Space Archaeology with Sarah Parcak

About This Episode

Who really built the pyramids? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice learn about space archaeology, LIDAR, and discovering tombs, pyramids, and new Nazca lines with space archaeologist Sarah Parcak.

Discover how archaeologists use space technology to find archaeological sites. Why are we using satellites to see stuff we can go to? We explore LIDAR and using the near-infrared to uncover tombs, pyramids, and more hidden under the rainforest.

Find out how anyone can use NASA satellite data to discover archaeological sites. We discuss false positives and the time Sarah almost ignored a strong signature and nearly missed finding a massive Viking hall. Plus, learn about layered cities and how many Egyptian archaeological sites are left to be found.

Learn how citizen space archaeologists helped discover new Nazca lines in Peru. Sarah shares her response to people who think the aliens built the pyramids and why you shouldn’t substitute imagination for science. We talk about the possibility of finding fossils on the moon from ejected Earth rock, The Drake Equation, and studying the Space Station. Plus, what is the most common thing archaeologists dig up across all cultures?

Thanks to our Patrons Bo Cribbs, Anna Wheatley, Fred Gibson, David Griffith, Micheal Richards, Advynturer, Vici Bradsher, Terry Migliorino, Lingji Chen, and Audrey Lynch for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.