The SETI Institute is dedicated to scientific
research, education, and public outreach.
Its mission is to explore, understand, and
explain the origin and nature of life in the
universe and to apply the knowledge
gained for the purposes of inspiring and
guiding current and future generations.
Actively contribute to
science
SETI Insitute
In July 2017, the SETI Institute and Unistellar
joined forces to develop science applications
for the telescope network. You have the
potential to make a significant contribution
to a wide range of research topics such
as
planetary
defense,
exoplanets,
occultations, and the study of many
transient astronomical events.
Scientific campaigns
Subscribe to our citizen science emails or join our Slack group to interact with our community
on scientific observations.
You’ll soon become a citizen astronomer and contribute to scientific discoveries.
Planetary Defense
Our planet is not free from danger. Our solar system is home to other celestial bodies such
as asteroids and artificial objects. Asteroids sometimes cross the Earth’s orbit. Some of these
near-Earth asteroids are “
potentially hazardous asteroids
,” meaning that they could crash
into the Earth. The Planetary Defense program aims to locate, track, and characterize these
near-Earth objects (NEOs) in our solar system. Each month, Unistellar scientists suggest
different targets to observe with your telescope.
Asteroid occultation
Asteroid occultation detection entails observing an asteroid pass between a bright star and
your location on Earth. The telescope’s recording of the star’s blinking provides valuable
data that astronomers can use to learn more about an asteroid’s trajectory, size, shape, and
composition.
When launching an observation campaign, scientists invite telescope users to join their search
by activating “Occultation Mode” on their device. Observe the sky with your telescope, send
this data to scientists, and help keep the world informed about and aware of asteroids. You will
then receive the results of your occultation.
No matter where you live in the world, there is probably an occultation that you can observe.
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