Cosmic Queries – From Wine to Wormholes

About This Episode

What would happen to Earth if Jupiter stopped rotating? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice answer a grab bag of fan questions about the challenges with space telescopes, the nature of AI, and whether aliens are funny.

Can we ever grow wine on another planet? Neil explains why grapes barely grow on most of Earth and how it could be even harder to achieve the right conditions on another planet. How big could space-based telescopes really get? Neil breaks down space interferometry, the dream of a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon, and why maintenance costs matter as much as construction. Plus, learn about how Jupiter’s spin generates its powerful magnetic core.

How can academics keep AI inquiry open when public discourse is dominated by fear? Neil explores how it’s computers doing more of what computers have always done, slowly encroaching on human labor from arithmetic to language. Is AI itself dangerous, or is it what you’re doing with the computing power?

Do aliens have a sense of humor? Is comedic timing a universal constant or specific to human timescales? Neil and Chuck explore whether other animals tell jokes, trace laughter back to our common ancestor with chimps, and consider whether cockroaches cleaning their antennae might be swapping punchlines. Could a Casimir effect substitute for exotic matter to hold a wormhole open? How close does Andromeda need to be before we could realistically reach it and could a wormhole get us there before the two galaxies collide and stars start stealing each other’s planets?

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