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You can watch our Webcasts online, or come to the
museum and be part of the audience!
In addition to the programs we stream live, we'll
conduct interviews with SETI Institute
scientists Jill Tarter and Douglas Vakoch. Join us
in the museum, and ask the
scientists your questions! (
directions
to the museum
)
Live interviews in the Phyllis Wattis Webcast Studio
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Live Webcasts
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Is
There Life Elsewhere?
Saturday, Nov. 15
1:00 p.m. PST
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Guest:
Frank
Drake
, Senior Scientist,
SETI
Institute
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How can a mathematical equation frame the question
of life in the universe? We’ll talk with
Frank Drake, one of the founders of the SETI
Institute, about his famous equation and how
it frames the search for signs of intelligent
life in the universe.
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Live
from Licancabur Volcano in Chile
Sunday, Nov. 16
11:00 a.m. PST
Time subject to change, depending
on weather conditions at the volcano.
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Guest:
Nathalie
Cabrol
, Planetary Scientist, Principal Investigator,
NASA Ames Research Center
and the
SETI
Institute
Nathalie Cabrol looks for Mars
analogs in extreme environments on Earth. She
found one at the world’s highest lake
at Chile’s Licancabur volcano, site of
a unique analog to ancient Martian lakes. If
all goes well, we’ll host a live chat
with Dr. Cabrol as she investigates the life
forms at Licancabur.
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Life's
Ingredients
Sunday, Nov. 16
1:00 p.m. PST
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Guest:
David
Deamer
, Director, UC Berkeley SETI Program,
and Karen Kalumuk, Exploratorium staff scientist
Julia Child and physicist Philip Morrison once
cooked up (and sampled) "primordial soup,"
a mixture of ingredients said to be the materials
from which life sprang on Earth. How accurate
is this notion? David Deamer studies how some
molecules self-assemble into order, and has
developed new theories about how life evolved
from components on Earth. We’ll talk with
him, do hands-on experiments, and watch vintage
footage of Julia Child tasting the soup.
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Life
at High Temperatures
Tuesday, Nov. 18
11:00 a.m. PST
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Guest:
Jonathan
Trent
, Astrobiologist,
NASA
Ames Research Center
Jonathan Trent studies "thermophiles,"
heat-loving microbes inhabiting places once
thought too hostile for life, but analogous
to environments that might be found on other
planets. He discovered that some of these microbes
make a protein that appears to stabilize their
cell membranes (and may have applications for
nanotechnology).
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Life
at the Extremes
Wednesday, Nov. 19
11:00 a.m. PST
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If satellite conditions are right,
we'll talk live to Breea Govenar, a biologist
at Penn State University, who is currently aboard
a research vessel from Wood's Hole Oceanographic
Institute. She'll discuss life near deep-sea thermal
vents in the Pacific Ocean. The Webcast will also
include Dr. Alissa Arp, a biologist from San Francisco
State Univeristy studying the tube worms that
live around these very hot marine spots. Dr. Arp
was on the first biological expedition to visit
the deep-sea vents in 1979.
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Looking
for Mars on Earth
Wednesday, Nov. 19
1:00 p.m. PST
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Guest:
Chris
McKay
, Planetary Scientist,
NASA
Ames Research Center
Chris McKay has traveled the world seeking
Mars-like environments. In the Dry Valleys of
Antarctica—his favorite Mars analog on
Earth—Dr. McKay discovered a kind of algae
living inside rocks porous to light and water.
He’ll show us some of these rocks and
talk about the physical conditions required
for life.
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Is
There Life Elsewhere In Our Solar System?
Thursday, Nov. 20
1:00 p.m. PST
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Guest: Paul Doherty, Exploratorium staff scientist
Join Exploratorium physicist Paul Doherty and
explore the possibilities of where life may
exist elsewhere in our solar system. Paul will
discuss the Red Planet, what scientists will
look for in their planetary explorations, and
some of the Mars-like places he’s visited
on Earth.
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What
About Intelligent Life?
Friday, Nov. 21
11:00 a.m. PST
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Guest:
Dan
Werthimer
, Director, UC Berkeley SETI Program
SETI is a scientific effort seeking to determine
if there is intelligent life outside Earth. We
were at Aricebo Radio Observatory in March 2003
when scientists listened to the most promising
transmissions from UC Berkeley’s
SETI@home
search. Join the Exploratorium’s Ron Hipschman
and special guest Dan Werthimer, chief scientist
and principal investigator for the SETI Institute’s
efforts, including Arecibo Observatory’s
search of artificial radio signals coming from
other stars.
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Listening
for the Long Term
Saturday, Nov. 22
11:00 a.m. PST
(prerecorded)
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Guest:
Jill
Tarter
, Director, Center for SETI Research
Join us as we talk with Jill Tarter, Director
of the Center for SETI Research and the inspiration
behind Jody Foster’s character in the
movie
Contact
. Find out about the tools
and technologies being developed for a multigenerational
effort to search for other advanced civilizations
beyond our solar system.
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Talking
with ET
Saturday, Nov 22
1:00 p.m. PST
(prerecorded)
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Guest:
Douglas
Vakoch
, Director of Interstellar Message
Composition,
SETI
Institute
What if we did contact another intelligent
life form in the universe? Should we respond?
What should we say? What traits best represent
our humanity? Douglas Vakoch, the SETI Institute’s
Director of Interstellar Message Composition,
is working with scientists, artists, linguists,
composers, and others to imagine how to speak
for our planet.
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