How NASA is answering the question: Are we alone? | Shawn Domagal-Goldman | TEDxMidAtlantic

NASA astrobiologist and space scientist Shawn Domagal-Goldman is part of a team looking for life beyond Earth. NASA is flying missions to search for habitable environments beyond Earth and is planning missions to look for life in any habitable places it finds.
Shawn also works on the Curiosity mission, which is a rover driving around Mars looking for past habitable environments.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@abbi3439]

Woow this is another level I learn a lot from this clip

[@noekhalfa]

That gave me chills Shawn! This makes me excited to keep watching the progress of NASA over the next 15 years. When will the High Def telescope be launched? Also thanks for emphasizing the importance of team diversity, I completely agree and in a very diff field am focusing on that this year in my own team!

[@annamosier1950]

very good work

[@imicca]

Just wanna say this, we are 100% not alone in universe. Legit info 10/10 ign

[@bassimkiani5504]

We are not alone. The Universe is so big and so vast that it is just impossible for there not to be intelligent life. We live on nothing but a pale blue dot. Our existence is the best proof that we have. If life in the Universe didn't exist, then we wouldn't.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

If you said there is a greater than 99% chance, I could easily agree. The problem is, that we don't know everything, and we never will come even close to that.

[@OldHickory7]

@@bassimkiani5504 There's more Stars in the universe than grains of sand on the entire planet. The universe is infathominly vast. Not only is it a scientific fact that there is other life oh, but it is a scientific fact that there would have to be many planets out there that have intelligent life. That's using mathematics. The problem is, these places hundreds of thousands and millions of light-years away. Can you imagine how far away a million light-years is? You can't. Even if you were smart, you couldn't imagine it. It's something no one can relate to. Which also means that it's a scientific fact that we will never be able to even communicate with ones that far out much less visit them. PS it's impossible to travel at light speed, and even if you could it would still be millions of years.

[@bassimkiani5504]

@@OldHickory7 but also, if you can generate a warp field (which is what NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is trying to do), then theoretically you could travel faster than light (the Alcubierre Drive or the "Warp Drive" is a mathematically proven concept). but yes, even with such equipment, such celestial bodies will be just too far away from our reach.

[@stefanbjarnason251]

@@OldHickory7 "The universe is infathominly vast. Not only is it a scientific fact that there is other life oh, but it is a scientific fact that there would have to be many planets out there that have intelligent life." - anonymous Thank you, anonymous, for making it clear that you're not a scientist.

[@Louis-op4zj]

really good pitch!

[@muheen6699]

I didn't really look at when this video was posted but at the end when he said 'Madam President', I looked at the date and chuckled a bit.

[@rightmarker1]

I laughed like a drain 😆😆😆. Well - it’s now May 2021 - perhaps he’ll get his wish but not the way he thought. 😉 - and then heaven help us all . . .

[@pedersteenberg2010]

WOW

[@cosmobiologist]

Awesome talk! Shawn is one of the coolest people working for NASA.

[@anthonydwyer4]

Lol when he said Maddam President 😂😂😂

[@kevinrasulo1067]

I came to the comments as soon as he said it lol

[@jinkeys4]

Boy that aged like milk

[@jamesmaultsby5588]

Obviously not a time traveler.

[@chigal7778]

Its 2021, you meant Madam Trump👍🙂

[@marcuscrowley6496]

Great talk. This fellow explained everything so clearly.

[@dizzydave578]

What if there was life that didn't rely on oxygen and water to live? That makes the possibilities even more endless. Crazy to think about how small we are.

[@young1939]

Some where out in the vast reaches of space there is a being looking up at the night sky wondering if there is life out there. Yes, there is, we are that life.

[@tfsalnave1]

I've heard of that theory of the distance from the sun (a star) doesn't necessarily determine the temperature of the planet. Their atmosphere did, ex. Like Venus is hotter than Mercury... 🤔

[@gngraves]

It's made up speculation. Just look up and come up with a theory and you too can become a scientist!!

[@pwilll]

@@gngraves He totally could if it explains a phenomenon well enough!

[@johnheigis83]

Add: the eternity behind us, to the omni-infinity of the multi-universe around us = we cannot possibly be, alone!

[@trevordowning6705]

Brilliant !

[@billykkutter]

One of the best Ted Talks on the internet. Well said.

[@phy29]

if you rise the temperature at constant pressure of telescope at liquid mirror you can obtain a best view for more if you blink you can see sooner in time .....

