Seth Shostak

Art Bell sits down with Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, for a conversation spanning the Kepler telescope's demise, new strategies for finding extraterrestrial civilizations, and the implications of first contact. Shostak explains that Kepler's second reaction wheel failure has ended its planet-hunting mission, though years of unprocessed data may yield thousands of new planetary discoveries. Shostak describes a proposal to detect alien civilizations by measuring waste… Full show notes & guests: https://artbellarchive.org/episode/september-24-2013-the-kepler-telescope-and-the-future-search-for-et-seth-shostak

Art Bell welcomes Seth Shostak , senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, for a wide-ranging conversation about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the scientific challenges of detecting alien civilizations. Shostak discusses the current state of SETI's efforts, including the optical search at Lick Observatory and the upcoming Allen Telescope Array set to begin scanning the center of the Milky Way in mid-2007. The two spar over interstellar travel feasibility, with Art raising points from nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman about energy requirements and trip profiles. Shostak acknowledges that fewer than a thousand star systems have been carefully examined so far, a tiny fraction of the hundreds of billions in our galaxy. He describes SETI's new telescopes and methods while maintaining his skepticism about current visitation claims. Art challenges him with recent UFO sightings from O'Hare Airport and North London, where dozens of witnesses reported silent objects hovering in formation. The first hour features open lines touching on the landmark UN climate change report, ExxonMobil's offer of $10,000 to scientists willing to critique its findings, the Bush administration's suppression of climate terminology, Edgar Cayce, and Art's visit to Bigelow Aerospace via helicopter.

Awesome Astronomy - The Search for Aliens with Seth Shostak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj6Wfv1djf0 Paul Hill, Ralph Wilkins and Dr. Jenifer "Dr. Dust" Millard host. Damien Phillips, John Wildridge and Dustin Ruoff produce. From Jan 3, 2022. Our chat with Dr. Seth Shostak from our live show to ease the boredom of covid lockdowns. We talk about: • The latest in the search for alien signals. • Using the large New Mexico telescope array to search for ET. • How ancient seafaring and watchmaking nations make good astronomers. • Scanning every known exoplanet for alien signals. • Which is going to be the most exciting telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope or the Square Kilometre Array? • What is the most exciting discovery we can expect from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array? • How we will find hints of alien life. Seth Shostak is an author and senior astronomer for the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Seth hosts SETI's weekly radio show/podcast Big Picture Science and regularly appears on radio, TV and anywhere he can spread the astronomy word. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click !) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org .

Topic: SETI/ET/UFO’s/UAP’s Seth Shostak is the Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and the Director of the Institute’s Center for SETI Research.He has an undergraduate degree in physics from Princeton University, and a doctorate in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology. For much of his career, Seth conducted radio astronomy research on galaxies, and has published approximately 60 papers in professional journals. During more than a decade, he worked at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, in Groningen, The Netherlands, using the Westerbork Radio Synthesis Telescope. He also founded and ran a company producing computer animation for TV.Seth has written nearly 500 popular magazine and Web articles on various topics in astronomy, technology, film, and television. He lectures on astronomy and other subjects at various academic venues, and gives approximately 60 talks annually at both educational and corporate institutions. Seth has been a Distinguished Speaker for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was also Chair of the International Academy of Astronautics’ SETI Permanent Committee for a decade.Frequently interviewed for radio and TV, Seth has been seen or heard on Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, History Channel, the BBC, “Nightline,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Good Morning America,” “Larry King Live,” “Coast to Coast AM,” NPR, CNN News, and National Geographic Television. He is the host of a one-hour weekly radio program on astrobiology entitled “ Big Picture Science .”Seth has edited and contributed to nearly a dozen books. His first popular tome, Sharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extraterrestrial Life (Berkeley Hills Books), appeared in March 1998, followed by Cosmic Company (Cambridge University Press) in 2002. He has also co-authored an astrobiology text, Life in the Universe (Pearson), and his latest trade book is Confessions of an Alien Hunter (National Geographic). In 2004, he won the Klumpke-Roberts Award for the popularization of astronomy.. SETI Website: https://www.seti.org/ Seth Shostak SETI Page: https://www.seti.org/people/seth-shostak/ Seth Shostak Personial Page: https://sethshostak.com/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/midnight-frequency-radio--6625891/support .

