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Adam Frank-an "alien optimist" who is well-known for his commentary on national TV, radio and in print-provides a user-friendly crash course on everything we know-or may soon know-about intelligent life in the universe. As Frank acknowledges, like-minded scientists who are interested in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) long faced scorn from their "serious" colleagues, who mostly tried to distance themselves from the "giggle factor": wacky conspiracy theories and the Hollywoodized scenario of little green men. But that skepticism is waning, as interest and, more importantly, funding for SETI have increased in the scientific community and beyond, and-thanks in part to Adam's original research-as we finally have the answers for how and where to go looking. "The human species is poised at the edge of its greatest and most important journey," Frank writes. "Over the past three decades, the scientific search for life in the universe-a field called astrobiology-has exploded. We've discovered planets everywhere in the galaxy, and we've figured out how and where to look for signs of alien life in the atmospheres of these new worlds. We've also looked deep into Earth's almost four-million-year history as an inhabited world. From this view, we've gained new and powerful insights into how planets and life evolve together.. We've also sent robot emissaries to every planet in our solar system. With their wheels or landing pads on the ground, we've begun searching these neighbor worlds for evidence of life existing now or perhaps deep in their past. Most important, we have launched and are building insanely powerful, next-generation telescopes. With these tools, we'll finally go beyond just yelling our opinions about life in the universe at each other."

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