[@blanckieification]

Another hypothesis: life(as we know it) can only occur when we think the factors are suitable

[@gwillis9797]

He should be talking about getting to them. We haven't made an engine that could do what we want.

[@billheffley2455]

It takes more than the right conditions. It takes more than physical elements. It takes information. Information implies design. Complex Information does not arise just out of happenstance.

[@zeebluebro4166]

He guessed the Cubs winning lol

[@yoseflife]

i hope that there are life on other stars and that we will find a way to contact them, it should be interesting and it will be a life changing

[@marioncawley1343]

I think that we should keep our heads down and stop drawing attention to our planet

[@cheapbastard990]

He never mentioned intelligent life or technological life. Given our only example so far (Earth) it seems likely that life may be relatively common in the universe since it started here virtually as soon as life was possible here. But it also seems that technological life is likely extremely rare since it's only happened once here with countless millions of species over billions of years. It's unlikely we will ever be contacting another technological life form. The universe if a big place, and so there well may be many others. But if it's that rare we may be alone in the galaxy and so might as well be alone in the universe. Even if there are a few others in this galaxy, they may be too far away to ever detect.

[@firecat3613]

It has been 4 years - almost to the day - since this video was uploaded. During these 4 years, TESS had been launched (spring 2019) and spectronomy has begun, with priority given to 4 specific locations. One of these locations is very close - from our point of view - to Hercules Xi (One of the stars in the Hercules constellation, which is not too far from the constellation Lyra) The specific star is HD 164595, also known as HIP 88194, affectionately called, "Hera." It is approximately 93 light-years away and is a mere 27 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius) hotter than our sun. At 4.5 billion years, Hera is slightly younger than our 4.6 billion year-old sun. It is basically the same size and mass; however it seems to be more stable and less volatile... that 11 year sunspot cycle we experience... Hera doesn't appear to have that problem. Think of Hera as our sun's twin sister, who was born a few minutes later and with a little better attitude. Essentially, that would mean life around Hera would have a better chance to develop than it would here! A few months back, a small team of researchers determined that there may be life somewhere near Hera... and I don't mean microbial life, but multicellular life. From preliminary tests, we have discovered what seems to be an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere somewhere near that star; most likely from a planet we have yet to find! Along with this we have also detected traces of methane and argon. As one NASA researcher put it, "Be it a life form that is eons ahead of us or nothing more advanced than a ground shrew, someone or some thing is farting!" Please note, this information is currently in the process of being peer reviewed and cannot yet be taken as verification of anything more than, "Hey... we think we found something. Mind taking a look at it and see if you see what we think we saw? Just to make sure we don't bias anything, we're not telling you what we think we saw..." This whole verification process could take between 2 to 6 years, dependent upon the length of that planet's orbit.

[@mugumyapaultheafricannomad9488]

Thanks for sharing this information, I knew nothing about Hera🤔🤔.. let me try to hunt for more information about it, interesting

[@slightgrinful]

Good at the beginning that started crashing hard

[@blackholeentry3489]

If he had seen the classic "Flying Saucer" fly low and slow over his house, like I did in the late 60's, he wouldn't be asking this question.

[@RIOT690]

Ooh, describe it, sounds awesome. How close was it, did you see any marking that screamed US GOV? Or was it blank with barely no symbolism, that might just be a human thing, to symbolize everything in shapes and colors.

[@blackholeentry3489]

@@RIOT690 I've been telling this tale for over 50 years, but funny thing is it seems to be never far from my current thoughts. I attended the 20th McMenamins UFO festival last year and am planning on going again this year. OK.... In the late 60s, in addition to my full time job, I ran a car repair business on the side. Sometime in December I was finishing up a job on the local chiropractor's 59 Edsel. As it was an unheated shop, it was cold and about 10 PM I decided to go into the house and grab a cup of hot coffee. My shop was detached and as I was walking to the house, something made me look up just in time to see a very low classic UFO flying saucer fly directly over me and my house. It's possible it was making a hum that caught my attention, but I'm not saying so. Although it was dark, my unshielded front porch light lit it up really well. My house was maybe 30' long and the UFO was about the same width and I'd say no more than 50' above me, making it appear quite large. On it's belly in the center was a tight triangle of three brilliant red lights. It wasn't until the next day, as I was telling coworkers about it, I suddenly realized that although that craft was quite low, it never made a whisper. No evident writing or markings, but then it was dark except for my porch light. Although it moved over me, as it went over my house, the house blocked it from any farther view, but I have kicked myself ever since for not going farther past my house so I could have watched it farther after it passed over. At the time I was cold and just wanting some hot coffee, it hadn't fully yet registered what I had just witnessed, but if I could do it over, I would proceeded to the front of the house and watched it until it disappeared. Also, I was in my mid 20's and even though I thought I knew it all, I had a lot to learn. As soon as the weather gets much warmer, I'm riding my motorcycle down to Roswell to check out the UFO museum there.

