Human beings have always looked at the heavens and asked: Are we alone? Is there life elsewhere in the universe? What is that life like? Unfortunately, people can’t actually travel to other solar systems. Even the closest stars are too far away to visit.

Today, astrophysicists such as Jill Tarter are looking for other ways to search for extraterrestrial life. Jill is the director of Project Phoenix at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. SETI stands for “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” Twice a year, Jill and her team travel to the mountains of Puerto Rico where they use the world’s largest radio telescope to examine nearby stars. They search the sky, listening for radio signals that, if found and verified, would provide strong evidence that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe.

Author Ellen Jackson and photographer Nic Bishop introduce us to a dedicated scientist and her thrilling, rigorous, and awe-inspiring work in the field.