Video: “Communicating across the Cosmos” – conference presentations

The SETI Institute has posted a big set of videos of presentations from a conference on the topic of “Communicating Across the Cosmos“:

For over a half century, astronomers involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) have scanned the skies for signals from distant civilizations. Would humans be able to decode information-rich signals from another planet? Could we create a “universal language” that would be meaningful to an independently evolved civilization? To help answer these questions, on November 10-11 the SETI Institute will convene a multidisciplinary, international workshop at its headquarters in Mountain View, California. Speakers from six countries will draw on disciplines ranging from astronomy and mathematics, to anthropology and linguistics, as they debate the best ways to create meaningful messages. While the two-day workshop is closed to the public, all talks will later be posted on the SETI Institute’s Youtube channel.

Here’s a video of a panel summarizing the conference discussions:

And here is a talk by Seth Shostak :

Taking pie where no pie has gone before

High school freshman Mike Alex Hoppe feels compelled to fly a pie on a high altitude balloon. His π1 project is apparently inspired by the otherworldly taste of a great pie and also by this project: FPV to Space and back – RC Explorer.

Alex has a Kickstarter if you want to kick in on his dessert adventure :  Pie In Space! by Alex Hoppe — Kickstarter

Why the pie?

I don’t know!  Really, I’ve just always had this thing for pie: Pumpkin, Apple, Chocolate.  I love them all. 😛  When I was designing this project I thought to myself, “How can I make my project different from all the other weather balloon projects?”  Then it hit me, “PIE!  No one has sent pie into space before!”

And that is why there will be pie in space!

Update on the lander Philae on Comet 67P/C-G

The touch down of Rosetta‘s Philae lander onto Comet 67P/C-G was more dramatic than first thought. The lander bounced twice and the first bounce may have been as high as a kilometer from the surface. Where it came down to rest is still not known exactly . The three legged spacecraft is apparently sitting at a tilt. Most of the instruments seem to be working properly but the resting spot is shaded (perhaps it is in a hole or near a cliff) and the solar panels are only getting sun for about an hour and a half of the 12 hour comet rotation. They will try to get as much science data out of it as they can before the batteries give out.

Lots more info and images:

Rosetta’s view of Philae as it headed towards the comet:

ESA_Rosetta_OSIRIS-NAC_Philae_descent_anim

A view of the comet as Philae approached it:

15774234245_265a15c13b_b

 

 

A view of the surface from about 40 meters:

rolis_web_img5[1]

 

A 360 degree panorama from Philae of the comet scene around it (see this annotated version for more info on what’s in the image):

ESA_Rosetta_Philae_CIVA_FirstPanoramic-838x1024[1]

 

An enlarged and rotated view of the comet scene in the bottom right of the above panorama:

Welcome_to_a_comet_node_full_image_2[1]