Mar 2006

Lecture 43: Life in the Universe, Part I

Are we alone in the Universe? This is the first part of a 2-part lecture that will explore the question of life and the Universe. We will look at the conditions needed for life, and address the question of how often we expect those conditions to be satisfied in our own Galaxy. In ... Show More

47m 54s

Mar 2006

Lecture 42: Time Travel

Can we travel through time? This is not a frivilous, science-fiction kind of question. Certain restricted kinds of time travel are in fact allowed by classical General Relativity. This lectures takes up this question, and looks at some of the surprising answers that have been fou ... Show More

34m 5s

Mar 2006

Lecture 41: Dark Matter & Dark Energy

We are not made of the same matter as most of the Universe! This surprising conclusion, that the ordinary matter we are made of (protons, neutrons, and electrons) constitute only 13% or so of the total matter in the Universe, the rest being in the form of Dark Matter. Further, th ... Show More

43m 31s

Nov 2007

Lecture 46: Are We Alone? Life in the Universe

Are we alone in the Universe? This lecture explores the question of how we might go about finding life on planets around other stars. Rather than talking about speculative ideas, like the Drake Equation or SETI, I am instead taking the approach of posing it as a problem of what t ... Show More

41m 23s

May 2019

Will we ever find alien life?

3/6 In this instalment of The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry, Hannah and Adam boldly go in search of scientists who are hunting for ET, spurred on by questions sent in by listeners across the globe, from Australia to Columbia. They start by asking how we define life and why we ... Show More

27m 29s

Feb 2024

Where Could We Find Life in the Solar System?

We now know that the universe is vast and filled with billions of stars. But where could we find life? It's such a big place to search, so why not start with our own solar system. What are we doing to search for life here? Natasha Carr, a PhD candidate studying physics and space ... Show More

33m 6s

Sep 2007

Lecture 01: Introduction to Astronomy 161

What is Astronomy? What is Science? What is the course all about? Brief introductory remarks after going over course mechanics on the first day of Astronomy 161 for Autumn Quarter 2007. Recorded 2007 Sep 19 in 1000 McPherson Lab on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University ... Show More

13m 48s

Nov 2009

Lecture 32: The Lives of Stars

Why do stars shine? How long do they shine? This lecture describes the physics of stars on the main sequence, describes the mass-luminosity relation of main sequence stars, introduces nuclear fusion power and the nuclear fusion lifetimes of stars. From this we gain an important i ... Show More

46m 51s

Dec 2016

295 TMD What Is the Probability that Alien Life Exists?

Are we alone in the universe? If so, why? If not, where is everybody? Thankfully, math can help us with these astronomically profound questions. Keep on listening to learn all about the probability of extraterrestrial life. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2isqx83

9m 45s

Dec 2009

Astronomy 141 Podcast Teaser

A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in modern astronomy.

1m 2s

Mar 2021

Cosmic Queries – Life on Exoplanets with Sara Seager

Is there life on other planets? On this episode of StarTalk, Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Matt Kirshen dig into the search for extraterrestrial life with exoplanet expert and author of the memoir, “Smallest Lights in the Universe,” astrophysicist Sara Seager. NOTE: StarTalk+ P ... Show More

50m 9s

Lecture 44: Life, the Universe, and Ever...