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At the Nancay Radio Observatory in France this past September, SETI League member Dr. Jill Tarter strikes her familiar Ellie Arroway pose, from high up on the declination reflector of the great decimetric radio telescope. Jill notes that she has now climbed every radio telescope from which she has ever done SETI observations. Many more Nancay photos may be seen here. SETI League photo

27 December 2008

After the September 2008 UNESCO SETI symposium in Paris, several SETI League members visited the Nancay Radio Observatory. Here Drs. H. Paul Shuch, Jill Tarter, and Claudio Maccone are joined by a member of the Observatory staff. The chain segment in front of them was an actual part of the elevation mechanism, prior to an upgrade. Many more Nancay photos may be seen here. SETI League photo

20 December 2008

Dan Werthimer, chief scientist for the SETI@home distributed computing project, poses with some of his receiving equipment in the control room at the Arecibo Observatory, during last year's BioAstronomy 2007 conference in Puerto Rico. Click here for more Arecibo photos. SETI League photo

13 December 2008

In Paris at the recent UNESCO SETI conference, SETI League Eastern Canada coordinator Stephane Dumas discussed interstellar message construction. Luca Derosa photo

6 December 2008

Dr. Alexander Zaitsev, The SETI League's volunteer Regional Coordinator for Russia, described his interstellar transmissions from Evpatoria, Ukraine, at the Paris UNESCO SETI conference in September. Luca Derosa photo

29 November 2008

At the UNESCO SETI conference in Paris, anthropologist Dr. Kathryn Denning of York University, Canada, gave an excellent paper on unpacking the SETI transmission debate. Luca Derosa photo

22 November 2008

In Paris at the recent UNESCO SETI conference, H. Paul Shuch ended his presentation with the inevitable SETI song. Luca Derosa photo

15 November 2008

The latest Message from Earth, transmitted on 9 October 2008 toward Gliese 581c, emanated from the Evpatoria RT-70 radar telescope in Ukraine. Bebo photo

8 November 2008

Last week, member Claudio Maccone paid a visit to executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch and the Very Small Array (VSA). Drs. Shuch and Maccone are co-chairs of the SETI Permanent Study Group of the International Academy of Astronautics. SETI League photo

1 November 2008

Seen here is a subset of the 70 scientists (including 12 SETI League members) attending last month's UNESCO SETI symposium in Paris. Luca Derosa photo

25 October 2008

SETI League executive director emeritus Prof. H. Paul Shuch presents an update on Project Argus, at last month's UNESCO Symposium on Searching for Life Signatures in Paris. Elisabeth Piotelat photo

18 October 2008

The latest Message from Earth was transmitted on 9 October 2008 from the Evpatoria radar telescope in Ukraine, toward Gliese 581c, a potentially habitable large terrestrial extrasolar planet orbiting the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 581. Bebo image

11 October 2008

At last week's International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, Scotland, executive director H. Paul Shuch presents the 2008 Giordano Bruno Memorial Award to Ivan Almar of the Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary. Dr. Almar is the father of the Rio Scale for calculating SETI candidate signal significance, as well as the San Marino Scale for quantifying transmissions from Earth. SETI League photo

4 October 2008

Of the 70 participants at last week's UNESCO Symposium on Searching for Life Signatures in Paris, a dozen (from six different countries) are SETI League members. Eleven of them can be seen here (the twelfth was behind the camera). SETI League photo

27 September 2008

SETI League executive director emeritus Prof. H. Paul Shuch, visiting the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico last year, checked out this rack of receive downconverters, built at his alma matter, the University of California, Berkeley, by his old friend and grad-school classmate, SETI@home chief scientist Dan Werthimer. SETI League photo

20 September 2008

A special guest at the 2008 technical meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) was Jimmy Carroll (center), one of the original Rocket Boys (see last week's Featured Photo). Here, SARA president Tom Crowley (right) and vice-president H. Paul Shuch (left) present him with a copy of the 2008 SARA Proceedings. K4CSO photo

