A star’s death throes have so violently disrupted its planetary system that the dead star left behind, called a white dwarf, is siphoning off debris from both the system’s inner and outer reaches. This is the first time astronomers have observed a white dwarf star that is consuming both rocky-metallic and icy material, the ingredients of planets.
In late 2017, scientists at a Hawaiian observatory glimpsed an object soaring through our inner solar system, moving so quickly that it could only have come from another star. That begs the question: what exactly was that object?
Harvard’s top astronomer Avi Loeb joins us via livestream to share his theory: that the object was the first confirmed interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system. With insight from his book Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, he explains all of the reasons the object couldn’t have been an asteroid, and why he believes it was a piece of advance technology created by a distant alien civilization. He further outlines his controversial theory, and explores the implications: for science, for religion, and for the future of our species and our planet. Join us as we aim for the stars with this thrilling discussion, where Loeb asks us to think big and to expect the unexpected. - by Town Hall Seattle
Music has a mysterious power, and in this talk Stephon Alexander explores the parallel between jazz music and the functioning of our universe. Stephon’s journey to becoming a physicist started in high school where he encountered a teacher who believed in his potential, and introduced him to the magic of jazz, fostering a connection between John Coltrane and Albert Einstein. The narrative then takes us to the present day with the world of physics attempting to understand the origin of the universe, which may in fact have its own parallel to a jazz improvisation. In closing, Stephon challenges us to live a life of improvisation.
