Profs & Pints Alameda: Are We Alone?

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Profs and Pints Alameda presents: “Are We Alone?” an update on the search for extraterrestrial life, with Steve Croft, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley’s SETI Research Center and researcher involved with the Breakthrough Listen initiative’s search for signals from beyond.

Since ancient humans first looked up at the night sky we’ve wondered if other minds inhabit worlds beyond our own. That curiosity has intensified in recent years with our discovery that stars have their own planetary systems, billions of Earth-like planets exist within our own galaxy, and our galaxy is just one of hundreds of billions.

Could it really be the case that we’re the only inhabitants of this vast universe? How can science help us answer the question of whether we’re alone? Might we have been visited by extraterrestrials already?

Hear such questions tackled at Faction Brewing in Alameda by Dr. Steve Croft, who will describe the many ways in which the search for life beyond Earth is rapidly intensifying.

He’ll talk about “biosignature” searches being carried out by robots sniffing the surface of Mars and by NASA’s Webb telescope as it scans the atmospheres of exoplanets. While such biosignature searches are challenging and currently can only examine a handful of targets, in recent years we’ve also seen rapid growth in the search for smart life, which involves looking for technosignatures—signs of technology regarded as a proxy for the intelligence that built it. The astronomers involved in it harness the resources of our largest telescopes, our most powerful computers, and most cutting-edge AI algorithms.

Dr. Croft will discuss recent developments from his own field, SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence). He’ll talk about how his own work involves using the 7000-ton Green Bank Telescope—the largest movable object on land—to scan thousands of stars for elusive, needle-in-a-haystack signals from alien intelligence. You’ll learn why researchers are not going to let the lack of a confirmed signal deter them from this quest, and what we’ll learn even if we don’t make contact with ET.

Is the truth out there? Do you want to believe? (Tickets available only online. Advance tickets: $13.50 plus processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.