The Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (SETI): An Introductory Resource Guide

by Andrew Fraknoi

(Foothill College & Astronomical Society of the Pacific) [Version 4.1; Nov. 2010] © 2010 Andrew Fraknoi. Contact the author at: fraknoi@fhda.edu for permission to reproduce. 1. Recent General Books about SETI Shostak, Seth Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist’s Search for Extraterrestrial

Intelligence. 2009, National Geographic. Humorous, personal, but authoritative introduction by one of the key scientists in the field.

Davies, Paul The Eerie Silence. 2010, Houghton Mifflin. A prolific scientist-writer suggests a broader series of searches for intelligent life than the present ones.

Impey, Chris The Search for Life in the Universe. 2007, Random House. An eloquent introduction to the search for life out there in general (not just intelligent life.)

Jones, Barrie Life in the Solar System and Beyond. 2004, Springer. Introduction by a British astronomer to the search for both microbial and intelligent life out there.

Koerner, D. & LeVay, S. Here Be Dragons: The Scientific Quest for Extraterrestrial Life. 2000, Oxford U. Press. An astronomer and a neurobiologist survey the current thinking about many aspects of life out there.

Michaud, Michael Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering Extraterrestrials. 2007, Copernicus/Springer. A diplomat who helped draft various international SETI-related agreements focuses on the political and social issues around the search.

Shostak, S. & Barnett, A. Cosmic Company: The Search for Life in the Universe. 2003, Cambridge University Press. Nicely illustrated, basic introduction to SETI science. Good book for beginners.

Webb, Stephen If the Universe is Teeming with Aliens…Where is Everybody? (50 Solutions to the Fermi Paradox). 2002, Copernicus/Springer Verlag. The great physicist Enrico Fermi wondered one day why aliens were not visiting us, if they are out there. Here are some interesting answers, intelligently summarized from many sources.

2. Books about the History of SETI Crowe, M. The Extraterrestrial Life Debate: 1750-1900. 1986, Cambridge U. Press. Dick, S. The Plurality of Worlds: The Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant. 1982,

Cambridge U. Press. Dick, S. The Biological Universe: The 20th Century Extra-terrestrial Life Debate. 1996, Cambridge

U. Press. Dick, S. Life on Other Worlds: The 20th Century Extra-terrestrial Life Debate. 2001, Cambridge U.

Press. Updated, shorter version of the above book, more for the general public than historians. Drake, F. & Sobel, D. Is Anyone Out There: The Scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

1992, Delcorte Press. Well-written autobiography of Frank Drake, the pioneer scientist in this field, with good background information on the development of SETI.

3. A Few Responsible Books on SETI for Young People Gutsch, W. The Search for Extraterrestrial Life. 1991, Crown. Jackson, E. Looking for Life in the Universe: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. 2005,

Houghton Mifflin. Profile of Jill Tarter, the leader of the Institute’s SETI program. (Grades 4-8)

Schwartz, J. & Butts, E. Carl Sagan. 2000, Lerner. Profile of the pioneering SETI scientist from the A&E biography series, for students in grades 4 - 8.

Skurzynski, Gloria Are We Alone: Scientists Search for Life in Space. 2004, National Geographic Library. Looks at the work of scientists working on life on Earth and in space. (Grades 4-8)

Spangenburg, R. & Moser, K. Life on Other Worlds. 2002, Franklin Watts/Scholastic. 4. A Few Recent Magazine Articles on SETI Crawford, I. “Where Are They?” in Scientific American, July 2000, p. 38. On the Fermi paradox

and its resolutions, and on galactic colonization models. LePage, A. & MacRobert, A. “SETI Searches Today” in Sky & Telescope, Dec. 1998, p. 44. On

the scientific searches for signals from other civilizations. Lubick N. “An Ear to the Stars” in Scientific American, Nov. 2002, p. 42. Profile of SETI

researcher Jill Tarter. Nadis, S. “How Many Civilizations Lurk in the Cosmos?” in Astronomy, Apr. 2010, p. 24. New

estimates for the terms in the Drake Equation. Nadis, S. “Could Changing Channels Tune into Alien Civilizations” in Astronomy, May 2008, p.

38. On the Murchison Wide-field Array in Australia and a general primer on radio searching.

Shostak, S. “Closing in on E.T.” in Sky & Telescope, Nov. 2010, p. 22. Nice summary of current and proposed efforts to search for intelligent life out there.

Shostak, S. “When ET Calls Us” in Astronomy, Sep. 1997, p. 36. What do we do when we receive a message.

Swenson, G. “Intergalactically Speaking” in Scientific American, July 2000, p. 48. On methods and challenges of interstellar radio communication.

Tarter, J. & Chyba, C. “Is There Life Elsewhere in the Universe?” in Scientific American, Dec. 1999, p. 118. The searches for life in our solar system and beyond.

5. Some Selected Web Sites on SETI The SETI Institute: http://www.seti.org (The main organization searching for intelligent life has

a rich web site with background information, news, and educational materials; the best place to start.)

The Planetary Society: http://www.planetary.org/programs/list/search_for_extraterrestrial_life/ (This advocacy group for exploration has several pages devoted to the search for life.)

“Are We Alone” Radio Show: http://radio.seti.org/ (Astronomer Seth Shostak and journalist Molly Bentley host this amusing, informative weekly show with a SETI emphasis.)

The SETI League: http://www.setileague.org/ (This is a group of amateur radio astronomers who also search for signals from potential intelligent civilizations out there.)

SETI@home: http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ (This project distributes a screen saver which uses your computer when it is idle to search data for SETI signals.)

Sky & Telescope Magazine’s SETI Page: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/seti (Some good articles on this topic.)

6. A Few SETI Talks Available on the Web Jill Tarter’s TED Prize Talk and Wish in 2009: http://www.tedprize.org/jill-tarter/ (The Director

of SETI Research at the SETI Institute gives an inspiring introduction to the work.) Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html

(These audio and video podcasts, featuring talks by many astronomers, include Frank Drake, Jill Tarter, and Seth Shostak discuss developments in SETI.)

Jill Tarter at the Long Now Foundation in 2004: http://www.longnow.org/seminars/02004/jul/09/the-search-for-extra-terrestrial-intelligence-necessarily-a-long-term-strategy/

Interview with Seth Shostak on FORA TV (2009): http://fora.tv/2009/03/31/Seth_Shostak_Confessions_of_an_Alien_Hunter