[@antonab1]

My Mom saw one too in the late 60's. She said it darted in different directions really fast.

[@neilanderson891]

At 3:32, Shawn takes a breath, and then quickly says "following the [liquid] water" is NASA's strategy for finding ET worlds

[@eastbayej]

I've seen an egg shape UFO go so fast, it disappeared. Leaving behind sky tracks .

[@SimonSozzi7258]

Hillary lost... but that was cute 😉

[@jillhoskins9966]

She won the popular vote, meaning that more Americans wanted her as President than Drumpf.

[@Navigator001]

@@jillhoskins9966 Yes, Thousands of dead ppl, and illegals wanted her. We need voter ID

[@pimpshiza]

5 to 1 Cubbies though!

[@salvest3rr]

@@jillhoskins9966 but did she win? Pepehands she doesn't know.

[@tomjones239]

@@jillhoskins9966 "I don`t know anyone, ANYONE, ladies and gentlemen, who does`t feel a lightning bolt of fear every time they see Maxine Waters` face!" -- Tucker Carlson

[@TheNoodlyAppendage]

You should look specifically for CFC's, nature does not make them, they persist for a fairly long time, but not geologic time. So their presence is undeniable proof of technological life, or else something else exciting that we have never seen before.

[@paulskillman6634]

Sounds like what he is saying is that 20% of planets of our galaxy probably have life on them. It is a good thing they are so far away because otherwise, they would all be warring with each other.

[@TheFoxygrandpa69]

I bet he feels that egg now with that madam president comment lol

[@Skelstoolbox]

HAHAHA I'm a Canadian and even I wanted to stand up and say "MAGA" and "Go Trump", in response to this dickhead's presumptuous nature.. That's why Trump won, much to my Mom's chagrin that I support him.. ;)

[@BradWatsonMiami]

@@Skelstoolbox : Donald Trump = 666 using the 'Evil=48 Code' of A=49, B50, C51...Z74. He's the current Antichrist whose actions are the opposite of the Christ. WARNING! Repent while you still can.

[@Texas75023]

Jer Bear - A liberal recognize the idiocy of their Delusion? Nah. Never happen. It's like the Democrats who funded the Russian Dossier every getting prosecuted and jailed.

[@Jake-zp8gi]

@@BradWatsonMiami ughhh dude you need to put down that crack pipe and back away

[@MickNJ1979]

I bet he feel it in his budget

[@jacobpotatod7008]

We are not alone its just the universe is so big universe is a dangerous place because there is so many intelegence live and they are just like us

[@randomrangoon5476]

I don't think we are alone. We are being left alone

[@Mario-yx1pq]

You got your miracle with the Cubs haha

[@whirledpeas3477]

We live on a planet with billions of people and yes we are still alone 🌎

[@brothermichael8338]

Are you telling me if we work together we can accomplish anything?! 😲

[@KiranPPatil]

Huge selfgoal at 14:35.

[@turtle081000]

Madame President B.S.

[@phy29]

You need metamatter to detect the other photon thanks to small accelerator of particule

[@nokiepruitt7715]

Madam president lol that didn't age well

[@nick_knack]

Ya well. Trump is just as much of a Madam. Crying on Twitter like a 15 yr old teenage girl who hates her parents. Stays up til 3am. And tans too much.

[@Nwp31]

Nokie Pruitt, I thought the exact same thing. Made me laugh.

[@salvest3rr]

@@nick_knack mad? The only 15 yr old is you. Obsessed with pokemon and spewing insults about people you will never be able to meet.

[@jordogo]

@@nick_knack that was a very sexist comment. you should be ashamed.

