Science and Society | Are We Alone in the Universe?

Online

We may never know for sure, but a famous equation—first written on a chalkboard 65 years ago—offers a way to estimate the odds of intelligent life emerging on a planet somewhere in the universe. Seven Rasmussen’s new book, Cloudy with a Chance of Starships, takes an irreverent tour through the cosmos, using a road map known as the Drake equation to guide readers from the basics of astronomy to the frontiers of planetary science and astrobiology. Along the way, Rasmussen covers topics including the big bang, the formation of solar systems, the origins and evolution of life, and the likelihood of intelligent life emerging on a planet and becoming technological.

Seven Rasmussen is an astrobiologist, author, and science communicator whose work has been featured widely in the media, including Popular Science, Wired, Nature, Scientific American, Inside Higher Ed, Science, and Space.com. She received her Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Notre Dame and is currently an instructor at Columbia University and in the CUNY system.

We invite you to support the author by purchasing a copy of their book from Browseabout Books. Call-in orders are accepted at (302) 226-2665 or you can stop by the store to purchase a copy. For store hours, please visit their website.

The library's “Science and Society – Making Sense of the World Around Us” lecture series is co-organized and moderated by Fred Dylla, Executive Director Emeritus of the American Institute of Physics and author of Scientific Journeys, Linda Dylla, former public information officer at the Jefferson Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, and Colin Norman, the former News Editor at Science.

NOTE: this meeting is being conducted through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER to receive instructions for joining the meeting.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email the library.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for all our sessions. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.