Weekly Space Hangout - The ATA & Technosignatures With Dr. Sophia Sheikh (SETI Institute)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=253DbqwGdH8 [Sorry for the continued audio dropouts, but just wait! Soon Fraser’ll have fiber at his house and this will all be a thing of the past! - Rich] Streamed live on Oct 26, 2022. Host: Fraser Cain ( @fcain )Special Guest: As we discover new exoplanets on an almost daily basis - particularly now that JWST is online - scientists are ramping up their research into identifying those planets that may exhibit traces of life (as we know it.) Scientists use spectrographs to examine the composition of these exoplanet atmospheres looking markers called technosignatures - trace elements that may be indicative of life. What constitutes a technosignature? Does the presence of one or more technosignatures mean that an exoplanet is a strong candidate for hosting life? Can atmospheric markers not included in our current list of technosignatures still be indicative of life, just not as we know it? This week, we welcome Dr. Sofia Sheikh from the SETI Institute (https://www.seti.org/) to discuss how the ATA is playing an instrumental role in this research.   Dr. Sofia Z. Sheikh is a radio astronomer and astrobiologist working at the SETI Institute. She obtained her undergraduate degrees in physics and astronomy at UC Berkeley, and has recently returned to the Bay Area with an NSF-ASCEND Postdoctoral Fellowship after getting her PhD in Astronomy and Astrobiology at Penn State. Currently, she is performing SETI searches and studying pulsars and fast radio bursts with the Allen Telescope Array, a 42-dish radio array located in Hat Creek, California. Be sure to follow her on Twitter: @SETISheikh   You can learn more about the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) by visiting their website: https://www.seti.org/seti-allen-teles... Regular Guests: C.C. Petersen ( http://thespacewriter.com/wp/ & @AstroUniverse & @SpaceWriter ) Beth Johnson - SETI Institute ( @SETIInstitute & @planetarypan ) This week's stories: - Why NASA is trying to crash on Mars. On purpose. - A marshmallow world. - A star has destroyed the atmosphere of one of its planets. - Ancient data finding Uranus’ rings.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].