👽 If aliens showed up tomorrow, would we be ready? 👀 Order Take Me to Your Leader here 👇 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Take-Me-to-Your-Leader/Neil-deGrasse-Tyson/9781668249970 What are the true limits of life, will we even recognize it when we see it? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the beginnings of life on Earth and what they might tell us about life everywhere else with astrobiologist and bacteriologist, Betül Kaçar. We learn how Betül's lab resurrects ancient enzymes, reconstructing the molecular machinery of organisms that lived billions of years ago to understand how life first emerged and how it survived. Why does all life on Earth have DNA? Why did life seemingly arise only once? We explore the idea that certain moments in life's history--the origin of life itself, the emergence of photosynthesis, the invention of nitrogen fixation--were singular events that each completely transformed the planet, and without any one of them, we simply wouldn't be here. How rare are these events? We explore how important nitrogen fixation was in the progression for life. Learn about a single ancient enzyme, still in use today, that breaks one of the strongest chemical bonds in nature to pull nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available to living cells. We compare energy consumption, the Haber-Bosch process and biological nitrogen fixation and what would happen if all biological nitrogen fixation came to a halt. From there we dig into extremophiles and what they suggest about life's potential elsewhere in the universe. What does an enzyme actually do? What is a eukaryote and why does it matter? Could silicon replace carbon as the backbone of life on another world? We close on the big questions: how contingent was life's path on Earth? Could it have gone differently? Is there a last universal common ancestor, or is the tree of life just a metaphor we invented to make sense of something far messier? As Betül puts it, we know less than we think we do, and that's exactly why it's worth asking. Thanks to our Patrons Christian Payne, Gage Ewing, Ryan Whynot, Temirlan, 2 Lives Left, Chad Keeler, Harli Shae Smith, Brad Smith, Norm Bailey, James Peterson, Ryan Coppens, David Whittenberg, Scott Jarboe, Varun Krishnan, Eric Salinas, Mary Seman, Melissa Davis, Stephen Rockwell, Catrina, Max Wilburn, Keith Koenigsberg, LEIII, Vincent Loniello, Simon Toth, DoctorWaterGod, Ruthanne Nava, Martineau Alex, Matthew, Phil, Jaden, Arik Drori, Papersneaker, Steven Peeters, Trey Durango, Julianne, Robbie James, Jason Foreman, Liam, Steven Van Vleet, Marilyn, Zakk Why, Ben Wheeldon, Erik Leazure, Konal Sharma, Dušan Živanović, Erik Strandberg, Berklie Novak-Stolz, Kazi Mahin Mahfuz, Tim Van Devender, Andrew Martin, Jason F, Charles Joubert, Youcef Kazwiny, Joy Joslyn, Freeman, Jessica, Pat, Phillip Brooks, Michael Hues, Jacqueline Sinclair, Robert Marsh, Botas, Raza Naqvi (Sid), Jake, Christine Bartholomew & Family, Mr Xoot, Dyonté Houston, Daryl, Rob Weiss, Caleb Holmes, Jeffrey Luce, Kellie Owczarczak, Brandt Reppond, Joseph Savage, Grace Smith, Joe Pacillo, Gregory Wright, Eric Brothwell, IvanM, Pattie Particle, Cory Fenstermaker, James H Lawson, Embreebane, Dai Stiho, Raymond C King, J M, Alex Wheeler, Jason Rushmore, Idris, Damian Correa, Dylan Woody, Julia Nolen, Chris Petit, Anna, David Kapner, Lalo, Vic, Ash Anthony, and Wayne Stubblefield for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Betül Kaçar 03:30 - Reserrecting Ancient Enzymes 10:07 - Testing Life’s Limits 11:13 - Why Hasn’t There Been More Than One Genesis? 13:32 - What is Nitrogen Fixation? 16:59 - Betul and Chuck’s Arguement about the Nature of Life 21:02 - How Did Life Evolve a Metabolism 23:16 - All Life is Extremophiles 26:23 - Why Are Enzymes Important? 27:19 - The Contingency of Life 32:43 - The Range of Possibility 37:58 - The Earliest Organism 39:36 - Metabolism, Energy Gradients, & The Criteria For life 46:09 - The Limits of Life 55:25 - Life is…Metal? 59:14 - The Haber-Bosch Process 01:02:55 - Closing Thoughts Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet Could you grow your own food on the moon? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with Kevin Espiritu, the gardening YouTuber behind Epic Gardening, to dig into backyard farming, the future of sustainable food, and what it would actually take to feed yourself on Earth or anywhere else. Kevin describes how he got into growing plants and how it doesn’t always require lots of land. Chuck admits to being an avid gardener secretly and fangirls over Kevin’s 30 fruit trees. How self-sufficient can you reasonably be on an urban lot? Do solar and rainwater collection save money? We get into the science of how plants actually grow. What's the difference between hydroponics and aeroponics? Why do hydroponic plants grow faster but taste flatter? Do plants use green light? We explore whether LEDs can really replace sunlight or if plants can tell the difference. We explore vertical farming, how plants evolved for specific light conditions, and why some plants like partial shade. Why does more of a good thing kill them? Then we take it to space. Could we grow food hydroponically in lunar habitats? What about aquaponics with fish? Would space-grown plants even taste good? Kevin recounts the sobering reality of his 30-day experiment feeding himself entirely from his own land. We explore topics around farming practices like topsoil loss, the monoculture trap, travelling bees for almond orchards, and how industrial agriculture keeps solving problems by manually recreating what nature was already doing for free. Thanks to our Patrons Raime Dayton, Giulian Minichiello, Peggy C, Pamela Knab, Randy Gladney, George Lett, Madeline Belton, Lio, Nick White, Michael, Shiwam Bandhoe, Catherine Spale…Raime Dayton, Giulian Minichiello, Peggy C, Pamela Knab, Randy Gladney, George Lett, Madeline Belton, Lio, Nick White, Michael, Shiwam Bandhoe, Catherine Spale, Lori Largent, Newton T, M.K, Louis Stern, Justin Maly, Andrew Kagan, Jeff, Robin Green, Boris Bayerman, Joe Verstraete, Jakob Ludwig, Eric Monley, Paul Kulessa, Rich C, Ben Davenport, User101010111010, Ian C, Dereck Wood Sr, Brittany Cloud, William Santiago, Randall Price, EvieJoy, Aaron Bailey, Shiva Kumar, Kenny Watts, Jayden Sundar, Maggie Ruh, Farruh Mahamadjanov, João Costa, Alex & Alicia Celcis, Prajesh Patel, Armando Luna, Chris Kessinger, Deon Johnson, Father Bills' Glue Gun Baptism, Nic Hoover, Jonny Porto, Noah Race, Nikita Mikhailevich, MichelleEcume, Janet La Valley, Myriam Robichaud, Lilly Carrillo, Matthew Robinson, Mark Fremmerlid, Emilia D., Michael Giacchino, Jose Javier, Wishah, TIM, Alex Frias, DukeOfBees, Cherry Speicher, Joe, Chris Sinn, Michael de la Morena, Gina Rapp, Testcellman, Jay Valiano, Mara Long, Terry Burgess, Matthew Ross, Jacob Keeling, Leah, Alex, Michael Neal, Lauri Boyd, Wes Ward, Antonio Westphalen, Chris Hopper, Malzerath, Anita Bowers, Antonia Staikova, Glenn Thomas Stokdal, Y K, Alexander Simone, Dot, Chris, 𖤐 Emily 𖤐, Thomas V, Ryan Scotto, Suzette Salvati, Mauricio Lago Magro, Joyce Stamper, Linden Wise, and Dr Venkateshwaran S for supporting us this week. Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

