Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
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Top 10 Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
The Copernicus Complex: Are We Special in the Cosmos
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
08/25/24 • 78 min
With Prof. Caleb Scharf (Columbia University)
Is humanity on Earth special or unexceptional? Extraordinary discoveries in astronomy and biology have revealed a universe filled with endlessly diverse planetary systems, and a picture of life as a phenomenon intimately linked with the most fundamental aspects of physics. But just where these discoveries will lead us is not yet clear. We may need to find a way to see past the mediocre status that Copernicus assigned to us 500 years ago. Dr. Scharf helps us to come to grips with the implications of some of the latest scientific research, from the microscopic to the cosmic.
Caleb Scharf is Director of Astrobiology at Columbia University in New York and is considered one of the leading scholars at the interface of astronomy and biology. He is the author of the popular book Gravity’s Engines, which was the basis of the BBC/Science Channel documentary, Swallowed by a Black Hole. His textbook, Extrasolar Planets and Astrobiology won the 2011 Chambliss Prize. His book, The Copernicus Complex, was published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux;
Recorded October 2014
Our Boldest Effort to Answer our Oldest Question: Breakthrough-Listen Search for Intelligent Life
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
02/20/23 • 85 min
For centuries, humans have gazed at the night sky and wondered if any intelligent life forms like us might be out there. In 2015, the Breakthrough Foundation gave a $100 million grant to the University of California at Berkeley to undertake the most comprehensive search for signals from an extra-terrestrial civilization. Dr. Steve Croft, of the University of California, Berkeley, SETI Center, describes the project, introduces the many radio telescopes around the world it is using in the search, and explains how modern technology, including AI, is being used to include more stars, more frequencies (channels) and more ways a signal might be sent.
What Does a Black Hole Look Like: How We Got our First Picture (With Prof. Eliot Quataert)
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
09/15/21 • 77 min
Black holes are one of the most remarkable predictions of Einstein's theory of gravity: so much material is compressed into such a small volume that nothing, not even light, can escape. In Spring 2019, the world-wide Event Horizon Telescope released the first real picture of gas around a massive black hole and the “shadow” it makes as the gas swirls into the black hole. Dr. Quataert (University of California, Berkeley) describes how these pioneering observations were made and what they have taught us about black holes.
Recorded on Jan. 22, 2020
Ashes to Ashes, Earth to Earth, Dust to Dust: The Birth and Death of Worlds
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
07/14/23 • 65 min
with Dr. Eugene Chiang (University of California, Berkeley)
June 21, 2023
We now know that our solar system is but one of countless others. Where did all these planets come from? What are their fates, and ours? Dr. Chiang describes the life cycle of planets, how they are born and die, and how they are born again. The story combines the latest observations from a wide range of telescope with our evolving theoretical understanding of the role planets play in the development of the cosmos.
When Mars Was Like Earth: Five Years of Exploration with the Curiosity Rover
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
08/02/22 • 90 min
Speaker: Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
For five years, Curiosity explored Gale Crater, one of the most intriguing locations on Mars -- once the site of an ancient lake. In this talk, the mission's Project Scientist discussed what the rover was capable of and the many things it discovered on and about the red planet. In particular, he fills us in on the evidence that ancient Mars, billions of years ago, was much more like the Earth -- with a thicker atmosphere and flowing water on its surface. (Recorded Feb. 28, 2018)
Planets Under Our Feet: The Caves on Earth, Mars, and Beyond (with Dr. Penelope Boston)
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
03/26/22 • 83 min
New exploration indicates that caves may be more common on rocky and icy worlds in our Solar System than we have thought in the past. Caves below the Earth show us a very different planet than the familiar one we experience on the surface. Each dark cave system has its own micro-organisms and distinctive mineral and chemical properties. Dr. Penelope Boston, NASA Ames Research Center, takes us on a tour of the some of the most spectacular caves under the Earth and the unusual life-forms they harbor, and considers how the lessons they teach us can be applied to the exploration of the Solar System, especially the icy moons of the giant planets.
