Next #SETILive: When We Find Life
TODAY, 18 September, 11:00 am PDT
What happens after we discover life beyond Earth? The question is no longer “if,” but “when”—and how humanity responds could shape our future. Host and planetary astronomer Franck Marchis welcomes Martin Dominik, one of the authors of a new white paper on the societal, political, and philosophical challenges we’ll face once alien life is confirmed.
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/cULB0k2Cb7s
#ICYMI: Are we close to discovering life beyond Earth? Dr. Martin Dominik isn't certain, but he thinks we should be prepared to handle the consequences of finding that life. He spoke with Dr. Franck Marchis in this week's #SETILive. Watch the full interview: https://youtube.com/live/cULB0k2Cb7s
How do we find new trans-Neptunian objects, given that they are small and distant? Astronomer Dr. Rosemary E. Pike explains the necessary observations taken before, during, and after the expected place in the sky. Listen to the latest #SETILive #podcast: https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss
Next #SETILive: Hidden Habitability on Ceres
Thursday, 2 October 2025, 2:30 pm PDT / 5:30 pm EDT
Join host Beth Johnson and guest Dr. Sam Courville, lead author of a new study on Ceres, as they dive into the possibility that the dwarf planet may have had the energy needed to support habitability for much longer than once believed. Could this small world in the asteroid belt have been more habitable than we ever imagined?
WATCH LIVE: https://www.youtube.com/live/AMxbk9foXcw
In our latest #SETILive #podcast, doctoral student Sanne Bloot details some of the characteristics of a white dwarf star that was found to be emitting a strange, repeated radio signal. Listen to the full episode: https://www.seti.org/outreach/seti-live/
Next #SETILive: Do Aliens Speak Physics?
TODAY, 16 October, 2:30 pm PDT
Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality is a mind-bending exploration into what it would mean, scientifically and philosophically, for humans to communicate with an extraterrestrial intelligence through the language of physics. Join communications specialist Beth Johnson and co-author Daniel Whiteson for a discussion.
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/hwLao7jjFVw
Next #SETILive: Space Weather Alert
TODAY, 7 October 2025, 2:30 pm PDT / 5:30 pm EDT
In this special SETI Live, heliophysicist Dr. Becca Robinson (SETI Institute) joins host Simon Steel (Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute) to explain what coronal holes are, how they form, and what their impacts mean for both our technology and our understanding of the Sun.
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/rx0WpKCpbGk
Next #SETILive: Birth of Planets: Caught!
TODAY, 9 October, 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm PDT
How do planets start? Host Simon Steel (SETI Institute) speaks with Melissa McClure (Leiden University), lead author of a new study that caught the earliest spark of planet formation.
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/dtoULXg_nfg
And that's a wrap! Our last #SETILive for the year has ended. We'll be back in 2025 with all new shows, guests, and science. Thank you for a wonderful 2024!
#ICYMI: The Kaçar Lab, led by Dr. Betül Kaçar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is challenging the assumptions about life as we know it, its origins, and its future. Beth chatted with Dr. Kaçar in this week's #SETILive, and wow, we all learned a lot! Watch the full interview: https://youtube.com/live/hLw4olNyBng
Next #SETILive: A Cookbook of Life
TODAY, Thursday, May 15, 2025 12:00 PM PDT
Join Beth Johnson as we explore groundbreaking research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Scientists have identified over 270 self-replicating chemical reactions that may have sparked life not just on Earth but potentially anywhere in the universe. Led by astrobiologist Dr. Betül Kaçar, this study reframes our understanding of how life can emerge from simple chemistry.
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/hLw4olNyBng
In a new study using #JWST, scientists have discovered a hidden population of tiny asteroids in our solar system. These objects might be a more significant threat than we ever realized.
In a recent #SETILive episode, Senior Planetary Astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis and the study's lead authors, Dr. Artem Y. Burdanov and Dr. Julien de Wit, discussed the role of minor asteroids and what they can reveal about potential threats to Earth.
Learn more: https://www.seti.org/tiny-asteroids-big-threats-how-jwst-uncovering-hidden-worlds-our-solar-system
In a recent #SETILive episode hosted by Beth Johnson, Dr. Ben Tutolo, an associate professor at the University of Calgary and a participating scientist on NASA's Curiosity Rover team, unveiled how an unassuming iron carbonate - siderite - is the key to unlocking #Mars's atmospheric secrets.
Learn more: https://www.seti.org/marss-ancient-carbon-cycle-how-rocks-mars-tell-story-vanishing-climate
Next #SETILive: Could Aliens See Us?
TODAY, Thursday, Jun 12, 2025 2:30 PM PDT / 5:30 PM PDT
Join senior planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra, astrobiologist and lead author of a groundbreaking study exploring 10 possible futures for Earth’s technosphere—the global network of our technologies—and what these futures mean for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
WATCH LIVE: https://youtube.com/live/aOs7WU8Gd4c
Next #SETILive: A Vaporizing Planet
TODAY, Jul 17, 2025 | 3:30 PM PDT / 6:30 PM EDT
Join communications specialist Beth Johnson for a live interview with astrophysicist Marc Hon (MIT), lead author of a new study revealing one of the most extreme exoplanets ever discovered — a small, rocky world that's literally disintegrating as it orbits its star.
WATCH LIVE: https://www.youtube.com/live/kcMRyGUYR_g?si=NAl-ASSBYvkBlXOZ
No new #SETILive #podcast this week, so let's go back to April 1 and an interesting exoplanet called HD 20794 d with an eccentric orbit. The temperature differences make it a great place to study a planet's potential habitability! Listen to the whole show: https://sites.libsyn.com/462636/super-earth-laboratory-using-hd-20794-d-to-understand-habitability
Our upcoming #SETILive interviews look at a new #LaserSETI exhibit and observatory location, the stunning artwork created in honor of this year's #DrakeAward recipients, and new science that reveals how #Ceres froze. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for notifications: https://www.youtube.com/SETIInstitute
