Adam Frank

Yeah, that's the question, right? The amazing thing is that after two and a half millennia of people yelling at each other or setting each other on fire occasionally over the answer, we now actually have the capacity to answer that question. So in the next 10, 20, 30 years, we're going to have data relevant to the answer to that question.

Yeah, that's the question, right? The amazing thing is that after two and a half millennia of people yelling at each other or setting each other on fire occasionally over the answer, we now actually have the capacity to answer that question. So in the next 10, 20, 30 years, we're going to have data relevant to the answer to that question.

Yeah, that's the question, right? The amazing thing is that after two and a half millennia of people yelling at each other or setting each other on fire occasionally over the answer, we now actually have the capacity to answer that question. So in the next 10, 20, 30 years, we're going to have data relevant to the answer to that question.

We're going to have hard data finally that will, one way or the other, you know, even if we don't find anything immediately, we will have gone through a number of planets. We'll be able to start putting limits on how common we are. life is. The one answer I can tell you, which was an important part of the problem, is how many planets are there, right?

We're going to have hard data finally that will, one way or the other, you know, even if we don't find anything immediately, we will have gone through a number of planets. We'll be able to start putting limits on how common we are. life is. The one answer I can tell you, which was an important part of the problem, is how many planets are there, right?

We're going to have hard data finally that will, one way or the other, you know, even if we don't find anything immediately, we will have gone through a number of planets. We'll be able to start putting limits on how common we are. life is. The one answer I can tell you, which was an important part of the problem, is how many planets are there, right?

And just like people have been arguing about the existence of life elsewhere for 2,500 years, people have been arguing about planets for the exact same amount of time, right? You can see Aristotle yelling at Democritus about this. You can see they had very wildly different opinions about how common planets were going to be and how unique Earth was. And that question got answered, right?

And just like people have been arguing about the existence of life elsewhere for 2,500 years, people have been arguing about planets for the exact same amount of time, right? You can see Aristotle yelling at Democritus about this. You can see they had very wildly different opinions about how common planets were going to be and how unique Earth was. And that question got answered, right?

And just like people have been arguing about the existence of life elsewhere for 2,500 years, people have been arguing about planets for the exact same amount of time, right? You can see Aristotle yelling at Democritus about this. You can see they had very wildly different opinions about how common planets were going to be and how unique Earth was. And that question got answered, right?

Which is pretty remarkable that in a lifetime you can have a 2,500-year-old question. The answer is they're everywhere. There are planets everywhere. And it was possible that planets were really rare. We didn't really understand how planets formed. And so if you go back to, say, the turn of the 20th century –

Which is pretty remarkable that in a lifetime you can have a 2,500-year-old question. The answer is they're everywhere. There are planets everywhere. And it was possible that planets were really rare. We didn't really understand how planets formed. And so if you go back to, say, the turn of the 20th century –

Which is pretty remarkable that in a lifetime you can have a 2,500-year-old question. The answer is they're everywhere. There are planets everywhere. And it was possible that planets were really rare. We didn't really understand how planets formed. And so if you go back to, say, the turn of the 20th century –

There was a theory that said planets formed when two stars passed by each other closely and then material was gravitationally squeezed out. In which case, those kinds of collisions are so rare that you would expect one in a trillion stars to have planets. Instead, every star in the night sky has planets.

There was a theory that said planets formed when two stars passed by each other closely and then material was gravitationally squeezed out. In which case, those kinds of collisions are so rare that you would expect one in a trillion stars to have planets. Instead, every star in the night sky has planets.

There was a theory that said planets formed when two stars passed by each other closely and then material was gravitationally squeezed out. In which case, those kinds of collisions are so rare that you would expect one in a trillion stars to have planets. Instead, every star in the night sky has planets.

That actually we're able to do now. There is, you can run simulations of the formation of planetary system. So if you run the simulation, really where you wanna start is a cloud of gas, these giant interstellar clouds of gas that may have a million times the mass of the sun in them. And so you run a simulation of that. It's turbulent. The gas is roiling and tumbling.

That actually we're able to do now. There is, you can run simulations of the formation of planetary system. So if you run the simulation, really where you wanna start is a cloud of gas, these giant interstellar clouds of gas that may have a million times the mass of the sun in them. And so you run a simulation of that. It's turbulent. The gas is roiling and tumbling.

That actually we're able to do now. There is, you can run simulations of the formation of planetary system. So if you run the simulation, really where you wanna start is a cloud of gas, these giant interstellar clouds of gas that may have a million times the mass of the sun in them. And so you run a simulation of that. It's turbulent. The gas is roiling and tumbling.

And every now and then you get a place where the gas is dense enough that gravity gets hold of it and it can pull it downward. So you'll start to form a protostar. And a protostar is basically the young star of this ball of gas where nuclear reactions are getting started. But it's also a disk. So as material falls inward, because everything's rotating,

And every now and then you get a place where the gas is dense enough that gravity gets hold of it and it can pull it downward. So you'll start to form a protostar. And a protostar is basically the young star of this ball of gas where nuclear reactions are getting started. But it's also a disk. So as material falls inward, because everything's rotating,