Art Bell calls directly into the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to speak with Seth Shostak , astronomer and public face of the SETI Institute's Project Phoenix. The conversation opens with Shostak explaining how he and Jill Tarter, the real-life inspiration for Jodie Foster's character in Contact, split observing shifts at the world's largest radio telescope, a 1,000-foot dish nestled in a bowl-shaped valley. Art presses Shostak about a NASA report describing a puzzling X-ray beacon near Jupiter's north pole, pulsing every 45 minutes with gigawatt intensity. Shostak suggests the phenomenon likely results from cosmic rays interacting with Jupiter's powerful magnetic field rather than an extraterrestrial signal. The discussion expands to cover why SETI has examined only about 600 star systems so far, and how advances in computing power could push that number to millions within two decades. Art raises Stanton Friedman's standing challenge to debate the merits of searching distant stars versus investigating UFO evidence already present on Earth. Shostak responds that the key difference remains the quality of evidence, while acknowledging the search has only just begun. The episode also features listener questions about pulsars, exoplanets, and the privately funded future of SETI research.

Art Bell welcomes SETI astronomer Seth Shostak and former NASA advisor Richard C. Hoagland to examine the extraordinary crop glyph that appeared at the Chilbolton Observatory in England. The formation bears a striking resemblance to the 1974 Arecibo message, a three-minute binary transmission beamed into space with an effective radiated power of two trillion watts. Shostak details the original message's contents, including representations of human DNA, a stick figure of a human, and a map of the solar system. He notes key differences in the crop glyph response: a larger-headed figure replacing the human, three offset planets instead of one, and the addition of silicon to the list of life-essential elements. Despite these intriguing modifications, Shostak remains skeptical, questioning why advanced beings would communicate through grain rather than radio. Hoagland counters that the silicon addition reflects real biochemistry research unknown to the original message designers. He argues the glyph's precision and placement directly in front of a government observatory suggest something far beyond amateur hoaxing. The two debate whether the formation represents genuine extraterrestrial contact or an elaborate but earthly creation.

Art Bell welcomes Dr. Seth Shostak of the SETI Institute, fresh from a research run at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Shostak describes the search process, including how the system monitors 28 million channels across two polarizations to detect narrow-band signals that could indicate an extraterrestrial transmitter. He recounts a brief moment of excitement during the latest run when a signal turned out to be an orbiting satellite, a common source of false alarms. The discussion turns to optical SETI, a newer approach using telescopes to detect laser pulses from other civilizations. Shostak explains that a powerful laser could momentarily outshine our sun as seen from a nearby star, making detection possible with modest equipment. He also previews the Allen Telescope Array, a planned instrument that could observe stars 100 to 1,000 times faster than current methods, potentially surveying millions of star systems. Art and Shostak debate the probability that advanced civilizations may have evolved beyond biology into machine intelligence, raising the possibility that first contact could be with artificial minds rather than biological beings. They also spar over whether the government would suppress a confirmed detection, with Art arguing secrecy would prevail and Shostak maintaining transparency.

Art Bell connects live with Seth Shostak at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, where the SETI Institute is conducting Project Phoenix, the most sensitive search for extraterrestrial intelligence ever attempted. The interview features a groundbreaking live webcam feed showing Shostak and colleague Jill Tarter, the real-life inspiration for Jodie Foster's character in Contact, inside the observatory control room. Shostak explains that the system monitors 28 million frequency channels simultaneously, scanning nearby stars for artificial signals. He describes the Arecibo dish as 18 acres of aluminum panels with 70 decibels of gain, capable of detecting a 20,000-watt transmitter from hundreds of light-years away. Art asks why humanity does not actively transmit, and Shostak outlines the diplomatic concerns, the impracticality of waiting thousands of years for a reply, and the reasoning that older civilizations should bear the burden of signaling. The conversation also addresses a recent book arguing Earth may harbor the only complex life in the universe. Shostak pushes back on this thesis, noting that only 500 of the galaxy's 500 billion stars have been examined so far. He describes plans for a dedicated telescope capable of surveying a million stars, a threshold where detection becomes statistically meaningful.

