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Enlarging Perspectives on Space (and Time)

What do we mean by an 'interstellar mission'? The question came up in relation to Interstellar Probe, that 'Voyager Plus' concept being investigated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. I do indeed see it as an interstellar mission, as Interstellar Probe...

A Drake Equation for Alien Artifacts

Jim Benford's study of 'lurkers' -- possibly ancient probes that may have been placed here by extraterrestrial civilizations to monitor our planet's development -- breaks into two parts. The first, published Friday, considered stars passing near our Sun in the...

Is ET Lurking in Our Cosmic Backyard?

Jim Benford is continuing his research into the still nascent field known as SETA, the Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts. A plasma physicist and CEO of Microwave Sciences, as well as a frequent Centauri Dreams contributor, Benford became intrigued with recent...

How Planetesimals Are Born

What governs the size of a newly forming star as it emerges from the molecular cloud around it? The answer depends upon the ability of gravity to overcome internal pressure within the cloud, and that in turn depends upon exceeding what is known as the Jeans Mass,...

A Path Forward for Technosignature Searches

Héctor Socas-Navarro (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) is lead author of a paper on technosignatures that commands attention. Drawing on work presented at the TechnoClimes 2020 virtual meeting, under the auspices of NASA at the Blue Marble Space Institute of...