184 or NGC 1961, about 190 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis. Arp 184 earned its spot in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies thanks to its single broad, star-speckled spiral arm that appears to stretch toward us. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz), C. Kilpatrick
Final entry! The Crisis Scientists is our newest film, a 6-minute documentary short about seven extraordinary people working to stop the climate crisis from becoming a catastrophe by galvanizing policy makers and the public to act on climate change. The film chronicles climate protests and protestors that are happening right now.
We offer two mini discussion guides plus bonus resources for this film, suitable for high school and university use. Or individual adult viewers / learners!
The Crisis Scientists is so new that it's currently only available through Good Docs. Ask your local educational institution, library, non-profit, community group or corporation to spring for an educational license so you can see it -- it's worth it. 8/n
#Documentary #Protests #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #SciComm #StemEducation @stemed
@film
My monthly #Arctic temperature graphics were just updated for May 2025. No new records. See: https://zacklabe.com/arctic-temperatures/
How the T. rex became the king of pop culture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU-YBI0HykY
#scicomm #artsci #paleoart #visualculture
My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...
Some zooms into my 2023 illustration of the #HellCreek Formation, featuring ichthyornithean #Birds, #Triceratops, #Tyrannosaurus, two #Acheroraptors, a dead #Pachycephalosaurs, #Brachychampsa (croc), #Meniscoessus (mammal), and #Chamops (lizard); from DINOSAUR BEHAVIOUR, by Prof Michael Benton (published by Princeton University Press).
For the "Wikidata and Research" conference, I experimented with a "digital first" style of a poster:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15591699 (LaTeX source included).
Everything blue is linked to the source URL, thereby providing a #rabbithole experience that paper-first posters (or bitmap thumbs) don't. Got positive feedback from in-person participants (for whom I provided a QR code) but would appreciate further thoughts from folks here.
I've updated my writing about "Becoming a Dangerous Artist", from a few years ago. Replacing "Generative" with "Procedural" in the text, and leaving an 'update' note at the end.
It's so weird to read my own writing from the last time these guys were messing with Scientists (let alone everyone).
https://kristinhenry.medium.com/on-becoming-a-dangerous-artist-6a22e5b1dfd4
Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute, joins Dr. Brian Keating for his podcast "Into the Impossible". They discuss the intricacies of the search for extraterrestrial life and question whether Earth might be a cosmic accident after all. They explore whether civilizations out there may stay silent on purpose—and what it would take for humanity to survive its own future.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_KPX665foU&ab_channel=DrBrianKeating
#PPOD: Let's end the week with the early morning hues of an orbital sunrise, as seen from the International Space Station on April 28, 2021, as it soared 425 kilometers above the China-Russia border in far eastern Asia near the Sea of Japan. Credit: NASA JSC
In the mood for some radical optimism and #sustainable visions of the future?
You’ve come to the right place because we’re bringing this straight to you this #solarpunk season
Listen to our teaser to discover:
What co-hosts @1sabelR and @theEllamo get up to
Three reasons why we LOVE solarpunk
Episode themes and live show tease
Swipe to find some of our fav solarpunk creators to prep for our upcoming season and FIRST EVER live show!
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