Cosmic Frequencies 2026 Main Event: “Are we alone in the Universe?” Saturday 8th August 7.00 - 10pm. £25.00/ £23.00

A evening of mind-expanding talks with music interludes and audience Q&As.

The Science of Exoplanets:

Dan Pye (Director of Science & Astronomy Communication Kielder Observatory) will explain exoplanets and how astronomers study them for signs of life. How many are there? What are the ‘life signatures’ astronomers are looking for?

SETI and Mysterious Near Earth Objects

Dr Beatriz Villarroel (award winning Swedish astronomer and astrophysicist) will provide an update about how her  ‘UFO papers’ presented at the last Cosmic Frequencies  festival (now peer reviewed and published in high impact journals), have been received by the astrophysics world. She’ll also explain how the search for extraterrestrial probes undertaken by astronomers like herself and Professor Avi Loeb fit into the wider SETI research agenda.

A Sign In Space

Daniela De Paulis is a media artist whose project A Sign In Space involves working with the SETI Institute, the European Space Agency, the Green Bank Observatory and INAF (the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics) to transmit a simulated extraterrestrial message as part of a live performance, using an ESA spacecraft as celestial source. Daniela will talk about how her project involves the public & inter-disciplinary research.

Contact Stories

Ryan Sprague (Somewhere in the Skies Podcast), is an author, media presenter and podcaster who researches the impact that UFO encounters have on ordinary people. Following on from his 2025 presentation  last year, Ryan will share more stories and reflect on whether the experiencer stigma has changed over the last year.

50 Years of Reporting on the Search for ETs

Steve Crabtree (former Executive Producer BBC Sky at Night, Horizon) will present fascinating archival footage which shows how media reporting on the search for extraterrestrial life has changed and evolved over 50 years. How does the science media reflect and shape our expectations of ‘what’s out there’?"