[@jblgti50]

Thank god

[@frhe1970]

Scientific information seems to advance so quickly making even 3 year old publishings such as this seem outdated

[@DavidWilliams-el4zt]

I think that little insects and small fungii spore life form and small algae plant life must exist on Mars or in small caves or underground just below the surface of the land there

[@dingliankevin5854]

I Believe we are not alone

[@babyeureka04]

Of course. There is bugs.

[@markuk7010]

We are alone. We always have been. And we always will be.

[@adrianfellows6832]

your grammar is atrocious and so is your dogmatic attitude. :(

[@skylershank9309]

NASA would be the last agency to ask if anyone is out there.

[@user-ov1ge6gw2t]

I’m sure there are like us out there!!

[@amalmanu2140]

Me too

[@TimeWizardofToday]

Great presentation until 14:25

[@CodeByNight]

14:25 just crashed and burns

[@1KSarah]

"The only gas giant in the solar system is NASA." (John Lear).

[@OldHickory7]

This duration is a bit of a problem, as it makes space exploration a painstakingly slow process. Even if we hopped aboard the space shuttle discovery, which can travel 5 miles a second, it would take us about 37,200 years to go one light-year.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

Currently*

[@BradWatsonMiami]

@@aylbdrmadison1051: The US has a secret stargate program that began with the Philadelphia Experiment in October 1943 which included Albert Einstein and Tesla's papers.

[@unnamedchannel1237]

@@BradWatsonMiami That Philadelphia experiment is creepy if there is truth to it.

[@Sugar87Tits]

When will we figure out that this narrow minded individuality is whats killing the planet? We are here to work together to solve problems not fight with each other over space....

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

I'm going to like your comment anyway, because I think you simply didn't word it very well, but your heart and mind are definitely in the right place. This is obvious by your second sentence. I only take issue with the word "individual" in the first sentence. That's because what the _other side_ is against, is individualism. Also the speaker here is correctly saying that we are stronger as a team because we are individuals, not members of an exclusive group that fears losing their control over others. You have to be careful these days because so many that are against freedom and individuality, purposefully use words that are meaningless when used in the ways they often use them. This only gains in popularity though, simply because so many these days do not understand the actual meanings of many words. I would replace the word _individuality_ with the words _greed_ and or _racism._ The word _fear_ works to, because fear is where all biases and greed come from. Linguistic literacy is the basis for all other forms of education.

[@zaydolla1]

I always wanted to write a book about our advancements in history and how they all revolve around war ... military personnel needing equipment to win or how medicine blossomed in Rome around sports and fighting

[@shotgunstanbo]

Vulcans,is the answer.

[@cheapbastard990]

Einstein proved the planet Vulcan did not exist. Seriously! Google it if you don't get the reference. :)

[@abelchavez5647]

I think each galaxy has 1 maybe two or in other words very few Worlds with Life and that would explain the paradox , also because maybe a solar system must have constellations

[@saveriosalemme5366]

Abel Chavez 😳😳😳

[@abelchavez5647]

Possibility

[@nonamecieso9506]

It's good to find a life on other world and if we find it, how are we going there? We can never visit another planet in our life time

[@velastra1989]

We already have...... .

[@James-og6cx]

What about using artificial wavelengths of light like a sonar? Send our light to nearby stars and blip planets like fish on a fish finder.

[@Aurinkohirvi]

NASA:s answer: national security, no comments.

[@rvanzo925]

There’s no one else. We are alone in the universe.

[@bassimkiani5504]

We are not alone. The Universe is so big and so vast that it is just impossible for there not to be intelligent life. We live on nothing but a pale blue dot. Our existence is the best proof that we have. If life in the Universe didn't exist, then we wouldn't.

[@mfly2327]

You are

[@Adrostos]

damn this guy really crashed and burned at the end of this presentation.

[@deayrs]

Dylan Burts - Which of the hypothesis presented did he not explain adequately¿ How did he not communicate the composition issue of this and other scientific communities¿

[@Adrostos]

@@deayrs by the end of his presentation, he couldnt make up his mind if he wanted to be an activist, or a scientist. to be fair, he could be fair. He should have considered bringing up his agenda to lecture the audience and viewers about diversity and his personal views of the government in another discussion. it was irrelevant to his actual topic.

[@tomjones239]

@@Adrostos He`s a JOOOOOOOOOOOO so he has to put down whites every chance he gets. Why not put some diversity in Israel?

[@seankim4137]

One of the worst talks I’ve seen

[@bratis99]

@@tomjones239 ?