(Recorded Feb. 27, 2019)
Ocean Worlds in Our Solar System (with Dr. Kevin Hand)
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
01/07/22 • 93 min
Where is the best place to find living life beyond Earth? It may be that the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn harbor some of the most habitable real estate in our Solar System. Life loves liquid water and these moons have lots of it! Such oceans worlds have likely persisted for much of the history of the solar system, and as a result they are compelling targets for our exploration. Dr. Kevin Hand (of the Jet Propulsion Lab) explains the science behind our understanding of these worlds, with a special focus on Jupiter’s intriguing moon Europa, which is a top priority for future NASA missions. Dr. Hand is also the author of a popular-level book "Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space." (Recorded Apr. 10, 2019.)
Dr. Hand is a planetary scientist at JPL in Pasadena, California and the Director of its Ocean Worlds Lab. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system with an emphasis on Europa. From 2011 to 2016, Hand served as Deputy Chief Scientist for Solar System Exploration at JPL. His work has brought him to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the sea ice near the North Pole, the depths of the Earth’s oceans, and to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro. Dr. Hand was a scientist onboard James Cameron’s 2012 dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and he was part of a 2003 IMAX expedition to hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Human-Robotic Exploration from the Moon to Mars
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
02/06/25 • 72 min
Jan. 29, 2025
Dr. Darlene Lim (NASA Ames Research Center)
NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is a planned mission to go to the South Pole of the Moon and get a close-up view of the locations that can sustain water ice – ice that could eventually be harvested to support human exploration on the Moon, on Mars — and beyond. Dr. Lim discusses how, for the first time in NASA’s history, the science team would be fully integrated into the mission operations team and will provide near real-time input on where to explore on the Moon. While the fate of the mission is now in some doubt, Dr. Lim discusses the lessons learned, and the remarkable techniques the team developed to make real-time, almost instant decisions about what the rover does next at each point in its journey. She also tells about how her earlier experience exploring deep lakes on Earth with robotic and crewed vehicles taught her valuable lessons that she could apply to designing lunar exploration protocols.
The Allure of the Multiverse (with Dr. Paul Halpern)
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
04/24/24 • 76 min
Apr. 17, 2024
In this talk, physicist and popular author Paul Halpern (St. Joseph's College) examines the history of the concept of a multiverse in science, and discusses the ideas by Einstein and other noted physicists that have led scientist today to take the notion of multiple universes seriously. He also contrasts the scientific view of a multiverse to the picture we get in popular culture (think Marvel movies) and notes how significantly the two differ. Dr. Halpern is the author of a new popular-level book also called "The Allure of the Multiverse" and many other nontechnical science books.
Copernicus 4.0: How the Views of Earth's Importance and the Search for Life are Changing
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures
03/13/25 • 73 min
Mar. 5, 2025
Dr. Simon Steel (SETI Institute)
Dr. Steel discusses the Copernican revolution and how it changed humanity's view of its place in the universe. He then talked about other "Copernican" discoveries that displaced us from a central perch, including the revision of our place in the Galaxy, the discovery of other galaxies, and now our finding a remarkable number of planets (including Earth-like planets) orbiting other stars. He explains how such discoveries give context for, and have prepared us for, the next potential Copernican revolution, the discover of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos. He concludes by describing some of the most exciting experiments now underway to find evidence of such life among the nearest stars and busiest galaxies. Dr. Steel is Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures have?
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures currently has 52 episodes available.
What topics does Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures cover?
The podcast is about Space, Astrophysics, Astronomy, Podcasts, Science and Cosmology.
What is the most popular episode on Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures?
The episode title 'Ashes to Ashes, Earth to Earth, Dust to Dust: The Birth and Death of Worlds' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures?
The average episode length on Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures is 77 minutes.
How often are episodes of Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures released?
Episodes of Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are typically released every 20 days, 21 hours.
When was the first episode of Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures?
The first episode of Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures was released on Jun 20, 2021.
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