Go to https://ground.news/startalk to stay fully informed on the latest Space and Science news. Save 40% off through our link for unlimited access to the Vantage plan this month. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet 👽 If aliens showed up tomorrow, would we be ready? 👀 Pre-order Take Me to Your Leader here 👇 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Take-Me-to-Your-Leader/Neil-deGrasse-Tyson/9781668249970 Are all the galaxies orbiting a superstructure in the middle of the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are reaching into the grab bag to cover questions from absolute zero to the nature of gravity, and no topic is safe. Can you extract infinite energy from an object approaching absolute zero, given that quantum fluctuations prevent particles from ever fully stopping? Can particles ever stop? We explore thermodynamics and zero point energy. Is there a lowest energy level something can go? Are photons really everywhere, even in a dark room? Neil invokes Muhammad Ali, Isaac Newton's questionable decision to include indigo in the rainbow, and the fact that anything with a temperature radiates photons whether your eyes can detect them or not. We explore the law of cooling and its ties to Isaac Newton. What would Neil and Chuck do with limitless energy? We discuss orbital solar arrays, Iceland's geothermal heating, and Chuck's pitch for ending wars by solving food scarcity. Is the universe pancake shaped, with galaxies orbiting some vast superstructure? Neil sets the record straight on galaxy cluster dynamics and the virial theorem. Is gravity a force or just the curvature of spacetime and could the Higgs boson have something to do with it? What would Neil do with an unlimited science budget? Is time itself permanent? How much does the universe actually weigh? We also explore what a gamma ray glow near the Milky Way's center might reveal about dark matter annihilation. Neil closes with a warm trip down memory lane about his first telescope, his childhood visits to the Harvard Center for Astrophysics, and the time he got the cops called on him for stargazing on his roof. Thanks to our Patrons RY, The Kilted Bard, Istvan Leel-Össy, Matthew, lrs.2010, Devin Caldwell, Shaneeb Kamran, Leondre Dow, Cool, Greenhornet658ky, Nikola Lacković, Steve Shirley, Lani Lum, Paulis, John Bower, Purp, Josh S, Craig Booth, wrae, Richard Francisco, Mike, Subhransu Mishra, Jaden R Peters, Andreas, Raimund Stock jr, Brian Banks, robert margerum, Amiri Mouhab, Alan Moylan, Marianne sperry, William Benjamin Broes, Paul Sanchez, Mark Evans, Fiona Rawls, Nick L, Shaun H, Marcin Majdanski, Justin Satterwhite, Rolando Cosme, Darkphoenix, Praxis, Vexonar, User Profile Name, twon, V-Thrax, Oymilius The Great, DFH, Senad Bajramovic, Joe Kava, Lucas Harlan, Ty Jayne Breathe, Malcom, Muttey, Ana i Vinko, Lewis Alley, Layee Chau, Zachary Lang, Dave, Sweet T, Rich Wolf, c l, MyCatSaysHi!, Apoorv Lathey, Sondre Hellingsrud, Robert Steenberge, naveen v, Dennis L. Friedman, Dr Mark, Karsten Schäfer, Tim Thomas, Joe Messer, andrew nathan, Darayat Chowdhury, Dan Gillespie, NK, Anthony Sclafani, Nicholas Flores, Murphstein, justin thomas, Valerie, Alexis, Lior Gross, Melissa Harrison, Elizabeth Engelhardt, T, Makayla, 9000 H.A.L.s, Brian Maurer, Shahar Avenstein, Robert, O P, RDH, Paul Hill, Annie Saenz, Mike Mohler, Peter Petrov, Kyle, Isaac Hach, W Pops, Brittney Jacobs, and BRambo for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Grab Bag 02:26 - Absolute Zero & Extracting Energy 08:26 - Photons! Everywhere! 15:00 - Newton’s Law of Cooling 18:45 - If God Gave You Limitless Energy 22:35 - Are Galaxies Orbiting a Superstructure? 26:00 - Could the Higgs Boson Impart Gravity? 28:48 - If We Increase Our Telescope Budget 31:40 - Is Time Permanent? 33:59 - How Much Does the Universe Weigh? 38:20 - Search for Dark Matter 41:02 - Neil’s First Telescope Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

