Overview

This is the first collegiate-level textbook to comprehensively cover the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), addressing its theoretical, practical, historical, and social aspects. It explores the nature of alien life, technosignatures, detection methods, and SETI’s place in society and culture. Topics include the Fermi Paradox, Drake Equation, METI, post-detection protocols, and ethical considerations. The book aims to establish SETI as a formal scientific discipline, with defined terminology and literature. Designed for upper-level astronomy undergraduates or astrobiology graduate students, it includes problem sets and extensive references for further study. It is suitable for students in astronomy, biology, geophysics, and related fields. Key features: * Written by a leading researcher in the field * Provides a broad, interdisciplinary approach * Based on the successful SETI courses at Penn State * Flexible assignments and identification of key primary sources allows adaptation for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and even non-astronomy students in related fields

Full Product Details

Author:   Jason Wright (Pennsylvania State University (United States)) ,  Macy Huston (Pennsylvania State University (United States))
Publisher:   Institute of Physics Publishing
Imprint:   Institute of Physics Publishing
ISBN:  

9780750347945

ISBN 10:   0750347945
Publication Date:   31 December 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction and Overview: a) Technosignatures, and SETI as a discipline and part of astrobiology. b) Context: Extrasolar planets, Habitable Zones, future missions c) Perhaps: introduction to key astronomy concepts 2. Radio Technosignatures a) Project Ozma, Cocconi & Morrison b) Frequency / time compression c) The Water Hole d) Radio astronomy and terms e) The Wow! Signal and BLC-1 f) Detectability g) Modern methods 3. Laser Technosignatures a) Schwartz & Townes b) The Horowitz approach c) Optical astronomy and terms d) Detectability e) Modern Methods 4. Solar System Technosignatures a) Bracewell probes b) Detectability c) Modern methods 5. Artifact Technosignatures a) Dyson spheres b) Megastructures in transit c) Detectability d) Modern methods 6. Generalized SETI a) Anomaly detection b) Machine learning and big data c) Modern methods 7. Other technosignatures 8. Strategies of SETI a) Communication SETI b) Beacons and Schelling Points c) Anthropocentrism d) The Nine Axes of Merit e) Upper limits 9. The Drake Equation, and the Kardashev Scale 10. The Fermi Paradox: the optimists’ puzzle a) Fermi’s question and the Hart-Tipler argument b) Galactic settlement c) “Solutions” to the paradox 11. METI a) Examples of METI b) Debates of METI 12. Post-detection Protocols 13. Popular Culture a) UFOs and the Face on Mars b) Tabby’s Star and popular interest 14. Ethics and Futures 15. History: a) Pre-1959: from monsters to aliens b) 1959-1964: the birth of Modern SETI c) 1965-1993: the era of government support in the US and USSR d) 1993-2015: the lean years e) 2015-: resurgence

Reviews

Author Information

**Jason Wright **is a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State, a member of the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds, and director of the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center. His work in SETI includes searches for signs of extraterrestrial industry via waste heat, and the development of curricula in the field. He won the Drake Award in 2019 for his contributions to the studies of exoplanets and SETI.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions