Jill Tarter Explains in 30 Seconds Why We're Searching for Aliens

By Nancy Atkinson - June 05, 2014 10:40 AM UTC | Astrobiology

After nearly four decades of of listening for for signs of life in the cosmos, astronomer Jill Tarter is one of a handful of true experts on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). And since 1995 we've known for certain there are other planets out there; the goal now is to find one that's habitable.

"Exoplanets are real,"

Tarter said recently

, talking about how the Kepler planet-hunting mission has changed the concept of SETI. "We are now observing stars where we KNOW there are planets. We've gone from having 20-30 potential targets to having thousands of targets. Kepler is telling us WHERE to look, and we are focusing there."

But so far the search has come up empty. After so long with no luck, why continue? Tarter recently appeared on PBS's

"Secret Lives of Scientists"

and she gave them an answer in less than 30 seconds.

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com