13 September 2008

Last October, on the 50th anniversary of the Space Age, executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch exchanged reminiscences with NASA engineer Homer Hickam, author of the best selling memoir Rocket Boys, at a screening of October Sky, the film based upon that book. Wordsmiths will recognize that the film title is an anagram of the book title! SETI League photo

6 September 2008

Radio astronomy students from Lycoming College, where H. Paul Shuch was formerly Visiting Professor, recently paid a visit to the SETI League's Very Small Array. Many in attendance (including Tara Tubbs, who took this picture) are former students of our Executive Director Emeritus. Tara Tubbs photo

30 August 2008

Executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch (right) recently gave his colleague Dr. Dave Fisher a tour of Project Argus station FN11lh. Prof. Fisher is chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department at Lycoming College, where Dr. Shuch was formerly Visiting Professor. Tara Tubbs photo

23 August 2008

Next month's Searcing for Life Signatures conference will include a technical tour of the Nancay decimetric radio telescope. Sponsored by the SETI Permanent Study Group of the International Academy of Astronautics, the conference sessions will be held in the UNESCO building in Paris. A number of SETI League members are scheduled to participate. Nancay RT photo

16 August 2008

At last year's International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad, India, Alexander Zaitsev, our volunteer Regional Coordinator for Russia, gave a presentation on Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (METI). VV Ivashkin photo

9 August 2008

Dr. Steve Dick was Keynote Speaker at the 2008 technical meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) held recently at NRAO Green Bank WV. Steve, who is well known to the SETI community, is an astrophysicist with a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science, who spent 25 years at the U.S. Naval Observatory before becoming NASA's Chief Historian in 2003. K4CSO photo

2 August 2008

The Proceedings of the 2008 technical meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) held recently at NRAO Green Bank WV, were dedicated to the memory of Arthur C. Clarke. SARA vice president and SETI League executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch opened the meeting by honoring Sir Arthur with a rendition of his song Extraterrestrial Relays. K4CSO photo

26 July 2008

Dr. Steve Dick, NASA's chief historian, was keynote speaker at the 2008 technical meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) held recently at NRAO Green Bank WV. Here, Steve poses with the Drake Equation plaque on the wall of what is now called the Drake Lounge, the room at Green Bank where Dr. Frank Drake first introduced his famous equation in 1961. N6TX photo

19 July 2008

Several SETI League members were in attendance at the 2008 technical meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) held recently at NRAO Green Bank WV. K4ATS photo

12 July 2008

At last week's technical meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) at NRAO Green Bank WV, executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch presents The SETI League's 2008 Orville N. Greene Service Award to Tom Crowley, KT4XN. A Charter Member of The SETI League, Crowley has long served as a SETI League volunteer Regional Coordinator. He has served as President and Treasurer of SARA, a SETI League affiliate society, and participated in many SARA and SETI League meetings over the years. His efforts to bring the two organizations closer together have helped to legitimize SETI science as a respected branch of radio astronomy. Further details appear in this Press Release. K4CSO photo

5 July 2008

SETI League members are reminded that the 2008 Conference of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers, a SETI League affiliate, is being held this week at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank WV. Details are available on the SARA website. The Proceedings of the 2008 SARA Conference is now available for purchase through the SETI Store. Compiled and edited by SETI League executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch, this Proceedings contains technical papers by a number of SETI League members. See the Proceedings Table of Contents. SARA image

28 June 2008

At the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in Khodad, India, SETI League executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch looks up in wonder at one of the array's impressive 45 meter dishes. See more GMRT photos here. SETI League photo

21 June 2008

The HF Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) studies ionospheric physics from a high-power transmitting facility in Alaska. The HF transmitter consists of 180 antenna elements having a net radiated power capability of 3.6 MegaWatts. In January 2008, Ed Cole, KL7UW, was among five SETI League members who recovered HAARP signals reflected not off the ionosphere, but rather off the lunar surface. Both the direct (strong) and EME (weak) signals can be seen in this waterfall display. KL7UW image

