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Registration
is required for this free, virtual lecture. Go to:
https://Tarter-Talk.eventbrite.com
Hamptons
Observatory, and co-host Suffolk County Community College, are
honored to present a free, virtual lecture
by Dr. Jill Tarter
Are
we alone? Humans have been asking this question throughout history.
We want to know where we came from, how we fit into the cosmos, and
where we are going. We want to know whether there is life beyond
Earth and whether any of it is intelligent.
Since
the middle of the twentieth century we have had new tools that permit
us to embark on a scientific exploration to try to answer this old
question. We no longer have to ask the priests and philosophers what
we should believe about extraterrestrial life; we can explore and
discover what’s actually out there. Our tools are getting ever
better. We have discovered extremophiles in the most unexpected
places on this planet and we have discovered that there really are
more planets than stars out there. We haven’t yet found life beyond
Earth. Evidence for extraterrestrial life may turn out to be
ambiguous, as illustrated by the recent debate over the claim of
Phosphine in the clouds of Venus, and whether this might imply
biology. Evidence for technosignatures could be less ambiguous. There
is a vast amount of other potentially-habitable real estate to
explore beyond our solar system, and there are many plans to do just
that. The 21st
century will be the century in which we will find some answers.
As
we look up and look out, we are forced to see ourselves from a cosmic
perspective; a perspective that shows us as all the same, all
Earthlings. This perspective is fundamental to finding a way to
sustain life on Earth for the long future.
Dr.
Jill Tarter is
renown for her pioneering work as a researcher at and co-founder of
the SETI Institute, where she is
now Emeritus Chair for SETI Research and a Trustee. Many know her as
the person who inspired the character played by Jodie Foster in the
movie, Contact.
Dr. Tarter has spent the majority of her professional career
attempting to answer the age-old question, “Are We Alone?” by
searching for evidence of technological civilizations beyond Earth.
She served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program, the High
Resolution Microwave Survey, and has conducted numerous observational
programs at radio observatories worldwide. In 2004, she was named one
of the Time
100 Most Influential People in the World
and, in 2012, one of the Time
25 in Space.
She received a TED prize in 2009, two public service awards from
NASA, and multiple awards for her contributions to science and
science education. In 2021, she was elected to the American Academy
of Arts & Sciences. Asteroid 74824 Tarter (1999 TJ16) was named
in her honor. Since the termination of funding for NASA’s SETI
program in 1993, she has served in a leadership role to design and
build the Allen Telescope Array and to secure private funding to
continue the exploratory science of SETI. Her biography, Making
Contact,
was written by Sarah Scoles and published in 2017.
Hamptons
Observatory (HO), a 501(c)(3) NYS nonprofit that relies on public
support, has served the community since 2005. Its mission: to foster
interest in science, particularly astronomy, through educational
programs. Lectures, star parties, portable planetarium shows and
other events are held, often in collaboration with other nonprofit
organizations. HO has established the first astronomical observatory
on the South Fork (in East Hampton), complete with Long Island’s
largest research-grade telescope; these facilities will soon be
accessible over the internet to students, teachers, researchers and
the general public. Hamptons Observatory offers all of its programs
free-of-charge so that everyone can learn about and enjoy the
universe around them. To join our email list for event notices,
please email: [email protected]. To make a tax-deductible
donation to support our mission, please go to
www.HamptonsObservatory.org and click on Donations. Thanks!
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