🔒 Get 20% off DeleteMe by going to https://joindeleteme.com/StarTalk and use code StarTalk to protect your privacy! 🙌 What’s more terrifying: finding alien life or finding out we are alone in the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice dive into fan questions about optics, religion, communicating with entanglement, and life on Earth after humans. Neil explains why the speed of light doesn’t always go as fast as the speed of light. You’ll learn about evanescent waves, the index of refraction, and why light behaves like a focused New Yorker navigating a sidewalk full of tourists when passing through molecules. We explore how anti-reflective coatings work, how total internal reflection keeps photons trapped, and why visible light can’t get through a brick wall while other wavelengths pass through with ease. Chuck shares his theory on whether the expansion of the universe is caused by pressure bleeding in from the outside, while Neil discusses the upcoming Europa Clipper mission and our search for life in the solar system. What if there’s life elsewhere in the universe? What if we’re alone? We reflect on Chuck’s experience with religion and Giordano Bruno, the 16th-century monk who was martyred for suggesting the stars were suns with their own planets, and how religion often requires the world to be smaller. How do you detect a gravitational wave if the instrument you’re using to measure also warps with the spacetime? Neil explains how LIGO was designed to fix this issue. Learn about the possibility of using quantum entanglement to communicate from inside a black hole, and why special relativity means that to a passenger on a train, it's actually Grand Central Station that is moving. Does Neil care about time capsules? We take a look at a post-human Earth. Finally, find out why Neil believes the only cure for the existential blues is the sound of bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace." Thanks to our Patrons Jules, Kelton Falls, Danielhero 11, Zaubergarden, Danilo Vieira Battistini, Brian Lacroix, Charles Baker, Matthew Krug, Chris A, Sandra Leduc, Rodney Schneider, Sir Sucknoramus, Dominik Zwahlen, Malachi Vanderpuye, Zac, Will Johnson, John DeGrey, ClumsyVirtuose, Holly Sweet, Chuck Montana, Jeffrey Holt, Stephen, Extronox, Jon, Ben Grund, Jona Smith, Christopher Zalenski, Wile E Coyote, Stephen Patterson, Amber Johnson, Cameron Clark, D. L. Brown, Maitreya Save, Samuel, John Blankenship, BridgesNotBurned, Nicholas, Katie Hoen, Mometc, Henry, Rajeev Patel, Neufin, Philip Olafsen, Kiara Barbosa, Justin Lodge, Ayaku, Rodney Long, Feeneydactyl, Holman Coates, John, Stephen Crotts, Scherzmeister, Cengiz Ozmen, Julie Cunningham, Ian, Chris Cutshall, Michael Taylor, Rahul, Ben Cruickshank, Jonathan Schneider, Masego Jacobs, Luis T. Guzmán, Ylian Arien, Kage, Doug Wilson, Kevin Talbot, Kevin Dillane, E. Hughes, BruceWayne, Paul Lopez, Aldo, Michael Sullivan, Gary Seighman, Bill M, Rajah, ScrubGhost, Trung N, Carl Kangas, Andres S., Emrys Roberts, Carson Grover, Marshall McCarty, Aaron Bailey, Allison Wilsmann, Callan Richardson, Elijah Rogers, Ismail Hamzaoui, Barrie Corp, Cezary Rzempoluch, Aaron Rodriquez, Tango66, CPhase595, LilB YT, M Hays, Keith, Rodriguez Rafael, Mary Howe, McGheezer, John Judkins, Jon Hicken, FiapoDM, and Manny for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Grab Bag 00:55 - Total Internal Reflection From Particle Physics Standpoint 08:30 - Index of Refraction 14:55 - Mysteries We Are Close to Solving 20:12 - Giodarno Bruno’s Last Words 24:40 - Measuring Gravitational Waves If Measurement Device Stretches Too? 29:54 - Using Entanglement to Communicate Inside a Black Hole 32:20 - Relative to What? 35:14 - What Are You Putting in a Time Capsule 38:55 - Matter Falling into the Black Hole of the Universe 41:30 - The Next Dominant Species on Earth Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet 👽 If aliens showed up tomorrow, would we be ready? 