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Are We Searching for Aliens the Wrong Way?

Historically, SETI has focused primarily on radio waves because they can travel vast distances through interstellar gas and dust with minimal absorption and require less energy to transmit compared to other wavelengths. This approach dates back to the 1960s, when astronomer Frank Drake conducted the first modern SETI experiment, Project Ozma. However, in recent years, optical SETI and infrared SETI have started to gain traction.

Here today to tell us everything about this new era of SETI is the remarkable observational and experimental astrophysicist Shelley Wright! Shelley is a Professor of Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Physics at UCSD. She specializes in designing and using astronomical instruments that make use of adaptive optics, with a particular focus on techniques involving integral field spectrographs. As a SETI researcher and instrumentalist, there is no one better to shed light on this topic than her!

Join us in our hunt for extraterrestrial life.

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Key Takeaways:

00:00 Intro: Shelley Wright
01:26 Shelley’s background
02:19 Drake equation and life in the universe
08:28 Instrument development
14:55 Optical SETI and Fresnel lenses
16:49 SETI vs. radio listening
20:32 Background contamination and protocols
22:35 Ethical considerations and messaging aliens
23:57 Life on Mars and the origins of life
27:57 UAP committee and conspiracy theories
39:08 Galileo Project
40:46 Final thoughts and advice
45:21 Outro

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Additional resources:

➡️ Learn more about Shelley Wright:

💻 Website: https://saw.physics.ucsd.edu/

➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms:

✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating

🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1

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✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/

🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast

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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.

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