Do Aliens Speak Physics? And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality
Do Aliens Speak Physics?: And Other Questions about Science and the Nature of Reality (Whiteson & Warner, 2025) is a mind-bending exploration into what it would mean, scientifically and philosophically, for humans to communicate with an extraterrestrial intelligence through the language of physics. Daniel Whiteson, a particle physicist, and Andy Warner tackle deep questions: Are concepts like "number," "space," "time," and "laws of nature" universal, or are they shaped by our biology, culture, and perception? What assumptions do we make that might not translate to a species evolved under utterly different conditions? The book pushes us to examine where physics ends and human perspective begins, to reflect on whether alien minds might think mathematics differently, sense reality differently, or have radically different "basic science." Join us on SETI Live as communications specialist Beth Johnson speaks with co-author Daniel Whiteson about the surprising places he found ambiguity, what assumptions underlie science as we know it, and what our notion of physics might reveal — or blind us to — when grappling with alien intelligence. Learn more about the book: https://sites.uci.edu/alienphysics/ (Recorded live 16 October 2025.)
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Birth of Planets: JWST Spots Hot Mineral Condensation in a Proto-Stellar System
How do planets start? Host Simon Steel (SETI Institute) speaks with Melissa McClure (Leiden University), lead author of a new study that caught the earliest spark of planet formation. Using JWST and ALMA, the team detected silicon monoxide (SiO)—both gaseous and likely crystalline—and pinpointed where hot, rock-forming minerals are condensing inside the protoplanetary disk of HOPS-315, ~1300 light-years away in Orion. They also map the action to a belt-like region similar to our Solar System's asteroid belt. What does SiO reveal about shocks, heat, and the first solids that seed planets? Join us to unpack the chemistry, the physics, and the cosmic "baby book" of a solar system in the making. ESO press release: https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/news/eso2512/ Nature paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09163-z (Recorded live 9 October 2025.)
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Space Weather Alert! Sunspots, Coronal Holes, and Space Storms
The Sun is restless again! A massive coronal hole has opened up, sending streams of solar wind racing toward Earth. These high-speed particles not only light up our skies with dazzling auroras but can also affect satellites, power grids, and communications. In this special SETI Live, heliophysicist Dr. Becca Robinson (SETI Institute) joins host Simon Steel (Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute) to explain what coronal holes are, how they form, and what their impacts mean for both our technology and our understanding of the Sun. Join us on October 7 at 2:30 pm PT for a deep dive into the science of solar storms, space weather, and the mysteries of our nearest star. Aurora videos courtesy of Vincent Ledvina, The Aurora Guy, https://theauroraguy.com/ Participate in citizen science at https://aurorasaurus.org/ Learn more about the MUSE mission: https://muse.lmsal.com/ (Recorded live 7 October 2025.)
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Hidden Habitability: What Dawn Discovered Beneath Ceres' Icy Crust
Join host Beth Johnson and guest Dr. Sam Courville, lead author of a new study on Ceres, as they dive into the possibility that the dwarf planet may have had the energy needed to support habitability for much longer than once believed. Using data from NASA's Dawn mission, researchers uncovered evidence of persistent geologic activity, brine movement, and long-lived energy sources beneath Ceres' icy surface. Could this small world in the asteroid belt have been more habitable than we ever imagined? Press release: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-ceres-may-have-had-long-standing-energy-to-fuel-habitability/ Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt3283 (Recorded live 2 October 2025.)
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Lunar Impact? Asteroid 2024 YR4 and the Risk to the Moon
Join host Dr. Franck Marchis and guest Dr. Andy Rivkin (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory) for a discussion on asteroid 2024 YR4 and its potential impact on the Moon. Thanks to new observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists have refined the asteroid's orbit and determined there is about a 4% chance it could strike the Moon in December 2032. While there is no risk to Earth, a lunar impact could create a crater nearly a kilometer wide and send debris into space—possibly affecting satellites or even producing a visible meteor shower. In this episode, we'll explore how JWST contributed to narrowing the odds, what such an impact would mean for lunar science, and how planetary defense research helps us better understand and prepare for near-Earth objects. NASA Blog: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/planetary-defense/2025/06/05/nasas-webb-observations-update-asteroid-2024-yr4s-lunar-impact-odds/ (Recorded live 25 September 2025.)
SETI Live is a weekly production of the SETI Institute and is recorded live on stream with viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Twitch. Guests include astronomers, planetary scientists, cosmologists, and more, working on current scientific research. Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity's quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world.
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