👀 Pre-order Take Me to Your Leader here 👇 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Take-Me-to-Your-Leader/Neil-deGrasse-Tyson/9781668249970 Are all the galaxies orbiting a superstructure in the middle of the universe? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are reaching into the grab bag to cover questions from absolute zero to the nature of gravity, and no topic is safe. Can you extract infinite energy from an object approaching absolute zero, given that quantum fluctuations prevent particles from ever fully stopping? Can particles ever stop? We explore thermodynamics and zero point energy. Is there a lowest energy level something can go? Are photons really everywhere, even in a dark room? Neil invokes Muhammad Ali, Isaac Newton's questionable decision to include indigo in the rainbow, and the fact that anything with a temperature radiates photons whether your eyes can detect them or not. We explore the law of cooling and its ties to Isaac Newton. What would Neil and Chuck do with limitless energy? We discuss orbital solar arrays, Iceland's geothermal heating, and Chuck's pitch for ending wars by solving food scarcity. Is the universe pancake shaped, with galaxies orbiting some vast superstructure? Neil sets the record straight on galaxy cluster dynamics and the virial theorem. Is gravity a force or just the curvature of spacetime and could the Higgs boson have something to do with it? What would Neil do with an unlimited science budget? Is time itself permanent? How much does the universe actually weigh? We also explore what a gamma ray glow near the Milky Way's center might reveal about dark matter annihilation. Neil closes with a warm trip down memory lane about his first telescope, his childhood visits to the Harvard Center for Astrophysics, and the time he got the cops called on him for stargazing on his roof. Thanks to our Patrons RY, The Kilted Bard, Istvan Leel-Össy, Matthew, lrs.2010, Devin Caldwell, Shaneeb Kamran, Leondre Dow, Cool, Greenhornet658ky, Nikola Lacković, Steve Shirley, Lani Lum, Paulis, John Bower, Purp, Josh S, Craig Booth, wrae, Richard Francisco, Mike, Subhransu Mishra, Jaden R Peters, Andreas, Raimund Stock jr, Brian Banks, robert margerum, Amiri Mouhab, Alan Moylan, Marianne sperry, William Benjamin Broes, Paul Sanchez, Mark Evans, Fiona Rawls, Nick L, Shaun H, Marcin Majdanski, Justin Satterwhite, Rolando Cosme, Darkphoenix, Praxis, Vexonar, User Profile Name, twon, V-Thrax, Oymilius The Great, DFH, Senad Bajramovic, Joe Kava, Lucas Harlan, Ty Jayne Breathe, Malcom, Muttey, Ana i Vinko, Lewis Alley, Layee Chau, Zachary Lang, Dave, Sweet T, Rich Wolf, c l, MyCatSaysHi!, Apoorv Lathey, Sondre Hellingsrud, Robert Steenberge, naveen v, Dennis L. Friedman, Dr Mark, Karsten Schäfer, Tim Thomas, Joe Messer, andrew nathan, Darayat Chowdhury, Dan Gillespie, NK, Anthony Sclafani, Nicholas Flores, Murphstein, justin thomas, Valerie, Alexis, Lior Gross, Melissa Harrison, Elizabeth Engelhardt, T, Makayla, 9000 H.A.L.s, Brian Maurer, Shahar Avenstein, Robert, O P, RDH, Paul Hill, Annie Saenz, Mike Mohler, Peter Petrov, Kyle, Isaac Hach, W Pops, Brittney Jacobs, and BRambo for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Grab Bag 02:26 - Absolute Zero & Extracting Energy 08:26 - Photons! Everywhere! 15:00 - Newton’s Law of Cooling 18:45 - If God Gave You Limitless Energy 22:35 - Are Galaxies Orbiting a Superstructure? 26:00 - Could the Higgs Boson Impart Gravity? 28:48 - If We Increase Our Telescope Budget 31:40 - Is Time Permanent? 33:59 - How Much Does the Universe Weigh? 