There is a point of view among astronomical researchers that is generally referred to as the Principle of Mediocrity. ... If the… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
The bottom line is that the position of the Sun relative to the stars slowly changes for any given date, and over… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Note to academics: Aristarchus' track record of astronomical research would probably have guaranteed him tenure somewhere, if tenure had been invented. His… — 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
Even if the Moon didn't exist - even if it had been vaporized billions of years ago by cantankerous Klingons - there… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Jupiter, a world far larger than Earth, is so warm that it currently radiates more internal heat than it receives from the… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
The stars look the same from night to night. Nebulae and galaxies are dully immutable, maintaining the same overall appearance for thousands… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
The planets and moons of our solar system are blatantly visible because they reflect sunlight. Without the nearby Sun, these planets would… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Today's voguish threats, including climate change, population growth, massive war, and resource depletion, are all amenable to a fix if we act… — Seth Shostak 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 Copy Share Image
Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered… — Seth Shostak 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 has been… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. But just about everyone would like to know. — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
If you could drive straight down, into a tunnel bored through the crust of the planet, you'd hit this molten mess in about an… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
While I have always thought that the motivation for looking for E.T. was both self-evident and patently worthy, it's possible that I'm a victim… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
This plucky NASA telescope is able to find planets en masse. If you compare planet hunting to prospecting for gold, then Kepler is equivalent… — Seth Shostak Copy Share Image
