Global Search for Extraterrestrial Life

This past weekend observatories in 13 nations on five continents trained their telescopes on several promising star systems in the search for extraterrestrial life. This coordinated effort is the first of its kind. It indicates just how far the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, SETI, has come. The participating observatories were in Italy, India, Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Sweden, the Netherlands, and several in the United States and Japan. With 500 exoplanets identified and 700 more awaiting confirmation the observations can be more directed and ambitious that in the past.