38:20 - Search for Dark Matter 41:02 - Neil’s First Telescope Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet Could the ingredients for life have arrived on asteroids? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice unpack what the sample collected from asteroid Bennu is teaching us about the origins of life itself with Harold Connolly, geologist and mission scientist for OSIRIS-REx. How do you pick which asteroid to collect samples from? We discuss the selection of Bennu and how the context of the rock is important, not just the chemical makeup. What's the difference between a metallic asteroid and a carbonaceous one? Why is Bennu a rubble pile, and why did that make the mission so unpredictable? They break down the touch-and-go mechanics of the sample return, including the moment the spacecraft sank 48 centimeters into Bennu's shockingly soft surface and the scramble to stow the sample before stones caught in the valve cost them everything. Harold walks through the identification of evaporite minerals and the detection of all 15 amino acids and what they mean. How does Japan's Hayabusa2 sample from asteroid Ryugu compare? What can dust that predates our own solar system tell us about where we came from? And what is the role of phosphorus in assembling the prebiotic compounds that bridge the gap between chemistry and life? The conversation expands outward to Mars, where minerals like gypsum and vivianite hint at ancient flowing water, and inclusions that some scientists argue point to microbial life. Are those claims convincing? Could lithopanspermia actually work? If the same amino acid ingredients exist in space and on Earth, why invoke panspermia at all? Learn about Earth’s molten past and how the ingredients for life got here. We discuss what it takes to get from prebiotic compounds to actual life, why the universe doesn't care how we've divided our sciences, and why geologists, astronomers, and biologists are going to have to keep holding hands to find the answer. Oh, and Bennu has a small but real chance of hitting Earth in 2182. Plenty of time to prepare. Keep Looking Up! Thanks to our Patrons Kevin Widener, WilfriedLepuschitz, Rodney Juste, Aladin Mihai, Marc Washington, david smith, Gary Flenthrope, Christian Becker, EricRobert, Sonya a, Steve Jones, leeinalaska, Sewit Haile, Edward Janezich, Miguel Rodriguez, Shea M, Mister E, G.Montagnard, Vincent Jenkins, Ryan B, Brandon Kavulla, Owoskeun Cinder, LehensGivris, Marc, Debbie Evercloud, Fakhreddine Madi, Logan Koehler, Cem Oğuz, Aaron Greeley, Ohad Meir, Paul Osborne, Bodnár Márton János, STRS, Lawrence, THEO NNEBE, Richard Mosby, Kenneth Hawley, Robert Wilson, Amelia Cooper, mabus98, Mandana Rad, Lucas Kiil, Channing Hodges, Elizabeth Newton, Sebastián Egaña, Eric Hall, Sondre Rypdal, Anne Shirley, Andrew Rosenfeld, Michael Owen, T Playle, Kevin Selman, david Aldridge, Raymond Wright, Biotoxin, Brittany, Wraptile, Frances Cooley, Rodney Bell, Hesam Eskandari, Patrick Dietz, Alexandre Malouin, Diana Smith, Jesse Hoffman, Ian Peterson, WickedProf, Jonathan, SUSAN Moore, Tom DeGerlia, Jessica Holden, Simeon Ivaylov Petrov, Dario Kubler, Robert Passeri, Jr., Fred Miller, Jason Delancey, Rory L, Alice Kelaine Harline Davis, Loonertick, Rich, Jason Rich, jon meier, Susan, Robert Christine, Simon, Lauren Zajac, Brandon Abramovitz, J Sauce, Christopher Smith, Suzan Stocker, Roch Dylla, Treven Price, Zippo, Preet Sandhawalia, Chris McAfee, Hoth, Cody Mecham, Lewis, Casey Hampton, Jason Beezley, and Anthony Gliganic for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Harold Connolly Jr. 03:56 - Why Go to an Asteroid? 11:00 - Why Bennu? 21:47 - Looking at the Sample in the Lab 27:00 - Amino Acids on Asteroids 31:20 - Mars Rocks & Rugu Sample 37:40 - What Made the Asteroids? 41:49 - Phosphorus & Presolar Grains 47:45 - Signs of Life on Mars 54:18 - Lithopanspermia: Are Meteors Seeding Life? 1:03:44 - Is Bennu Going to Hit Us in 2182? 1:06:33 - Reflections on Geology & Astrophysics 1:11:00 - Closing Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

