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SETI Institute

@setiinstitute.bsky.social

16K followers 360 following 1.6K posts

Our mission is to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe and share that knowledge.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 7d

We're curious to see if there is a market hungry for merch featuring the SETI Institute brand. Let us know by answering a few simple questions. Thanks!

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

SETI Institute Merchandise Survey

We're curious to see if there is a market hungry for merch featuring the SETI Institute brand. Let us know!

docs.google.com

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 10h

See what unites us under the stars. 🌠

Join the global network of explorers discovering the cosmos with the new Unistellar binoculars, developed in collaboration with the SETI Institute.

⚡ Only 60 presale units remain!
👉 www.unistellar.com

#SETIInstitute #Unistellar #SpaceForEveryone

Mobile screenshot of the Unistellar website, showing that ENVISION binocular pre-orders are now open. Includes a photo of the binoculars.

Mobile screenshot of the Unistellar website featuring photos of the new ENVISION binoculars.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 12h

Planetary scientist Pascal Lee of the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute has spent decades leading Mars analog missions in harsh Earth environments. His work shows just how dangerous and complex a real human expedition to Mars would be. 🧪

Read More: www.bgr.com/1982683/nasa...

NASA Wants To Send AI Astronauts To Colonize Mars - Here's How - BGR

Missions to colonize Mars may not be as far away as you think, with current plans relying on AI-powered "superhuman astronauts" to make it a reality.

www.bgr.com

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 16h

#ICYMI: Last week, on a special #SETILive, Dr. Becca Robinson discussed space weather, a recent coronal hole on the Sun's surface, and the solar storm expected to impact Earth as a result. Watch the full interview: youtube.com/live/rx0WpKC... 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 20h

Despite not being designed to capture something so far away, ExoMars TGO revealed the coma of gas and dust surrounding the icy-rocky nucleus.

For this observation, scientists stacked multiple five-second exposures to reveal 3I/ATLAS.

Learn more: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

ESA’s ExoMars and Mars Express observe comet 3I/ATLAS

Between 1 and 7 October, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Mars Express spacecraft turned their eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, as it passed close to Mars.

www.esa.int

SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 20h

#PPOD: On 3 October, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) turned its eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed close to Mars. Comet 3I/ATLAS is the slightly fuzzy white dot moving downwards near the middle of the image. Credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS 🧪 🔭

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 1d

From possible new evidence of microbial life in a rock sample to how the early 20th-century Martian craze influenced vaudeville, we consider the many ways we are Mad About Mars on @bipisci.bsky.social. 🧪 🔭

Listen here: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/mad...

#podcast

A computer graphic of Mars as seen from space, showing a small northern ice cap and the dark scar of Valles Marineris.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 1d

#PPOD: What do you see? A fossilized head of a fish gasping for air in a long-dried-up lake, or maybe that's a worm on Dune coming out to hunt. In actuality, NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its Left Mastcam-Z camera on Oct. 17, 2024. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU 🧪 🔭

An unusual rock rests on the surface of Mars. It's a domed rock with a crack going straight up from the ground. A much smaller rock is off to the left.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

@djsnm.extwitter.link recently flew up to Hat Creek and visited the Allen Telescope Array. He was joined by Dr. Alex Pollak, who is in charge of Operations at the facility and has extensive knowledge of the hardware, from antennas to the data center. buff.ly/vG9okHm 🧪 🔭

How SETI Designed A Telescope To Look For Extraterrestrial Civilizations

The SETI Institute (https://www.seti.org/) is a non-profit science foundation that is dedicated to the search for extra terrestrial intelligence, and about 20 years ago they began construction of a…

www.youtube.com

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

His research suggests that beneath its cold, cratered surface, Ceres may once have harbored the chemical energy necessary to sustain microbial life for an extended period.

Learn more: www.seti.org/news/hidden-...

Hidden Habitability on Ceres: What Dawn Discovered Beneath Ceres’ Icy Crust

www.seti.org

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

In a recent episode of SETI Live, host @planetarypan.bsky.social spoke with Dr. Sam Courville, postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University and lead author of a new Science Advances paper on the potential past habitability of Ceres.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

When NASA’s Dawn mission first captured images of the dwarf planet Ceres, bright reflective spots on its surface sparked worldwide fascination. Although the mission concluded in 2018, its data continues to reshape our understanding of this small but complex world. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

Not Just Aliens is the SETI Institute’s weekly series featuring scientists exploring astrobiology, heliophysics, planetary science, and more — expanding the search for life beyond Earth. And sometimes, we feature scientists looking for technosignatures!

Learn more: www.seti.org/people/agata...

