The SETI Institute, shut down since mid-April due to budget cuts, has announced that it will reopen in mid-September due to a recent influx of funds from several donors.
Over 2,500 donors, including actress Jodie Foster who popularized SETI ("Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence") in the movie Contact, provided $220,000 to keep the Institute's telescopes functioning.
"We are absolutely thrilled that thousands of people from all over the world stepped forward to declare their support for SETI science just when help was needed the most," said SETI through a press release.
As they continue to search for long-term funding, the Institute plans to use the money to study several Kepler planets, which were discovered by NASA scientists in early February. These planets are thought to be within a certain distance from their corresponding stars to be capable of supporting liquid water and thus potential life.
Sources
- Bill Chappell. SETI Plans To Resume Listening For Aliens Next Month, Thanks To Donations — NPR News, August 16, 2011
- Nicholas Jackson. With Jodie Foster's Support, SETI to Resume Search for Aliens — The Atlantic, August 16, 2011
- Rik Myslewski. Shuttered SETI reboots ET pursuit — The Register, August 15, 2011
Source & Attribution
Originally published by Wikinews on August 18, 2011. Original author: Wikinews.
CC BY 2.5. Photograph: SETI's Allen Telescope Array
Image: Colby Gutierrez-Kraybill. Photo: Colby Gutierrez-Kraybill Allen Telescopes Soda Blasting Source file. CC BY 2.0. CC BY 2.0.
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