**This class is a Hybrid. This section of the class will be taught on Zoom**
Few areas of astronomy excite our imaginations as much as the search for alien life, out among the stars. It is a staple of science fiction stories and films, but, recently it has also become a legitimate branch of scientific inquiry. In this non-technical class, we will take a look at why astronomers are more optimistic than ever that there must be life beyond the Earth, what intriguing experiments we are undertaking to find or communicate with such life (hint: AI will help), and what we propose to do if we do find “them.” We’ll also look at some of the most imaginative science and science-fiction ideas about what aliens will be like, how we might exchange information, and what the results of getting in touch with aliens might be. (No background in science will be required or assumed.)
Week by Week Outline
1. The Realms of the Universe
• What’s out there and how is it organized
• How the universe evolved to make life possible: from atoms to stars to planets to biology • Science fiction about life out there: science versus pseudo-science
2. The Discovery of Exoplanets: As Common as Dirt, But Can They Support Life • How to find planets far, far away
• The different types of exoplanets (and the possibility of exomoons)
• The search for Earth 2.0
• Life in weird environments
3. The Origin of Life and Life Elsewhere
• What are the odds? The Drake Formula
• Experiments about the origin of life and what they tell us
• Life as we don’t know it: Suggestions from science fiction
4. The Fermi Paradox and its Solutions [The paradox asks: if there are really advanced aliens out there, why are they or their robot representatives not here already?]
• Where are they? Why it’s hard to know
• Von Neumann Machines and the Post-Biological Universe
• The Zoo hypothesis and too many solutions to the paradox
5. Science Fiction Speculation Versus Science Experiments
• UFO’s and spaceship visits: What the evidence shows
• Good science fiction about contact
• SETI: past experiments, and what’s in the works to find out if they are there • The Cosmic Haystack Problem
6. The Future: Success and Beyond
• Breakthrough Projects: Listen and Starshot
• What if we succeed? What’s next?
• Do you speak Martian: How do we communicate with aliens?
• Who speaks for Earth?
