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 this part, we introduce the Drake Equation and make some basic
estimates. T ... Show More
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
Jun 2009
Telescopes that Rocked Our World
This year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of the first telescope. On this week’s show, we reflect on how telescopes have shifted our perspective on how small we are in size, space, and time. We also discuss how they help astronomers discover new and interesting aspec ... Show More
56 m