[@Daniel-gj2cd]

Sooo.. how's that call going?

[@spookyninja4098]

The Pentagon has admitted the US Navy chased 3 UFOs that out performed anything man made. 3 videos were released to the public. Alien life is already visiting our world.

[@edwardb.5214]

Spooky Ninja The US Navy has admitted to no such thing you dope.

[@snowman374th]

Every time I watch one of these they remind me of how much I was lied to before. lol

[@marcusreid4890]

Simple, Yes or No!

[@JonVonKohorn]

While this ted talk presenter obviously earns high marks for his raw charisma and chiseled good looks, the presentation lacks substance with regards to reconciling modern flat earth evidence that has been proven notwithstanding efforts to conceal the truth by our lizard shape shifting political hierarchy. 4/5 stars but definitely added to my bookmarks for a re-watch on my next lonely Friday evening.

[@davesatterfield4717]

You reference as fact that "modern flat earth evidence ...t has been proven" and that statement should never be allows to go ridiculed. It is basic to the scientific method that one never completely proves anything to be true, but hypotheses can be proven wrong. Our understanding of how the Universe works and how that explains what we experience is the result of great minds and ideas developed over many centuries and tested by experiments and observations of the best minds over those same centuries. That understanding explains what we commonly see of the objects in the heavens to am amazing accuracy. It explains why on a clear day at the beach, we can actually see with our eyes, the curvature of the Earth and how the celestial objects nightly pass below the horizon toward the West and then rise from below the horizon each morning in the Eastern sky. More than that, this has revealed a truly magnificent breadth to the Universe and existence that fills our minds with wonder and awe. I truly pity those who turn away and deny this. What a small mean universe they are trapped in.

[@JonVonKohorn]

@@davesatterfield4717 what a long comment you wrote that failed to acknowledge the beauty of the presenter right in front of your screen the whole time. You are like a hungry person in a restaurant who does not see the juicy steak dinner right before his eyes. Next time try being true to yourself. Peace be with you.

[@SledDog5678]

You are a flat-Earth believer?

[@yootoober2009]

It is simple, We are the aliens we are looking for. We're the proof of life. We are that proof that life exists - They Are Not Alone.

[@ratzabur]

Isn't it correct that pluto crosses the path of other planets and planets don't do that?

[@kool_kid_hunter4915]

Star Wars irl in next 1000 bet

[@LePageChannel]

Over 4000 exoplanets found now in 2019. 4 times the amount presented here and only 3 years after.

[@gngraves]

So keep paying NASA right? That's your agenda

[@MoHiker69]

.....well he did call the Cubs winning the WS

[@RpattoYT]

ARR man I wished he'd stop blowing into his mic

[@stevebracken225]

I don’t want to call up and say ‘Madam President I found a planet with life, unless I’m sure I did.’ That dated the video.

[@jackcummings4121]

I was thinking about all the trillions of planets out there, and if we are the only planet with life. Then I thought, what if the Earth, blinked out ? Just another lifeless planet. What's left ? Just a bunch of stuff floating around in space. What would be the point of it all ? For something to exist, there must be a witness to its existence. For something to exist, it must have purpose. Nothing exists for itself....It must be part of something greater....Working like a finely tuned watch.

[@lesmonkmorison2828]

Universe was created to harness energy. Information is energy. Life credates information by aligning chaos into patterns. Our minds carry that information to the source warping the information to lower dimensions which is converted into energy when it reaches there. Hence more energy is created in this dimension and the universe expands. The more information you create the more energy

[@bernardmcdaniels5432]

Some energy should be the main topic?

[@clementmariostlouis8926]

Telescope would have to travel in the orbit of Pluto to catch images of life in exoplanets by 2090,Yes, there is other life in our galaxy.

[@Waldo-Manfred]

what if i'm gay bro and i can't even admit it

[@awakeawareness1759]

Contact within 20 or 25 years!

[@No-cx9nk]

Yeah some of us would be middle aged dads by that time

[@suryakaushik.tutorialsandp6450]

What if some of the planets out there has life on them now but because they are so far away , their light reaches us in a thousands of years !!! So now we are watching their far past ???

[@shinjireference3568]

what if life on other planets already know we’re here, they just dont have the technology to reach us yet.