14 June 2008

Last year at a restaurant in Pune, reporter Bikram "Ricky" Saikia (l) interviewed argonaut Vishal Gajjar (r) and executive director H. Paul Shuch for a Times of India article about The SETI League. Ricky Saikia photo

7 June 2008

Physicist Greg Matloff and his wife, artist C Bangs, relaxing at the SETI dinner at last year's International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad, India. Greg, like several of his fellow SETI League members, is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Greg and C also serve as Signatories to the Invitation to ETI. A.L. Zaitsev photo

31 May 2008

Argus station FN21ws with dish in bird-bath mode, as built by Laura Dos Reis in New Paltz, NY, USA. The antenna mount is built from nine old automibile tires, donated by the local Honda dealership. AB2SY photo

24 May 2008

Two weeks ago at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, executive director H. Paul Shuch met with cosmologist and Nobel laureate John Mather, principal investigator for the COBE satellite mission that first observed the cosmic background anisotropy in the early 1990s. Dr. Mather is now program manager for the planned James Webb Space Telescope. The frame of a mirror segment for this infrared instrument is visible behind the two. Drs. Mather and Shuch were at Goddard for an event sponsored by the Hertz Foundation, whose Fellowship they shared while in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. SETI League photo

17 May 2008

Fernando "Raśl" Colomb, who died last week, is seen here with the late Dr. Carl Sagan in Toronto in October 1988, after signing an agreement between The Planetary Society and the Argentine Institute for Radioastronomy to build the Southern Hemisphere META System. See this remembrance of Dr. Colomb by his colleague, Dr. Guillermo Lemarchand. Planetary Society photo

10 May 2008

At Sternberg Astronomical Institute on the campus of Moscow State University, Prof. L.M. Gindilis hosted the October, 2007 SETI conference at which this paper was presented. A.L. Zaitsev photo

3 May 2008

Last October, H. Paul Shuch took time out from the Sputnik Jubilee celebrations in Moscow to visit Red Square for the first time. "I was disappointed," remarked Shuch, "that the cobblestones are not red!" Yasmin Walter photo

26 April 2008

Colleagues Yasmin Walter and H. Paul Shuch celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Space Age in October 2007, by visiting this authentic replica of Sputnik 1, at the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow. A.L. Zaitsev photo

19 April 2008

Marcus Leech goes to extremes to ensure good RFI shielding in his SETI receiver stack. He writes, "I have a separate power supply cabinet for the receiver power, which gets fed to the fully-screened receiver box with a coax cable. The DC input to the receiver cabinet is RF bypassed as soon as it enters the cabinet. The DC power supply for the receiver is both linear-regulated (NO switching noise), and a LOT bigger than it needs to be, with BIG output capacitors on the power supply, and a linear regulator inside the receiver cabinet that steps the 13.8V down to 8V for use by the USRP digital receiver subsystem. The fan inside the receiver box has a stainless screen over it which is bonded to the cabinet ground. The LNA bias supply, which is both linear-regulated, and much larger than it needs to be, is injected up the coax cable to the front-end, which is normally a 100+ft run, so I set the LNA supply to 16.5 volts, and inject it up the coax using a satellite-TV bias Tee. Power gets "picked" off the coax at the feed end using another bias Tee. That 16.5V (minus coax-run voltage drop) is conditioned right up at the feed with a linear regulator assembly, with more RF bypass and largish capacitors producing both +12V and +5V for LNAs and other things I have up at the feed from time to time." VE3MDL photo

12 April 2008

Aerial view of the Very Small Array (VSA), courtesy of Google Earth. The 3.7 meter dish for Project Argus station FN11lh is visible near the center of the image. The eight dishes of the VSA can be seen in a cross configuration toward the upper left of the image, ringed by a grove of trees. Executive Director H. Paul Shuch's house can be seen toward the lower right. In the driveway is Dr. Shuch's minivan, with its "DRSETI" license plate (unfortunately, not visible from space). Google Earth image

