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Kathleen Burton                                    March 3, 2003
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-1731 or 650/604-9000
E-mail: kburton{at}mail.arc.nasa.gov

RELEASE: 03-14AR
NOTE TO EDITORS AND NEWS DIRECTORS: Members of the news media and 
public are invited to attend the fourth talk in this year's 2002-2003 
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, to be held on Wednesday, 
March 5, at 7 p.m. PST at Foothill College's Smithwick Theater, Los 
Altos Hills, Calif. More information is available by calling the 
series hotline at 650/949-7888.

SETI ASTRONOMER TO EXPLAIN HOW TO ANSWER A CALL FROM SPACE

"What Happens After Contact: Responding to a Message From Space" will 
be the topic of a free, non-technical talk at 7 p.m. PST on Wednesday, 
March 5, at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, Calif. The public is 
invited.

Dr. Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain 
View, Calif., will discuss what plans scientists have if they detect a 
radio message from an alien civilization. He will examine how such 
messages will be verified to avoid hoaxes, how the news might be 
announced to the public and how humanity might reply.

"NASA Ames is pleased to co-sponsor the popular Silicon Valley 
Astronomy Lecture Series, which exemplifies excellence in science 
outreach," said NASA Ames Research Center Director G. Scott Hubbard.

Shostak is renowned for his ability to explain astronomical ideas and 
their implications for society in everyday language and is the author 
of 'Sharing the Universe: Perspectives on Extra- terrestrial Life.'

This is the fourth year of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture 
Series, which is co-sponsored by NASA Ames, Foothill College's 
Division of Physical Science, Mathematics and Engineering, the 
Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the SETI Institute.

The lecture series is held at Foothill College's Smithwick Theater in 
Los Altos Hills. From Interstate 280, exit at El Monte Road and travel 
west to the campus. Visitors must purchase a one-day campus-parking 
permit for $2. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Youths 
over the age of 13 are welcome. More information is available by 
calling the series hotline at 650/949-7888.

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