Episode
#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
1:42:02
Published: Sun Aug 16 2020
Description
Sara Seager is a planetary scientist at MIT, known for her work on the search for exoplanets. Support this podcast by supporting our sponsors. Click links, get discount: - Public Goods at https://publicgoods.com/lex and use code LEX - PowerDot: https://powerdot.com/lex and use code LEX – Cash App – use code "LexPodcast" and download: – Cash App (App Store): https://apple.co/2sPrUHe – Cash App (Google Play): https://bit.ly/2MlvP5w Episode links: Sara's Twitter: https://twitter.com/profsaraseager Sara's Website: https://www.saraseager.com/ The Smallest Lights in the Universe (book): https://amzn.to/3g3LfHA If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon. Here's the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. OUTLINE: 00:00 - Introduction 05:32 - Falling in love with the stars 09:55 - Are we alone in the universe? 15:27 - Seager equation for number of habitable planets 27:48 - Exoplanets 34:44 - Earth-like exoplanets 40:43 - Intelligent life 52:34 - Number of planets per star 55:09 - Space exploration 57:36 - Traveling to Proxima Centauri 1:00:52 - Starshade 1:07:34 - Using the sun as a gravitational lens 1:09:44 - Starshot 1:12:45 - Rogue planets 1:15:44 - The Smallest Lights in the Universe 1:30:15 - Book recommendations 1:37:48 - Advice for a young person 1:39:29 - Meaning of life
Chapters
Planetary scientist, Sarah Seager shares her research on the search for exoplanets and her passion for finding extraterrestrial life in the universe.
00:00 - 02:21 (02:21)
Summary
Planetary scientist, Sarah Seager shares her research on the search for exoplanets and her passion for finding extraterrestrial life in the universe.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker promotes the use of Cash App with the promo code "Lex podcast" to receive $10 and have Cash App donate $10 to a STEM education organization.
02:21 - 08:24 (06:03)
Summary
The speaker promotes the use of Cash App with the promo code "Lex podcast" to receive $10 and have Cash App donate $10 to a STEM education organization. The speaker briefly mentions a website that provides healthy snacks and personal care products.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast discusses the search for life beyond Earth using telescopes, both on the ground and in space, to study the atmospheres of planets and look for signs of gases that can be attributed to life.
08:24 - 18:57 (10:33)
Summary
This podcast discusses the search for life beyond Earth using telescopes, both on the ground and in space, to study the atmospheres of planets and look for signs of gases that can be attributed to life. The Drake equation is also briefly mentioned as a framework to think about the probability of intelligent life existing elsewhere.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The search for habitable planets is affected by several factors such as accessible stars, observable fractions, and the probability of finding transiting planets.
18:57 - 24:09 (05:12)
Summary
The search for habitable planets is affected by several factors such as accessible stars, observable fractions, and the probability of finding transiting planets.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The first exoplanet discovered around a sun-like star was studied for its atmospheric gases, which could indicate the presence of life.
24:09 - 31:46 (07:36)
Summary
The first exoplanet discovered around a sun-like star was studied for its atmospheric gases, which could indicate the presence of life. The discovery is based on the assumption that life on other planets like Earth would also use chemistry.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The search for transiting planets involves monitoring a star's brightness over time, looking for slight dips that could indicate the presence of a planet.
31:46 - 35:52 (04:06)
Summary
The search for transiting planets involves monitoring a star's brightness over time, looking for slight dips that could indicate the presence of a planet. This requires monitoring large parts of the sky and working to differentiate true planets from false positives.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The dream of finding extraterrestrial life is based on the belief that if a planet has the necessary ingredients for life, then life will form.
35:54 - 44:32 (08:38)
Summary
The dream of finding extraterrestrial life is based on the belief that if a planet has the necessary ingredients for life, then life will form. Scientists believe that if water vapor is present in a small rocky planet's atmosphere, there must be a liquid water reservoir, and the search for different types of lifeforms continues.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The curiosity and excitement regarding the existence of aliens stems from the scientific question of whether or not there is extraterrestrial life.
44:32 - 48:42 (04:10)
Summary
The curiosity and excitement regarding the existence of aliens stems from the scientific question of whether or not there is extraterrestrial life. It is humbling to consider that even if humans destroyed themselves, it may not be easily detectable from far away.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this episode, the speaker shares his thoughts about being more open-minded when developing new tools to look for intelligent life on earth that has not been found yet.
48:42 - 52:36 (03:54)
Summary
In this episode, the speaker shares his thoughts about being more open-minded when developing new tools to look for intelligent life on earth that has not been found yet.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Earth-like planets are not yet discovered, but the formation of Earth-like planets is possible through migrating inward due to interactions with other planets or disc.
52:36 - 58:42 (06:05)
Summary
Earth-like planets are not yet discovered, but the formation of Earth-like planets is possible through migrating inward due to interactions with other planets or disc. The nearest Earth-like planet, Proxima Centauri, is orbiting a small red star named m-dwarf.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The star shade, a giant flower-shaped object with razor edges that block out the light from certain stars, presents engineering challenges for scientists seeking darker and clearer images but the actual scientific and engineering steps to solving these issues are not yet clear.
58:42 - 1:07:17 (08:34)
Summary
The star shade, a giant flower-shaped object with razor edges that block out the light from certain stars, presents engineering challenges for scientists seeking darker and clearer images but the actual scientific and engineering steps to solving these issues are not yet clear.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
A discussion about the search for rogue planets and the potential for sending a robotic probe to collect data on one of these celestial bodies that drift through space without orbiting any star.
1:07:17 - 1:15:41 (08:24)
Summary
A discussion about the search for rogue planets and the potential for sending a robotic probe to collect data on one of these celestial bodies that drift through space without orbiting any star.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
A personal account of the frustration and distrust felt when doctors sugarcoat or misdiagnose medical conditions, leading to potentially life-threatening consequences.
1:15:41 - 1:20:30 (04:49)
Summary
A personal account of the frustration and distrust felt when doctors sugarcoat or misdiagnose medical conditions, leading to potentially life-threatening consequences.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Sarah discusses the harshness of how we've evolved to take death and how we subconsciously think about the mortality of our loved ones amidst grief.
1:20:30 - 1:28:45 (08:15)
Summary
Sarah discusses the harshness of how we've evolved to take death and how we subconsciously think about the mortality of our loved ones amidst grief.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast discusses the importance of thinking outside of stereotypes and how it applies to the scientific search for Earth-like planets.
1:28:45 - 1:39:46 (11:00)
Summary
The podcast discusses the importance of thinking outside of stereotypes and how it applies to the scientific search for Earth-like planets. It also touches on the significance of books for younger generations.
Episode#116 – Sara Seager: Search for Planets and Life Outside Our Solar System
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The search for exoplanets is one of the questions that humans long to answer in the quest for knowledge beyond our planet.
1:39:46 - 1:41:57 (02:10)
Summary
The search for exoplanets is one of the questions that humans long to answer in the quest for knowledge beyond our planet.