Are We Really Alone?
The Search Has Only Begun!

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The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is ongoing. The SETI Institute remains active in the field, using powerful telescopes and managing various projects. Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) are no more; we now have Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Walt Pickut is a scientific author and the author of the true story, “The First Counterspy.” He is a long-term member of the Martz-Kohl Observatory and the perfect person to present recent factual findings as well as a bit of speculation. Walt says, “the answer is still out there!”

The latest Pentagon report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena was published in January 2024. NASA also had a public meeting last year on the subject. The Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) reviewed sightings dating back 75+ years. While they found no verifiable evidence that any UAP sighting represented alien technology, the Pentagon report acknowledged the need for further investigation. About 2% of the observation database still remains mysterious. Walt presents short outtakes of the Pentagon and NASA reports with his own “spin” and discusses the nature of real scientific evidence.

SETI research is entering a new era with increased data analysis power, open source platforms for citizen science, and new equipment on Earth and in space that are examining more than just radio waves. Walt talks about new advances and shows clips of actual SETI researchers describing their work.

As part of Walt’s presentation, there was a fun and lively audience participation portion where Drake’s equation for estimating the possibility of intelligent life in our galaxy was run in real time. Various factors, that need to be deduced or estimated, affect the outcome’s (intelligent life) probability. These factors were solicited from the audience.

Walter W. Pickut is a freelance writer, author, and past editor and investigative reporter at the Jamestown Gazette. He has earned BS degrees in biology and in communication, an MS degree in human physiology from Fairleigh-Dickenson University in NJ, and graduate training in mass communication at SUNY Buffalo. Walt finds the investigation of SETI and the UFO/UAP phenomenon fascinating. Walt is also a board member of the Marshal Martz Memorial Astronomical Association Inc. (MMMAA), which operates the Martz-Kohl Observatory.

Links mentioned in Walt’s talk:

 

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