Go to https://ground.news/startalk to stay fully informed on the latest Space and Science news. Save 40% off through our link for unlimited access to the Vantage plan this month. T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet What if a microscopic alien lifeform was slowly eating our sun? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice sit down with Andy Weir, the bestselling author of Project Hail Mary, for a deep dive into designing aliens, science fiction, and science behind the book (and the movie.) Andy traces his journey from self-publishing The Martian to watching Ridley Scott bring it to the big screen, before turning to his latest novel, Project Hail Mary, now a major film starring Ryan Gosling. What if the sun started to dim due to an alien microorganism? Neil and Andy dig into just how scientifically feasible that actually is. We unpack Rocky, the film's alien co-lead, and Andy reveals how he built Rocky's entire biology around a real exoplanet in the 40 Eridani star system, a planet that was later found not to exist. How would the planet’s environment impact alien life’s morphology, technology, and culture? Could an alien species achieve interstellar travel with just Newtonian physics? Plus, why does Andy always seem to write stories where the protagonist is so isolated in space? They also explore the storytelling mechanics that make the reluctant, unqualified, genuinely scared hero so compelling, why Andy cut a scene where humanity nukes Antarctica to trigger controlled global warming, and what it means that neither species in the story is more technologically advanced across the board. Andy closes with hard-won advice for aspiring writers. Keep Looking Up! Thanks to our Patrons RT, Matthew Wessel, Tyler Walker, nuclear_detergent, Ryan Buchanan, The Lord of the Ganja, Tyrone Morgan, Ciara Steinert, Fabian De Rossi, Travis Anders, Dee El Dee, Lazzarous, Moshe Sedero, Sebastian Heineberg, David, Casey Sizeland, Anna, Simon Franklin, Chris Carley, ohhdontdoit, hilde, Jim Niemann, Jesse Lee, Sri Harsha Chennavajjala, grbac6800, Mike, Aviad Pineles, salima makitina, Gero Finke, Nick Charles, David Shapiro, Diyako Kochar Taymur, David Kunz, Bob, Doug, Aviral Bhatnagar, Matthew Sims, Squibb Thompson, Theta544, D00gster x702, Kyle Sullivan, John Hermansen, April Stearns, Brian Eastwood, jassim tazi, Kassious, Gustavo Rincon, Reloadown, Tom Kavanaugh, Kay 1, George Grimes, Barbara Lewis, Davey Maclaren, Blake Muccini, Sydney, MISFIT, Mohammed Nadeem Amin, JB, rasma, Chris, Glenn Whelan, Elizabeth Grey, Eli Hadden, Elias Holguin, Darrell Thayer, Jason, Shayla Hamady, Bradley Martin, jamie jarrard, Robert Douglas Brown, Michael Johnston, Kristine Nixon, VirusJTG, Briana Bartlett, Tim Rea, Leo Carrasco, Christopher Friedline, belle g, Carver Nevling, Emily Winter, Draxontheyeen, Leslie, Bombed Blonde, Shadow, Brian, Sam Smith, Brianna Smith, Evan Q, Anzhr, Jolo, Austin Applegate, Bryan Smarkola, Steven Patterson, Femke Seynaeve, Bee, Jeffrey Macris, Stan Ginsel, Bob M, Eric, and Yet Another Patron for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Andy Weir 04:46 - Project Hail Mary 08:40 - The Exoplanet of the Eridians 14:19 - Rocky’s Ecolocation 22:11 - Rocky’s Partner 24:23 - Talking to Rocky 26:50 - Alone in Space 29:39 - A New Hollywood Alien 30:51 - Xenonite 33:33 - What Got Cut 35:41 - Neil’s Critique 37:04 - Closing Thoughts & Advice for Writers Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson