From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Fri Nov 14 2003 - 23:05:30 PST
----- Original Message -----
From: SETI Observer
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 1:44 PM
To: List Member
Subject: Project Phoenix Returns to Arecibo
The SETI Observer
November 2003
Field Notes from Arecibo
Coming Soon: SETICam
>From African Classrooms to Europan Oceans
Ask Anything
Season of Giving
SETI Challenge
Last Month's Challenge
The Arecibo Radio Telescope's Gregorian Feed
Dear SETI enthusiasts:
Over the years, I've watched SETI Institute research teams deploy to distant corners of the planet; literally from top to bottom. Projects have taken Institute scientists to Devon Island within the Arctic Circle, a Mars-like terrain, and to the planet's "underside" at the South Pole where photometric equipment "stares" at star systems to find close-orbiting, Jupiter-like planets.
Right now, we're following the progress of two research teams. This month, Institute scientists Drs. Nathalie Cabrol and Edmond Grin [links to Edna's SPACE.com Licancabur piece] will collect samples of the hardy life that thrives in a volcanic crater lake high in the Chilean Andes. While their expedition wraps up, our Project Phoenix team will be in the middle of our next-to-last observing session at the world's largest single-dish radio telescope in Puerto Rico.
These two projects; one from the Institute's Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, and the other from our Center for SETI Research, exemplify the breadth of astrobiology, the Institute's field of research.
The SETI Institute team, like our mission, is unified by the common theme of exploration. We are passionate in our quest to answer life's big questions. What is out there? Are we alone? What can we learn about our origins - and perhaps our destiny?
I invite you to join us in that quest as you explore our work in the links of this month's SETI Obersver.
Thomas Pierson
CEO, SETI Institute
Field Notes from Arecibo
For Project Phoenix staff members, life completely changes twice a year when observing commences at the world's largest telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Our scientists, engineers and technicians share their reflections on life in the field in Arecibo Diary entries. Software engineer Jane Jordan describes her experience down at the telescope in an entry from last Spring. Between November 17 and December 5, each Monday through Friday*, a new diary entry will offer readers a glimpse of observing life at the big dish.
*with the exception of the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Read Jane's Arecibo Diary entry.
Coming Soon: SETICam
Not everyone can sit in the control room of the world's largest radio telescope, but anyone with an internet connection can look inside when SETICam opens a window onto Project Phoenix observations this November 17th through December 12th. We'll offer two views from a pair of camera feeds, star maps of current observations, star logs of recent targets, glossaries and more. Set your bookmarks and mark your calendars!
Visit our SETICam page to set your bookmark.
>From African Classrooms to Europan Oceans
As a child, Kevin Hand was fascinated with the idea of intelligent life on other worlds. Today, this Stanford Ph.D. student is both a co-investigator (with thesis advisor and mentor Dr. Christopher Chyba) on the SETI Institute's NASA Astrobiology Institute grant, and the force behind Cosmos Education, a nonprofit that brings science education to classrooms in the developing world.
Read Voices: featuring Kevin Hand.
Ask Anything
Are you curious about the cosmos? On Sunday, November 16, you can direct your questions to the staff of Are We Alone?, the SETI Institute's weekly science radio program. We're opening the phone lines for an entire show, and SETI Observer readers who call in with their questions can claim a SETI Institute "Listen Up!" tee-shirt by mentioning this publication.
Visit our Are We Alone? page.
Season of Giving
Tee-shirts, books and more. Visit the Gift Shop for your holiday shopping and support the SETI Institute with your merchandise purchases. Or give a gift that lasts all year-long by joining TeamSETI, the membership program for annual supporters of the SETI Institute. Our members stay informed through the quarterly journal, the SETI Institute News, and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing they are advancing our quest to find evidence of life on other worlds.
Learn more about TeamSETI.
SETI Challenge
Be one of the first five to answer the following question correctly and get a cool SETI Institute tee-shirt. We'll post the answer in next month's e-newsletter. Choose the phrase that best completes this statement and send your answer to newsletter_at_seti.org.
Select the most correct answer
Why does SETI software engineer Jane Jordan look for birdies at Arecibo?
Because the electronics internally generate signals that "sing" during SETI observations and these can only be identified by the observers in the control room.
So that signals that are inherent to the electronics equipment can be masked before observing begins.
To learn more about the Puerto Rican Lizard Cukoo, a common bird that nests in the trees outside the visitor cabins.
Because she is an avid golfer.
Last Month's Challenge
Pick the letter that most accurately completes this sentence:
Planet hunters observing at the South Pole
expect to find one or two Earth-like planets.
often see penguins and other exotic life forms.
look for large gas giants that orbit their stars closely.
are on site at the telescope only during the Antarctic night.
The correct answer is "C."
Many readers selected "A." Earth's atmosphere renders ground-based transit searches incapable of detecting the tiny amount of dimming caused by the transit of an Earth-sized planet across a star. Large, Jupiter-like gas giants in close in orbits are far more easily detected, and these are what the South Pole searchers expect to find.
Watch for another thought-provoking question in next month's e-newsletter.
Copyright © 2003, SETI Institute
2035 Landings Drive - Mountain View, California 94043
Tel: (650) 961-6633 - Fax: (650) 961-7099
Email:newsletter_at_seti.org
*SETI Challenge
All individuals are eligible to win except for the following
1) SETI Institute staff members and immediate family members of SETI Institute staff
2) Individuals who have previously submitted a winning entry within a period of 12 months from the date of the current contest.
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