Striving To See In A Vast, Invisible Universe

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Original Air Date: 
August 19, 2017

From our narrow vantage point on Earth, how can we see what's out there, beyond our skies? We look to how scientists and scholars have searched for neutrinos, dark matter, deep-space transmissions from intelligent life and more, all in the hopes of painting a clearer picture of a vast and invisible universe.

Articles

Francis Halzen, the lead scientist of the IceCube Neutrino Detector, explains how light sensors buried deep in the ice at the South Pole detected a neutrino that traveled four billion light-years.

Length: 
11:40
The first image of a black hole.
Articles

Steve spoke with Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan about the search for invisible parts of the universe, dark matter, and the mind-boggling nature of black holes.

Length: 
10:35
Searching the stars
Audio

For more than 30 years, the scientists at the SETI Institute have been looking and listening for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. And recently, some of them decided to get a bit more proactive.

Length: 
10:05
Interactive

Physicist Don Gurnett has recorded what you might hear from inside a spacecraft, and it isn't just the sound of desolate silence.

Length: 
4:30
Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Audio

Neil deGrasse Tyson makes the case for why constantly searching for answers doesn't have to dispel our sense of awe and wonder faced with the seemingly unknowable universe.

Length: 
12:57
Solar eclipse
Articles

Journalist David Baron describes how witnessing a total solar eclipse set him on a path to examine how eclipses have propelled many inquisitive minds deeper into the sciences to see more deeply into the universe.

Length: 
10:14
Extras

Show Details 📻
Airdates
August 19, 2017
August 18, 2018
August 03, 2019
April 04, 2020
July 31, 2021
Guests: 
Francis Halzen, professor of physics and academic program director of the UW IceCube Project, is pictured on April 1, 2013. (Photo by Bryce Richter / UW-Madison)
Lead Scientist, IceCube Neutrino Observatory
Priya
Theoretical Astrophysicist
Senior Scientist, SETI Institute
Science Journalist
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Last modified: 
July 30, 2021