Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen is back in Antarctica – and Lake Untersee – for another field season of Astrobiology research. Dale’s work is coordinated through the SETI Institute. We’ll be posting his updates here as has been the case since the 1990s. You can find an archive of the reports here. The latest reports:

• Permafrost And Ground-ice Conditions in the Untersee Oasis, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica (Paper)
• 14 December 2024: Departing Novo Station
• 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station
• 20 November 2024: Live From Antarctica (webcast)
• 14 November 2024: The Plumes of Enceladus
• 5 November 2024: Evening In Antarctica (video and large panorama)
• 3 November 2024: Preparing For Science Diving (with video)
• 1 November 2024: Drilling Dive Holes Through The Ice
• 29 October 2024: Base Camp Structures
• 25 October 2024: Setting Up Base Camp (with pics and video)
• 23 October 2024: Preparing For The Traverse
• 20 October 2024: Arrival at Novolazarevskaya Station, Antarctica
• 2024 Preview: Dale Andersen’s Field Report: Preview: 2024 Lake Untersee Field Season
• That Time Star Trek Tents Were Actually Used In Antarctica

Another view of 2 female: 11 male gender ratio of @SETIInstitute board of trustees https://t.co/5zOE82BVK5 #SETI pic.twitter.com/uL1BcacArV — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 27, 2016

Pluto, we have a problem: Some geographical names may not fly on official maps, GeekWire “Some of the best-known names on Pluto ranging from the Sputnik plains to the Hillary and Norgay mountains and the dark Cthulhu Regio may never appear on the International Astronomical Union’s maps, due to a tiff over terminology. Those are just a few of the informal names that have raised questions from members of the […]

Hearing charter “The purpose of the hearing is to review the recent discovery of three super-Earth sized planets by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kepler space telescope. The hearing will also assess the state of exoplanet surveying, characterization, and research; NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program; National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Astronomical Science; as well as coordination within the government and with external partners. NASA and NSF both contribute […]

Vulcan Tops Online Voting to Name Pluto’s Moons’, PC Magazine “Vulcan was the only candidate in the contest run by the SETI Institute to top 100,000 votes, garnering 174,062 votes out of about half a million cast in online voting that ended Monday at 6 a.m. Eastern. “Cerberus” was the other winning name with 99,432 votes, according to the Los Angeles Times.” William Shatner’s Campaign to Name One of Pluto’s […]