SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has come up with another way for people around the world to turn alien hunter. The new SETI Live program, announced at TED Los Angeles, presents users with radio frequency signals gathered by the recently restarted Allen Telescope Array (ATA) that emanate from the Kepler field. The field has gained a large amount of attention recently as earth-like, potentially life-supporting exoplanets have been discovered there, making it an exciting prospect for SETI to explore.

By using human intellect rather than an automated system to analyse the radio clips, SETI Live hopes that more potential discoveries will be made. This isn't the first program to try and enlist members of the public in the search — SETI@home, SETI Stars, and SETI Quest all involve people from around the world in gathering and analysing data. However, this high-profile push has a chief difference: the ATA will react live if enough users flag something as interesting, going back for another look at the target area.