5 April 2008

Those SETI League members participating in the Sputnik Jubilee in Moscow last October received this lovely lapel pin, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Space Age. SETI League photo

29 March 2008

The SETI League is mourning the loss of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, senior member of our Advisory Board, on 18 March 2008. This picture shows our Executive Director Emeritus visiting with him in Sri Lanka in 2000. For Prof. Shuch's personal remembrances of Sir Arthur, follow this link. SETI League photo

22 March 2008

Colleagues (left to right) Slava Ivashkin, Sasha Zaitsev, Paul Shuch, and Bob DeBiase, gathered for an informal lunch at last year's International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad, India. VV Ivashkin photo

15 March 2008

In Hyderabad, India for the 2007 International Astronautical Congress, H. Paul Shuch, Robert DeBiase, and Slava Ivashkin all crowd into the rear seat of a motor rickshaw. The canvas-covered, three-wheeled "tuk-tuk", powered by a 250 cc two-stroke motorcycle engine, is the standard means of transportation around crowded Indian cities. After taking this picture, Alexander Zaitsev jumped into the front seat with the driver, completely overloading the three-place vehicle! A.L. Zaitsev photo

8 March 2008

Last week, Yasmin Walter and Elmar Schmidt traveled from Germany to the Observatorio del Teide in the Canary Islands, to make measurements of the total lunar eclipse. Here, one day before the eclipse, the observatory buildings and nearly full moon can be seen against a cloudless sky. Unfortunately, the following day, the two became the victims of a strong and unusual storm and heavy rain showers, which made them unable to view the eclipse. Their misfortune underscores why so many of us prefer radio astronomy to optical observations! Yasmin Walter photo

1 March 2008

Peter Wright, DJ0BI, and two of his students show off the small radio telescope being built at the Heidelberg University of Applied Science in Germany. The 3.7 meter diameter dish has a log periodic feed for L through C bands, and full azimuth/elevation rotation. SETI League photo

23 February 2008

Argonaut Greger Gimseus has come up with a modification to the Icom PRC-1000 receiver, to disable its Automatic Gain Control. The circuitry is described in this section of The SETI League Technical Manual. Greg. Gimseus photo

16 February 2008

At the "Sound of Silence" workshop last week hosted by the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University, executive dierector H. Paul Shuch presented a paper on learning disabilities as an analog for extraterrestrial intelligence. He used music as an example of a human communications mode that may or not be recognized as such by our extraterrestrial companions. Robin Hanson photo

9 February 2008

In India, graduate student Vishal Gajjar works on his Project Argus radio telesope at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics on the Pune University campus. See more photos of Vishal's SETI station here. SETI League photo

2 February 2008

Executive director emeritus H. Paul Shuch, attending the BioAstronomy 2007 conference in Puerto Rico last July, presented a research poster describing four case studies using the San Mario Scale, an analytical tool for assessing transmissions from Earth. SETI League photo

26 January 2008

Project SERENDIP (Search for Evidence of Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations) is a long-running University of California parasitic SETI experiment, which makes use of this equipment rack at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerty Rico. SETI League photo

19 January 2008

Ken Meyer, K9KJM, has built this beautiful setup in Wisconsin. At left is the operating console, and at right the equipment rack, for Project Argus station EN64iu. K9KJM photos

12 January 2008

Argonaut Joseph Potts sends along these images of the innovative feedhorn design on his Project Argus dish. He explains, "This is a copper cylindrical feed that I built with a movable back plate for tuning. The KEPS LNA is mounted directly on the probe inside a 'cool' box on the side of the feed. The DC cooling unit is on top of the feed. The feed is quite heavy and I had to strengthen the frame of the dish to support the feed. The feed support legs are made from fiberglass fence posts and fiberglass rake handles. These are very strong and much cheaper than prefab fiberglass rods. I left enough room for a feed choke if I decide to use one. The cooling unit keeps the LNA at 54 deg. F even in the sun. The dish is in birdbath now but is going to be moveable in Declination and will have a motorized RA movement to allow off-axis movement for signal checks." Joe Potts photos

5 January 2008

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