Why Astronomers Are Not Looking for Yellow Planets

The sad fact is physics has us locked in an unhelpful light cone. Due to the time delay for light to cross the abyss between star systems, we're only ever able to see things as they were several thousand or million years ago. Think about how Earth was in that time frame; we'd look like an empty planet to any other extra-solar civilization, and they'd look much the same to us, presumably.

I forget which recent video I watched (edit: it was Mark Rober's video about his Octopus Maze), but it discussed octopuses (octopi?) being the closest thing to aliens on our planet. The premise is that they broke off from the evolutionary path so long ago, that their level of intelligence and physical abilities are unique compared to all other members of the animal kingdom. To be clear, no one is saying that they are actually aliens, just that they are so incredibly different in every way.

We dont often talk about the effects of gravity on life. I wonder how life would have evolved here under different gravity conditions. Since we are looking for life on other planets with potentially very different gravity we should take into account how gravity affects life and evolution. Life on alien worlds could look so different that we may hardly recognise them as lifeforms.

When i first learned that Terra used to (likely) be purple, i laughed so hard. I think it was some years ago and for some reason i couldn't help but associate it with Grimace (way before the shake craze).

The comment section taught me just as much as the video did, yall are smart af

So, I’ve always loved your videos but last month or so your videos have stepped up a new level of awesome. I’m enjoying the more detailed science! 🤗🤗

Thanks so much for creating and sharing this informative video. Great job. Keep it up.

7:55 to me that is something akin to actual magic! I've always wondered and pondered on the fact we make VitD from sunlight and thought that THAT could be straight out of a SciFi novella!

Once i learned about Bacteriophages, I couldn't help but be curious about them. Phages are the most abundant thing on earth. They are viruses that transfer info into bacteria. They look like nanotechnology. Something straight out of a sci-fi movie. It makes me wonder, what if certain things are capable of being in different places around space? If not, if they started here, could they transfer to other areas in space? Do they & other viruses play a role in life evolving and adapting?

Really enjoying the new videos, been watching since covid but there’s a clear step up with y’all’s recent uploads, well done lol

❤❤❤ thanks for your wonderful insights and soothing voice

Absolutely brilliant stuff. There is so much to learn.

Amazing content 👌

Thank you, Alex! 🦠

Super explanation.

If I was an intergalactic alien tasked with looking for signs of life? I'd go right to the heart: Sag A* is visible from most points in the Milky Way Galaxy in some way or another, so it seems like a natural rallying point or hub, at least a few light years out.

I wonder at what point the balance of methane and oxygen in the earths atmosphere was just right to light the entire atmosphere on fire

Yet another superb video

When people tell me the universe was literally DESIGNED for life... I often remind them how hard it is to even get to our own moon. EVERYTHING wants us dead.

Great video!! I can't help but giggle about the idea of purple planets though, my silly side just had to ask me: "So are there purple people eaters?" These are really fascinating possibilities. The Nautilus and HabEx are both super exciting too, and I also hope they get approval. We've been wanting - NEEDING - to get some kind of array in place that lets us have an effective "mirror" bigger than the Earth itself, for decades. I'm interested to hear more about Nautilus in particular, I'd imagine that they're going to need some very clever ideas to handle energy needs - an array like that probably wants adjustment to maintain position FAR more frequently than Hubble or Webb. Ion engines might get them into place, but I don't think those are so good for fine adjustment, correct? So there would need to be rocket thrusters of some sort? Which then implies the need for a mass of fuel, and the further problem of running OUT of fuel at some future point. But I wonder if we finally have something other than rockets for that task (that is also cost effective and sturdy). So much to be excited about!