Agata Zupanska

Principal Investigator and Research Scientist

www.seti.org

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Zupanska is particularly interested in spaceflight microgravity and uses the International Space Station laboratory for her research experiments. She also conducts experiments with high-energy ion beams to explore how plants can withstand cosmic ionizing radiation that pervades deep space.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Agata Zupanska brings a biologist’s perspective to the quest for understanding life. She tests the limits of terrestrial plant life and works on preparing plants for deep space human missions, all with a goal to advance deep space exploration. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

Text: #notjustaliens. Agata Zupanska, Molecular Biology. Background: Starry night sky. Inset: Photo of Agata Zupanska.

Text: Dr. Agata Zupanska brings a biologist’s perspective to the quest for understanding life. She tests the limits of terrestrial plant life and works on preparing plants for deep space human missions, all with a goal to advance deep space exploration. Background: Starry night sky with graphics of a star and exoplanets in front of it.

Text: Dr. Zupanska is particularly interested in spaceflight microgravity and uses the International Space Station laboratory for her research experiments. She also conducts experiments with high-energy ion beams at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, to explore how plants can withstand cosmic ionizing radiation that pervades deep space. Background: Starry night sky with graphics of a star and exoplanets.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 4d

From boosting mitochondria to a protein-packed diet, we consider two popular bits of diet and health advice. Are they based on facts or wishful thinking? On Skeptic Check from @bipisci.bsky.social: bigpicturescience.org/episodes/ske...

#podcast #science 🧪

An image of a mitochondrian - a bean-shaped organelle found inside the cells of most multicellular creatures.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 4d

#ICYMI: SETI Institute CEO and President Bill Diamond gave a talk earlier this week called "The Search for Life Beyond Earth - How It Works, Where It Stands and Why It Matters." 🧪 🔭

Watch the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw0-...

A search for life beyond Earth - How it works, where it stands, why it matters. With Bill Diamond

Abstract: The Search for Life Beyond Earth - How It Works, Where It Stands and Why It Matters, explores the science and technology of humanity’s efforts to understand the nature and prevalence of…

www.youtube.com

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 4d

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft's wide-angle camera on Feb. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers from Saturn.

Learn more: science.nasa.gov/resource/fan...

Fantastic Planet - NASA Science

Saturn's biggest and brightest moons are visible in this portrait by Cassini. Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is Saturn's largest moon and appears at the lower left. Note that some…

science.nasa.gov

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 4d

Also seen here are details in the cloud bands of Saturn's mostly hydrogen atmosphere, variations in brightness across the dazzling rings, and magnificent ring shadows cast upon the northern hemisphere.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 4d

Enceladus has the brightest surface in the solar system, reflecting nearly all of the sunlight that falls upon it. Enceladus is just above the rings, right of center.

Titan was on the far side of the planet at the time, while the other moons were on the near side, much closer to Cassini.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 4d

#PPOD: Saturn's biggest and brightest moons are visible in this portrait by Cassini. Titan is Saturn's largest moon and appears at the lower left. Rhea is the planet's second-largest moon and is seen above center. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/CICLOPS 🧪 🔭

Saturn's biggest and brightest moons are visible in this portrait by Cassini. Titan appears at the lower left. Note that some details in the moon's smoggy atmosphere are visible here. Rhea is the planet's second-largest moon and is seen above center. Enceladus has the brightest surface in the solar system, reflecting nearly all of the sunlight that falls upon it. Enceladus is just above the rings, right of center.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

Read the full stories: buff.ly/esT6NfT

SETI Institute In the News 2025: September Roundup

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

From Martian rocks that may hold traces of past life, to fragile asteroids that explode in Earth’s atmosphere, to bold ideas about AI-driven “astronauts,” SETI Institute scientists are at the forefront of discoveries shaping planetary science and humanity’s future in space. 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

This citizen science campaign, developed in partnership with the SETI Institute, invites astronomy fans around the world to observe comets over 10 nights in October and November, to record data on C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and other notable objects such as 3I/ATLAS, C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), and C/2025 K1 (ATLAS).

SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

PRESS RELEASE: www.seti.org/news/10-nigh...

@unistellar.bsky.social, the company behind the world’s most advanced, user-friendly smart telescopes and the inventor of the ENVISION Smart AR Binoculars, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with “10 Nights Under the Stars.” 🧪 🔭

Unistellar and SETI Institute logos. Background: Photo of comet C/2023 A3. Text: Unistellar marks its 10th anniversary with a call to stargazers: observe 10 comets this autumn in partnership with the SETI Institute.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

In our latest #SETILive #podcast, @planetarypan.bsky.social learned that the potential biomass for Saturn's moon, Titan, according to @aaffholder.bsky.social, is very small — only a couple of kilograms, if it existed at all. Listen to the full interview: www.seti.org/outreach/set... 🧪 🔭 👩‍🔬

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