SETI Institute

09/10/2026

Want to follow our advice and look up, but don't know where to start? One of our local astronomy groups can help!

09/10/2026

What if some of the strangest planets in the universe are born near supermassive black holes?

New simulations suggest that the dusty outer regions surrounding actively feeding supermassive black holes could behave in surprising ways, like the planet-forming disks around young stars. Dust may clump together and grow into enormous planet-mass objects — potentially hundreds or even thousands of times the mass of Earth. Some could eventually become massive enough to ignite fusion and become stars.

Join SETI Institute scientist Dr. Lauren Sgro for a conversation with lead authors Dr. Bhupendra Mishra and Dr. Wladimir Lyra about their research into active galactic nuclei as possible cosmic planet factories. They'll explore how these unusual worlds might form, how many could exist, and whether astronomers could someday detect them through gravitational microlensing or other signals.

SETI Live
� Thursday, September 10, 2026
� 2:30 pm PDT

Bring your questions and join us live!

Press release: https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-researcher-s-team-finds-supermassive-black-holes-may-create-massive-planets/s/a230059e-c750-4fba-b726-7301d05253c2

Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6f0b



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09/10/2026

🪐 Can planets form in the neighborhood of a supermassive black hole?

New research suggests they might — and they could be enormous.

Simulations show that the dusty disks surrounding actively feeding supermassive black holes could provide the conditions for planet-mass objects to form and grow. Could these extreme environments be home to millions of strange worlds?

Today at 2:30 pm PDT, SETI Institute scientist Dr. Lauren Sgro talks with lead authors Dr. Bhupendra Mishra and Dr. Wladimir Lyra about how planets could form near some of the most extreme objects in the universe — and how we might someday detect them.

🔴 Join us live and bring your questions: https://www.facebook.com/events/942033284954879/

09/10/2026

: Hubble’s Superbubble Scene

This sprawling Hubble view captures N44, a vast star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 160,000 light-years from Earth. At its heart is a superbubble roughly 210 by 140 light-years across, carved out by powerful stellar winds and supernova explosions from massive stars in the central cluster.

Those same stars may be helping create the next generation. Gas swept outward from the superbubble has collected into a dense shell where new stars are forming, making N44 an ideal laboratory for astronomers studying how stellar birth unfolds from collapsing clouds of cold gas to the ignition of nuclear fusion.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Gouliermis

09/09/2026

What if an alien civilization already knows Earth is special? 👀

Astronomer Ben Zuckerman suggests that a technologically advanced civilization might recognize Earth as an interesting world—and deliberately send a powerful signal our way.

The catch? We still have to listen on the right wavelength.

Watch the full conversation with Zuckerman and SETI Institute host Lauren Sgro: https://www.seti.org/events/a-new-way-to-search-for-alien-civilizations/

09/09/2026

A space rock entering Earth’s atmosphere does far more than simply “burn up.” By examining 75 meteorite falls captured on video and in photographs, researchers identified seven distinct stages that transform an incoming space rock into a meteorite.

Their results show that melting and fragmentation, rather than evaporation alone, determine how these objects shed mass, lose speed, and eventually reach the ground. The findings were published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

Learn more:

An analysis of 75 meteorite falls identified seven distinct processes that occur as space rocks melt, break apart, and slow down before reaching the ground.

09/09/2026

: Marching Dust Devils

Eight dust devils march across the dark sands of Ganges Chasma in this remarkable view from the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Sunlight warms the dark, gently sloping surface, driving convection in the thin Martian atmosphere and creating the spinning columns of dust, while faint tracks reveal where earlier vortices crossed the landscape.

The group may also offer scientists a chance to study how Martian dust devils interact. Closely spaced vortices are expected to rotate in opposite directions, and subtle differences between HiRISE’s color observations can reveal how quickly they move, where they travel, and even which way they spin.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

09/08/2026

☀️ Sometimes, the Sun tries to erupt — and fails.

A particularly well-observed solar eruption began rising from the Sun, only to be stopped by the magnetic field above it. Observations from multiple spacecraft gave researchers a rare chance to watch that struggle unfold.

The result? A remarkably detailed look at the magnetic tug-of-war that can determine whether an eruption escapes into space or stays confined to the Sun.

SETI Institute heliophysicist Dr. Becca Robinson and solar astrophysicist Dr. Kathy Reeves explore what this failed eruption can teach us about solar activity, space weather, and the future of observing the Sun.

🔗 https://www.seti.org/news/why-do-some-solar-eruptions-fail/

Full sun views from different NASA solar cameras of a failed solar eruption from data collected in March 2024. Credit: Tingyu Gou

09/08/2026

🔬🌕 What if evidence of ancient technology is hiding in the dust of the Moon?

The next breakthrough in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence may come not from a radio telescope, but from a microscope.

A new study led by SETI Institute Affiliate Scientist Dr. Lewis Pinault proposes searching lunar regolith for microscopic engineered particles—tiny, durable technosignatures that could potentially survive long after the civilizations that created them disappeared.

The Moon may be an especially good place to look. With no atmosphere, flowing water, or active geology to erase ancient material, its surface has been collecting dust from across the Solar System and interstellar space for billions of years.

The researchers estimate that examining about one cubic meter of lunar regolith using modern microscopy, spectroscopy, tomography, and AI-assisted imaging could begin placing meaningful limits on how much durable artificial material technological civilizations may have produced over the history of the Milky Way.

No alien artifacts have been found. Instead, the study lays out a practical framework for searching for them—and future lunar samples could give scientists the opportunity to put the idea to the test.

🔗 Read more: https://www.seti.org/news/researchers-propose-searching-the-moon/

09/08/2026

: Decagon at Saturn’s South Pole

Saturn has long been famous for the enormous hexagonal atmospheric pattern surrounding its north pole. Now, observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have revealed another geometric surprise: a giant, 10-sided wave, or decagon, encircling the planet’s south pole.

Hubble observations show the pattern becoming increasingly distinct since 2023, suggesting astronomers may be watching a new atmospheric phenomenon develop in real time. The images are part of Hubble’s long-running Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which tracks changes in the atmospheres of the solar system’s giant planets.

Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Sánchez-Lavega (University of the Basque Country), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)