Astronomy 162 - Stars, Galaxies, & the Universe

A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in modern astronomy.

Where are Lectures 1-4? This is a good question, and one I've gotten from many listeners. Here's the answer. Recorded 2006 Nov 27 on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

Welcome to the Astronomy 162 Lecture Podcasts! This is a brief message from me explaining the podcasts, and welcoming new and old listeners. Recorded 2006 Mar 10 on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

How can we search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and what are we looking for? This second part of a 2-part lecture picks up where we left off yesterday by examining SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, and reviews what we might look for and how. We will use this as a point of departure to then briefly review where we have come and what we have learned in Astronomy 162, bringing this course to a close for Winter Quarter 2006. Recorded 2006 Mar 10 in 1008 Evans Laboratory on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.

Are we alone in the Universe? This is the first part of a 2-part lecture that will explore the question of life and the Universe. We will look at the conditions needed for life, and address the question of how often we expect those conditions to be satisfied in our own Galaxy. In this part, we introduce the Drake Equation and make some basic estimates. To be honest, it was supposed to be one lecture, but I ran over time and ran into the bell. Oops! Very embarrasing. Tomorrow's lecture will finish up our discussion of life in the Universe, and then wrap up Astronomy 162 for the quarter. Recorded 2006 March 9 in 1008 Evans Laboratory on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.