[@19Armada84]

ProPain or are smart enough to not bother. With structures like the great pyramid and many others, and us still incapable of duplicating, leave alone figuring them out... i would not come say ‘hi’ either. We rather destroy our planet by “playing” with nuclear material than we bother sustaining our Only home. Leave alone clean it up. The technology to reach us has been around for millenia. So has their conciousness capacity to not come here. Sad truth.

[@alekzamonski1179]

Or we’re waiting for their transmissions or them to get to us. Or worse yet.... either/both of those things are already here!! Man I love conspiracy theories

[@poppopN]

@@19Armada84 we can actually duplicate pyramids with modern technogy and we have a fairly good idea about how they were built

[@redglazedeyez6652]

.... looking at our blue dot....... you would be able to see all the thousands of satellites and space debris flying around the planet.......

[@ianian8022]

He's a Cubs fan. ha ha ha. He look that one up in a book like he looks up stars in the sky.

[@ernestimken6969]

7.5 billion people cannot be alone.

[@markborkowski965]

Well the Cubs won the series the same year this was posted. He must have Been one happy SOB

[@deathpallie]

and then cried his eyes out on election night

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

@Deathpallie : It is an obvious fact that leaders are not always good people. I highly doubt even you would dispute that as a fact. Therefore, _losing_ an election doesn't automatically make someone cry. I understand this will probably be difficult for you very soon, but you would be wise to remember that because even if your dreams of slavery come true next year, there will come a time when you are the one crying (I know this because that's how people react to things in *your* mind).

[@redglazedeyez6652]

we are alone

[@bassimkiani5504]

We are not alone. The Universe is so big and so vast that it is just impossible for there not to be intelligent life. We live on nothing but a pale blue dot. Our existence is the best proof that we have. If life in the Universe didn't exist, then we wouldn't.

[@redglazedeyez6652]

@@bassimkiani5504 where is it then? we have telescopes that can see far far far far away. we would seen planets with satellites orbiting them. with space stations. if they were more advanced we would see flying spacecraft around the planet. no other planet is showing Any signs of this. none. no radio waves..no signals. its dead. we are alone.. or we are the first intelligent life. intelligent life is not common. in all the millions of vast species of life on earth... only humans have become intelligent

[@flipwonderland4181]

Bassim Kiani h

[@LeonTichy]

Proxima Centauri is over 4 light years away. You can’t travel that in 40 years.

[@OldHickory7]

37,200 years × 4 years (and that's at 5 miles per second).

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

Currently*

[@OldHickory7]

@@aylbdrmadison1051 obviously we are not alone in the near infinite universe. But when the nearest galaxy is 200 light-years away our only chance of ever finding advanced life out there is via light speed communication. Meaning, that communication would take at least 400 years of travel time. It is scientifically impossible to go anywhere near light-speed. To actually travel there using the most incredible advanced technology hundred years into the future would still take millions of years. Even though, it would take tens of millions of years now. At the most, using non delusional optimism, you might be able to cut that time to 1/10 and make it a million years. How about, just make it the completely absurd impossible speed of lightspeed, it will still take 200+ years. Idiocracy is in effect. For humans to even still exist in 400 years would be the first miracle. Actual travel, absurd.

[@3rdrock]

@@OldHickory7 Better add lots of zeros to that nearest galaxy claim.

[@seydabomb9859]

@@OldHickory7 It is absurd, such as other ideas are absurd. The whole concept of the internet, as we know it, seemed absurd even 50 years ago. That doesn't mean that we should view this idea as impossible. The reason we advance as a civilization is because we are determined to pursue ideas that have only slight possibilities. I agree that lightspeed is impossible (just looking at the physics of it). BUT there is still a possibility of fast travel via wormholes. Time to embrace absurdity.

[@DoggoWillink]

In my opinion, a science talk shouldn’t be addressing sociological or political issues that are unrelated to the subject matter. Granted, science isn’t done in public lectures (and there is no evidence that this guy has any bias affecting his actual work), but the public perception of science, especially for astronomy, is highly important. It doesn’t matter if I agree with it or not, even though for many of the angry commenters that is their main concern it seems. If you want to promote diversity, then encourage people to go into STEM fields, that’s how you might create diversity in a merit based system. Do that, go do talks about that. I’m all for that, but it’s not part of the science here and these issues carry a heavily politicized connotation today. Sticking them inside of a science talk is weird to me. You can see people here responding to the few things he said by calling him a “cultist”; does anyone think these clearly unbiased non-cultists are going to continue watching and caring about the science he’s disseminating? Something to consider.

