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A Stellar Job

A Stellar Job

FromBig Picture Science


A Stellar Job

FromBig Picture Science

ratings:
Length:
54 minutes
Released:
Jan 4, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

ENCORE  The stars are out tonight. And they do more than just twinkle. These boiling balls of hot plasma can tell us something about other celestial phenomena. They betray the hiding places of black holes, for one. But they can also fool us. Find out why one of the most intriguing discoveries in astrobiology – that of the potentially habitable exoplanet Gliese 581g – may have been just a mirage.
Plus, the highest levels of ultraviolet light ever mentioned on Earth’s surface puzzles scientists: is it a fluke of nature, or something manmade?
And a physicist suggests that stars could be used by advanced aliens to send hailing signals deep into space.
Guests:

Paul Robertson – Postdoctoral fellow, Penn State Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds
Mike Joner – Research professor of astronomy at Brigham Young University
Nathalie Cabrol – Planetary scientist, SETI Institute
Anthony Zee – Theoretical physicist at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara

First aired July 23, 2014.
Released:
Jan 4, 2016
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Big Picture Science: A smart and humorous take on emerging trends in science and technology. Tune in and make contact with science. We broadcast and podcast every week. bigpicturescience.org