StarTalk: Bringing the Universe Down to Earth
StarTalk: Bringing the Universe Down to Earth

StarTalk

Science, pop culture, and comedy collide on StarTalk! Astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, celebrity guests, and scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! Click here for more information.

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  • How Did Life Begin? with Betül Kaçar

    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.

    Low-temperature electron micrograph of a cluster of E. coli bacteria, magnified 10,000 times. Each individual bacterium is oblong shaped.
  • Cosmic Queries – Take Me To Your Leader

    What would you actually do if an alien showed up and asked to be taken to your leader? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Paul Mecurio, and astrophysicist Charles Liu explore fan questions about physics of near-light-speed travel, Dark Forest Theory from The Three Body Problem, and whether the universe itself might be conscious.

    POV of an alien abduction experience.
  • Cosmic Queries – Total Darkness

    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 much much more.

    This VISTA image shows the spectacular star-forming region known as the Flame Nebula, or NGC 2024, in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter) and its surroundings.
  • Secrets of Asteroid Bennu with Harold Connolly Jr.

    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.

    This mosaic of Bennu was created using observations made by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that was in close proximity to the asteroid for over two years.
  • Project Hail Mary with Andy Weir

    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.)

    Five years into its mission, Solar Orbiter stuns again with this detailed view of the Sun. What you see is the Sun’s million-degree hot atmosphere, called the corona, as it looks in ultraviolet light.
  • Exploring Hidden Dimensions with Brian Greene

    Is our universe an inevitable outcome of the laws of physics? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with theoretical physicist Brian Greene to discuss the Many-Worlds Interpretation, the structure of the multiverse, levels of infinity, and respond to cosmic queries Neil couldn’t answer.

    The Universe is crammed with galaxies, as illustrated by the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field (pictured), but if it’s brighter than expected, then there could be even more galactic structures than previously thought.
  • Things You Thought You Knew – Sonic BOOM!

    Where does the wind come from? What is a sonic boom? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice explain things you thought you knew about sonic booms, daily temperatures, and how wind works.

    A cloud forms as this F/A-18 Hornet aircraft speeds up to supersonic speed.
  • Dark Universe Decoded with Katherine Freese

    What are the main candidates for dark matter? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice sit down with theoretical physicist Katherine Freese to tackle fan questions about dark matter, dark energy, and the dark universe at large.

    This image is a creative illustration that shows what scientists call "The Large Scale Structure of the Universe." It is heavily influenced by dark matter, which which acts as the underlying scaffolding that attracts and draws together normal matter.
  • Cosmic Queries – Gravitons & Hyperspeed

    What if we took Earth… and pushed it somewhere else? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer grab bag fan questions about gravitons, hyperspeed, saving the sun, and more!

    This image shows the full survey of the inner Orion Nebula and Trapezium Cluster made using the NIRCam instrument on the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.
  • Science at Warp Speed: StarTalk Live!

    How much energy would it take to make a warp drive? Neil deGrasse Tyson joined by Sasheer Zamata & Pete Holmes explore the science in TV shows from antimatter annihilation to tachyons to warp bubbles with astrophysicist & science advisor for Star Trek, Erin Macdonald, and particle physicist & advisor for The Big Bang Theory and Oppenheimer, David Saltzberg.

    Illustration of Antimatter/Matter Annihilation Antimatter is made up of elementary particles that have the same masses as their corresponding matter counterparts but the opposite charges and magnetic properties. This illustration shows what happens when a particle of antimatter collides with one of matter