What is the current state of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)? Why do scientists often raise their eyebrows at UFO sightings? And what might the future of SETI look like with ongoing technological advancements? I had the privilege of diving into these fascinating topics with the professional alien hunter Seth Shostak! Seth Shostak is an astronomer and author who directs the search for extraterrestrials at the SETI Institute in California—trying to find evidence of intelligent life in space. He is also committed to getting the public, especially young people, excited about astrobiology and science in general. Seth hosts “Big Picture Science,” the SETI Institute’s weekly radio show. The one-hour program uses interviews with leading researchers and lively and intelligent storytelling to tackle big questions like: What came before the Big Bang? How does memory work? Will our descendants be human or machine? What’s the origin of humor? Big Picture Science can be found on iTunes and other podcast sites. — Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 02:05 Judging a book by its cover 06:49 The Carl Sagan Directors Award and the reorganization of the SETI Institute 09:45 Area 51, Harry Reid and the resurgence of interest in UAPs 11:59 What do you think about new scientific pursuits around UAPs and SETI? 16:47 What do you think about the Drake Equation? 21:18 When can we stop looking? 24:52 What technology could alien civilizations be using? 30:34 How do you handle the criticisms that you are anti-alien? 33:26 What are the latest SETI projects? 37:22 Final questions 44:09 Outro — Additional resources: ➡️ Learn more about Seth Shostak: 💻 Website: https://sethshostak.com/ ✖️ Twitter: https://x.com/SethShostak 📚 Confessions of an Alien Hunter: https://a.co/d/da0IGpk — ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmUyZmhlUkh2eU9jNW9qR1QyVlNLb3kwb250QXxBQ3Jtc0tsclVnc

Does life exist outside our planet? Are we alone in the universe? Seth Shostak joins Vasant Dhar in episode 85 of Brave New World to describe his search for the answers. Useful resources: 1. Seth Shostak at The Seti Institute , Wikipedia , TED , Amazon and his own website . 2. Life in the Universe -- Jeffrey Bennett, Seth Shostak, Nicholas Schneider and Meredith MacGregor. 3. Sharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extraterrestrial Life -- Seth Shostak. 4. Confessions of an Alien Hunter -- Seth Shostak. 5. The Copernican Revolution -- Thomas Kuhn. 6. Peter Ward on Life on Earth -- Episode 76 of Brave New World. 7. Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe -- Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee. 8. The Drake Equation . 9. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl= "https://www.google.com/url?q=http

Tonight, Thursday on FADE to BLACK: Seth Shostak joins us with all of the latest updates at SETI... the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Dr. Seth Shostak developed an interest in extraterrestrial life at the tender age of ten, when he first picked up a book about the solar system. This innocent beginning eventually led to a degree in radio astronomy, and now, as Senior Astronomer, Seth is an enthusiastic participant in the Institute's SETI observing programs. He also heads up the International Academy of Astronautics' SETI Permanent Committee. SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is an exploratory science that seeks evidence of life in the universe by looking for some signature of its technology. WEBSITES: https://www.seti.org/ https://sethshostak.com/ https://bigpicturescience.org/ Air date: June 20, 2024

In this thought-provoking episode, guest Seth Shostak engages in a dialogue about the enigmatic reality of UFOs, challenging the boundaries between science, mysticism, and the universal quest for truth within the cosmos. Shostak, a sceptic, discusses misinterpretations surrounding UFO sightings, including cases involving Navy pilots, emphasizing scientific explanations over extraterrestrial theories. The conversation explores unidentified aerial phenomena, scientific methods for investigation, and the intriguing concept of multidimensional realms suggested by cosmic religions. This episode underscores the complexity of unexplained phenomena and the importance of keeping an open mind in the pursuit of understanding the vast, unknown universe. https://sethshostak.com/ https://www.seti.org/our-scientists/seth-shostak 00:00 Welcome to Mystic Cast: Exploring the Cosmos and Beyond 00:32 Diving into UFOs: Skepticism and Beliefs 04:00 The SETI Institute's Quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligence 10:32 Exploring the Multiverse with the Ethereus Society 11:36 The Science of Astral Projection and Multidimensional Realms 12:38 Debating the Validity of Multidimensional Theories 18:50 Exploring Consciousness and Reincarnation 19:51 The Science of Medicine and Anecdotal Evidence 21:37 Investigating Past Lives and Scientific Validity 22:16 UFO Sightings and Interpreting Phenomena 24:07 The Debate on Extraterrestrial Evidence 29:07 The Role of Belief in Science 35:21 Concluding Thoughts on Science and Belief