We can no better imagine what will be happening on the moon 500 years from now than Columbus could imagine contemporary Manhattan.… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
No heating system can deliver perfectly uniform temperatures throughout a house, and drafts can magnify the perceived difference in temperatures. Try walking… — Seth Shostak Differences Copy Share Image
If gravity were somewhat stronger or weaker, stars wouldn't exist, and neither would you. And the same can be said of other… — Seth Shostak Astronomy Copy Share Image
People don't learn science in movies. You don't go to the movies thinking, 'I hope I learn some quantum mechanics this afternoon.'… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Planets that don't currently sport plate tectonics, such as Venus and Mars, are scarcely habitable. Tectonics might be a requirement of any… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Of course, Sol is a big ball of hot gas, but one that - thanks to its endlessly boiling innards - shakes… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
In the 19th century, if you had a basement lab, you could make major scientific discoveries in your own home. Right? Because… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Forecasting Armageddon has become trendy of late, with a great deal of attention being given to an interpretation of the Mayan Calendar… — Seth Shostak Armageddon Copy Share Image
The central region of the Milky Way, known as the bulge, is stuffed with literally tens of billions of stars. And most… — Seth Shostak Astronomy Copy Share Image
When I graduated high school, nearly a half-million people subscribed to 'Popular Electronics' magazine. Soldering up some radio or hi-fi amplifier on… — Seth Shostak Amplifier Copy Share Image
It will be the mother of all telescopes, and you can bet it will do for astronomy what genome sequencing is doing… — Seth Shostak Astronomy Copy Share Image
'Dating Game' wasn't social commentary, political analysis, Shakespearean-level drama or even blunt-force comedy. It was just the televised equivalent of meeting someone… — Seth Shostak Analysis Copy Share Image
What's a space elevator? Simply described, it's a thin ribbon, about 3 feet wide and 60 thousand miles long, stretching upwards from… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
The strongest signals leaking off our planet are radar transmissions, not television or radio. The most powerful radars, such as the one… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Lamentably, alien audiences may be frustrated by the switch to digital television. That's because the transmitter power for DTV is fairly evenly… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
The bottom line is that finding orphan planets - small, faint, and located who-knows-where - is not for the faint of heart.… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
'E.T.' was far-fetched. 'E.T.' was this wimpy-looking kid that came to Earth to pick some plants, but he came from the Andromeda… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Recent results from astronomers who study the occasional gravitational lensing of unknown worlds by intervening stars suggest that orphan planets could be… — Seth Shostak Astronomy Copy Share Image
As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Are two eyes, four appendages and an upright posture really essential for any creature that can ace the galactic SAT's? Maybe not.… — Seth Shostak Ace Copy Share Image
Nine out of 10 Hollywood aliens look like us. Oh, sure, they might be short, big-eyed and hairless - decked out in… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Mars still remains the astrobiology community's number one choice for 'nearest rock with life,' but there are many researchers who argue that… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Like prospecting in the 19th century, reconnaissance of the asteroids would of necessity take place in an arena where trouble is likely… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
If the cosmos isn't finite, then far, far away, floating duplicates of your brain - with all its experiences, thoughts, and emotions… — Seth Shostak Astronomy Copy Share Image
The Moon is a ball of left-over debris from a cosmic collision that took place more than four billion years ago. A… — Seth Shostak Asteroid Copy Share Image
The cosmos is three times as old as Earth. During most of creation's 14 billion year history, our solar system wasn't around.… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Neil Armstrong was no Christopher Columbus. In most respects, he was better. Unlike the famous fifteenth century seafarer, Armstrong knew where he… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
'What was there before the Big Bang?' That's a question that both kids and adults love to pose to anyone who seems… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Astronomers still can't decide what the shape of our universe is. Is it closed and finite, which is to say, is there… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
The next time you check your moves in the mirror and reflect on how special you are, consider that somewhere in this… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
I think there's a lot of intelligence out there, but that's just my guess. Question is: Are they peaceable or hostile? You… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Given the tendency of many to picture God's realm as somewhere high above Earth - an idea that sounds suspiciously like the… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Ever since the Second World War, television signals (as well as FM radio and radar) have served as Homo sapiens' emissaries into… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Our computers double in capability on time scales of only a few years. It's hardly outrageous to believe that we will successfully… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
We'll be 'outsourcing' our creativity and our thought processes to manufactured components that could be inconspicuously implanted beneath our coiffeurs. Welcome to… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
You may not see massive UFO exhibits at your local science museum, but there's no dearth of saucer stories infesting my email.… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
It's hard to imagine anything more interesting than learning how we're woven into the enormous tapestry of existence. Where did our universe… — Seth Shostak Academia Copy Share Image
A century ago, scientists believed there was only one obvious stomping ground for alien biology in our solar system: Mars. Because it… — Seth Shostak Alien Copy Share Image
When was the last time you bought an American-made radio or television? If you're Gen X or younger, the answer is 'never.'… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
By 2020, most home computers will have the computing power of a human brain. That doesn't mean that they are brains, but… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
