September 3, 2004, Hour Two: New Planets / SETI

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > September > September 3, 2004:
Hour Two: New Planets / SETI

In this hour of Science Friday, we'll take a look at at three new planets discovered orbiting distant stars. The new finds are smaller than previous extrasolar planet discoveries, on par with the planet Neptune in our solar system. Huge gas-giant planets have been easier to spot. We'll talk about the find, and what it does to the odds of finding life elsewhere in the universe. Could it be possible to find Earth-like planets in distant solar systems?

Plus, communicating with ET - is it better to send a letter? A paper published this week in the journal Nature argues that for sending lots of data over long distances, it's hard to beat sending a physical artifact engraved with data. We'll talk about ways to communicate lots of information over long distances, and check in with the progress of the radio-based search for extraterrestrial intelligence. What are they listening for, and what have they heard?

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Geoff Marcy
Professor of Astronomy
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California

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Christopher Rose
Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Associate Director, Wireless Networks Laboratory (WINLAB)
Rutgers University
Piscataway, New Jersey

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Dan Werthimer
Chief Scientist, SETI@home
SERENDIP Project Director
Space Sciences Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California

This segment produced by Charles Bergquist

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