[@gwillis9797]

By the time we even reach 1/4 the distance every he knows you know and I know will be dead and who knows if anyone will be interested in the future.

[@telmoprl1963]

No your not alone

[@flipwonderland4181]

Paulo Rostok you’re*

[@CarlosFlores-gm7dv]

We are alone. Which means WE own the entire Universe. Ain't that some sh...

[@andrewwash8005]

Guess you missed the boat on the President call didn't you?

[@keirokeiro1976]

Where's my shovel...

[@chazbuck9330]

As usual, I got everyone at NASA to praise you in the comments.

[@kirkwoodpaterson9510]

You would. Can't even get a man to the ISS, and you're already asking for money to get to another earth. All you have is more conformists egging each other on. Nothing of value.

[@rolsondimakutosan4643]

Staring..

[@screaminginsilence6560]

HIS iQ JUST DIED AT THE END :/

[@Mood-fs4vw]

It seemed like he was trying to remember the sentence 🤣

[@Gjoob.725]

Their are other galaxies 🌌.... how are we the only one

[@KalemStLouis]

Solar systems* there’s most likely so much life in our own galaxy

[@westonarey2502]

An astrobiologist gives a talk about life in outer space. The word itself means someone who studies life in the air, or as we use it, in the stars. Isn't it strange that he can give an entire TED presentation about something he has never seen? An astrophysicist can give a talk about orbital motion, stellar formation, universe expansion because he has seen and can measure those things. This guy shows a slide from Tatooine as part of his scientific discourse. He said he was reading different literature. Maybe he's been studying Sand People. Click and Clack, the NPR car guys were called on the carpet by a listener who heard them talking on the air about electric brakes for trailers. It was obvious to at least one person in the radio audience that neither of them understood the technology. The man wrote in with a question for them: "Can two people talking together who both know nothing about a subject actually know less than one person who knows nothing about that that subject?" I like to call this "The Click and Clack Principle." The question was rhetorical, but there is a very workable answer: Yes two (or more) people working together can plumb the depths of ignorance much more effectively than one person working alone. Life does not arise just because conditions are favorable. We now know that a living cell is much more complicated than Manhattan Island. Bill Gates said that the storage and retrieval system and the protein synthesis programming of DNA/RNA is much more complicated than any computer program written by men. You don't believe in miracles? You do if you imagine life springing from slime.

[@theodoresweger4948]

I think the answer is here on earth not in space, can substance or chemicals be brought together in such a maner as to creat life and what is the probibility if thas is proved.. else if if we find microbial life on othe planets we can start speculating the probibility...

[@Pinkielover]

are we alone ? who cares . take care of Earth first.. so much money wasted and we still have no health care, and people still are homeless and hungry..

[@sammylooney4644]

A person might think you care since you came here. I am assuming you knew the topic.

[@James-ke5sx]

If there was intelligent life on another planet it would probably become extinct just like us before having the ability to travel the universe

[@Desekratedd]

Well that's pretty shallow lol

[@James-ke5sx]

@@Desekratedd The entire ice age is coming to an end. And when it does so does the human race. We cannot survive in these temperatures. And that's just one problem.

[@jsmariani4180]

We're still hanging in, although as a civilization for how long? Still we may have interstellar capabilities in 100 years or so.

[@James-ke5sx]

@@jsmariani4180 no matter where you go in the universe it will look exactly the same as where you just came from so what's the use of travelling. Space is just filled with dead rocks an exploding Stars and nothing else

[@alekzamonski1179]

This talk went downhill at the end once he started promoting his political agenda. At first I thought he meant everyone there was nerds lol (and don’t worry I’m one too, so don’t take offense to that.) But why must we strive for diversity? We obviously should NOT push minorities or women out of the field on that basis, but I don’t think we should try to force more of them into it either. That will only push out other people solely on the basis of their race or gender identity, who are equally or potentially more qualified. If you ask me, we need equality, and that’s the end all be all, not forced diversity via affirmative action or worse yet quotas, just to evenly represent races and gender. I think the best way to do this is to just not consider those factors at all, and remove all methods of possible unconscious bias, if you are worried about that, because while I don’t buy it, I’d certainly take that over forcing diversity.

[@aidkgjehebejje]

You might not find planets like ours anyway, as maybe life has already consumed the planet (or destroyed by natural disaster) or life has not developed yet. If there is life out there I guess it is going to be very hard to find it.