Cool Worlds

Cool Worlds

Space, astronomy, exoplanets, astroengineering and the search for extraterrestrial life & intelligence.The Cool Worlds Lab (http://coolworldslab.com), based at the Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, is a team of astronomers seeking to discover and understand alien worlds, particularly those where temperatures are cool enough for life, led by Professor David Kipping.Links:Subscribe!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGHZpIpAWJQ-Jy_CeCdXhMA?sub_confirmation=1

  1. 24m ago

    The First Exoplanet Claim: Captain William S Jacob

    In 1855, Captain William Stephen Jacob authored a paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society claiming that a planet likely existed in the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi. Although his claim ended being wrong, it's pretty remarkable that someone was even thinking about doing this with scientific methods at the time! Here we get into Jacob's claim, what went wrong, and what legacy this has left us with.::More about this Video::► Captain William S Jacob, "On Certain Anomalies Presented by the Binary Star 70 Ophiuchi": http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1855MNRAS..15..228J► Information compiled about Captain William Stephen Jacob and family by his living descendant, Kenneth Jacob: http://www.myjacobfamily.com/favershamjacobs/williamstephenjacob.htm► Thomas See, "Researches on the orbit of 70 Ophiuchi, and on a periodic perturbation in the motion of the system arising from the action of an unseen body": http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1896AJ.....16...17S► Forest Ray Moulton, "The limits of temporary stability of satellite motion, with an application to the question of the existence of an unseen body in the binary system 70 Ophiuchi": http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1899AJ.....20...33M► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The First Exoplanet Claim: Captain William S Jacob
  2. 53m ago

    Why Exomoons Are So Important

    Flexispot’s anniversary sale is here! Get up to 60% off with my code COOLWORLDS on orders over $500 at http://bit.ly/coolworlds10!Exoplanets was a transformative discovery for astronomy. Exomoons is the next. I’ve spent most of my career looking for exomoons and today I explain the five reasons why finding them isn’t just fascinating - it’s necessary.Written & presented by Prof. David Kipping. Edited by Jorge Casas.→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to D. Smith, M. Sloan, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, S. Brownlee, N. Kildal, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zajonc, C. Wolfred, L. Skov, G. Benson, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, S. Roulier, B. Smith, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, E. Dessoi, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, C. Hays, W. Evans, D. Bansal, J. Curtin, J. Sturm, RAND Corp., M. Donovan, N. Corwin, M. Mangione, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, G. Genova, R. Provost, B. Sigurjonsson, G. Fullwood, B. Walford, J. Boyd, N. De Haan, J. Gillmer, R. Williams, E. Garland, A. Leishman, A. Phan Le, R. Lovely, M. Spoto, A. Steele, M. Varenka, K. Yarbrough, A. Cornejo, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, G. Bylinsky, J. Werner, B. Pearson, S. Thayer, T. Edris, A. Harrison, B. Seeley, F. Blood, M. O'Brien, P. Muzyka, E. Loomans, D. Lee, J. Sargent, M. Czirr, F. Krotzer, I. Williams & J. Sattler.CHAPTERS0:00 Reason 103:20 Reason 27:18 Sponsorship8:50 Reason 310:48 Reason 412:33 Reason 516:26 The FutureMUSICLicensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via CC Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) or with permission from the artist.► Hill - A Slowly Lifting Fog► Falls - Life in Binary► Chris Zabriskie - We Were Never Meant to Live Here► Chris Zabriskie - Cylinder Two► Hill - To The Quiet Drumming Inside My Head [https://open.spotify.com/track/1QAGagFWsbTZyGfAJxs06d]► Hill - Chasing Out The Chaos [https://open.spotify.com/album/4pmiXcyRpPlFjWjb45pYLx]► Joachim Heinrich - Y#astronomy #jwst #exoplanets Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Why Exomoons Are So Important
  3. 1h ago

    Can Moons Have Moons?

    After the discovery of supersized exomoon candidates, many have been wondering - can moons have moons? And could *those* also have moons?! Today we dive into this fun little question and learn about the limits of satellites.Written & presented by Prof David Kipping→ Support our research program: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get Stash here! https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-storeTHANK-YOU to our supporters D. Smith, M. Sloan, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, S. Brownlee, N. Kildal, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zajonc, C. Wolfred, L. Skov, G. Benson, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, H. Jensen, J. Rockett, N. Fredrickson, D. Holland, E. Hanway, D. Murphree, S. Hannum, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, F. Van Exter, S. Roulier, B. Smith, P. Masterson, R. Sievers, G. Canterbury, J. Kill, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, T. Wheeler, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, E. Dessoi, J. Alexander, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, C. Hays, S. Krasner, W. Evans, D. Bansal, J. Curtin, J. Sturm, RAND Corp., I. Attard, M. Donovan, N. Corwin, M. Mangione, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, G. Genova, R. Provost, B. Sigurjonsson, G. Fullwood, T. Mitchum, B. Reid & R. Lester.::References::► Kollmeier, J. & Raymond, S. (2019), "Can Moons Have Moons?", MNRAS, 483, 80: https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.03304► Also check out Sean Raymond's excellent blog article! https://planetplanet.net/2018/10/09/can-moons-have-moons/::Music::Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], or via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), or with permission from the artist► Brad Hill - There Is but One Good (00:00) [https://open.spotify.com/album/4pmiXcyRpPlFjWjb45pYLx0]► Falls - Life in Binary (4:08)► Chris Zabriskie - Cylinder Four (8:50)► Joachim Heinrich - Stjarna (12:05)► Indive - Trace Correction (14:54)::Film/TV clips used::► Sunshine (2007) Fox Searchlight Pictures► First Man (2017) Universal Pictures► Another Earth (2011) Fox Searchlight Pictures► Moonfall (2022) Lionsgate► Agora (2009) Focus Features International► Outro clip by Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Berkeley Lab, Miguel Aragon, Mark Subbarao & Alex Szalay::Chapters::00:00 Introduction02:28 How are moons lost?04:08 Tides06:22 Moon Hill Spheres07:19 Analytic Results09:03 Iapetus10:12 Giant exomoons11:46 Moon moon moons13:55 Final thoughts14:54 Outro & credits#MoonMoons #SubMoons #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Can Moons Have Moons?
  4. 1h ago

    Our First Contact with Aliens Will Be Their Last Words

    For 72 hours, enjoy 15% OFF on all Hoverpens with code COOLWORLDS, or click on the link https://noviumdesign.shop/CoolWorlds - Free shipping to most countries. Also on Amazon: https://noviumdesign.shop/1HrMzsWhat is the most realistic way we'll detect an alien civilization? If the history of science and astronomy is any guide, there is a clear answer: The Eschatian Hypothesis.Written & presented by David Kipping→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/cool-worlds→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to D. Smith, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, S. Brownlee, E. West, T. Zajonc, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, J. Rockett, M. Sanford, T. Donkin, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Armstrong, B. Smith, J. Bergman, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, N. Corwin, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, R. Provost, G. Fullwood, N. De Haan, R. Williams, E. Garland, R. Lovely, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, T. Edris, M. O'Brien, D. Lee, M. Czirr, I. Williams, B. Reese, A. Nimmerjahn, C. Seay, D. Johnson, L. Cunningham, M. Morrow, M. Campbell, B. Devermont, P. Borisoff, H. Schiff, J. Cos, C. Hansen, R. Chaffee, A. Ortiz, B. McMillan, B. Cartmell, J. Bryant, J. Obioma, M. Zeiler, S. Murray, S. Patterson, C. Kennedy, G. Le Saint, W. Ruf, A. Kochkov, B. Langley, P. Stevenson, T. Ford, A. Laroye, I. Venzor, R. Raszka, B. Gaalen, J. Alley, D. Aron, G. Thomsen, S. Shardool, A. Phan Le, N. Offor, A. Huch, J. Morrison, C. Fitzsimmons, W. Smith, A. Twyman, B. Burgess, B. Bueche, D. Hoffman, J. Murphy, J. Matters, R. Borbidge, A. Singh, S. Larter, M. Adler, B. Ross-Lee, C. Frederick, M. Farabee, P. Johnston, V. Popovski & J. Brooks.REFERENCES► Kipping et al., 2025, "The Eschatian Hypothesis", RNAAS, accepted: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09970MUSICLicensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via CC Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) or with permission from the artist. You can see all of our past music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Bu2UQlKDb0KaeliLZUOZn0:00 Hill - Fragile Beings2:46 Hill - Stratus7:42 Chris Zabriskie - Cylinder Four10:51 Hill - To Accept the Partings That Must Come13:40 Joachim Heinrich - YCHAPTERS0:00 Teaser0:34 History4:02 Supernovae6:16 Novium7:42 Eschatian Civilizations11:00 Desperation13:47 Anti-Hollywood15:21 Credits & Outro#Aliens #FermiParadox #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Our First Contact with Aliens Will Be Their Last Words
  5. 2h ago

    Can We Save Ourselves?

    Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off. Rubin Observatory just came online and one of its main goals is to detect comets and asteroids that could threaten the Earth. But how long will this take? How many threats do we know of so far? And what could we do about it if we discovered one with our name on it? Join us today as we explore just how dangerous the skies can be...Written & presented by Prof. David Kipping, edited by Jorge Casas.→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to T. Widdowson, D. Smith, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, S. Brownlee, E. West, T. Zajonc, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, M. Sanford, T. Donkin, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, S. Marks, B. Smith, J. Kruger, S. Applegate, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, W. Evans, N. Corwin, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, R. Provost, G. Fullwood, N. De Haan, R. Williams, E. Garland, R. Lovely, A. Cornejo, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, G. Bylinsky, J. Werner, S. Thayer, T. Edris, F. Blood, M. O'Brien, D. Lee, J. Sargent, M. Czirr, F. Krotzer, I. Williams, J. Sattler, B. Reese, O. Shabtay, X. Yao, S. Saverys, A. Nimmerjahn, C. Seay, D. Johnson, L. Cunningham, M. Morrow, M. Campbell, B. Devermont, Y. Muheim, A. Stark, C. Caminero, P. Borisoff, A. Donovan, H. Schiff, J. Cos, J. Oliver, B. Kite, C. Hansen, J. Shamp, R. Chaffee, A. Ortiz, B. McMillan, B. Cartmell, J. Bryant, J. Obioma, M. Zeiler, S. Murray, S. Patterson, C. Kennedy, G. Le Saint, W. Ruf, A. Kochkov, B. Langley, D. Ohman, P. Stevenson, T. Ford, T. Tarrants, A. Laroye, I. Venzor, R. Raszka, B. Gaalen, A. Taylor, D. Wedgewood, J. Alley, D. Aron, G. Thomsen, S. Shardool, B. Kingston, A. Phan Le, N. Voyton, N. Offor, A. Huch, J. Morrison & C. Fitzsimmons.MUSICLicensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via CC Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) or with permission from the artist.0:00 Hill - There Is but One Good [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]4:18 Hill - When Comfort Becomes Uncomfortable [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]7:24 Hill - World of Wonder [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]9:00 Hill - A Flickering Start [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]11:51 Hill - Pinhole of Light [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]16:22 Hill - Bruised Hope [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]20:09 Hill - The Meek [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]CHAPTERS0:00 Prologue1:13 Populations4:20 NEOs7:24 Incogni9:00 Spaceguard10:15 Oort Cloud12:22 Threat Assessment16:08 Deflection19:44 Insurance22:55 Credits#Asteroid #Rubin #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Can We Save Ourselves?
  6. 2h ago

    Earth Over The Next Billion Years

    Our lifespans might feel like a long time by human standards, but to the Earth it's the blink of an eye. Even the entirety of human history represents a tiny slither of the vast chronology for our planet. We often think about geological time when looking back into the past, but today we look ahead. What might happen on our planet in the next billion years?Written and presented by Prof David Kipping, edited by Jorge Casas.→ Support our research program: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get Stash here! https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-storeTHANK-YOU to our supporters D. Smith, M. Sloan, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, S. Brownlee, N. Kildal, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zajonc, C. Wolfred, L. Skov, G. Benson, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, S. Hannum, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, S. Roulier, B. Smith, G. Canterbury, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, E. Dessoi, J. Alexander, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, C. Hays, W. Evans, D. Bansal, J. Curtin, J. Sturm, RAND Corp., M. Donovan, N. Corwin, M. Mangione, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, G. Genova, R. Provost, B. Sigurjonsson, G. Fullwood, B. Walford, J. Boyd, N. De Haan, J. Gillmer, R. Williams, E. Garland, A. Leishman, A. Phan Le, R. Lovely, M. Spoto, A. Steele, M. Varenka, K. Yarbrough & F. Demopoulos.::Music::Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), or with permission from the artist► 00:00 Hill - All Flesh Is as the Grass [https://open.spotify.com/track/1WuMK4qy9tUSGMINoEClxL?si=5635838259b34fa4]► 03:56 Hill - The Great Alchemist [https://open.spotify.com/track/3PAx36jIsKiQMT9CQsRk4G?si=035fc819505445a1]► 07:50 Outside the Sky - Trillions► 11:41 Hill - We Are Unceasing Beings [https://open.spotify.com/track/3TnhawPMycRrPuTnKzNGNN?si=bddf4e61177d48c4]► 14:57 Indive - Halo Drive::Chapters::00:00 A Recurring Dream02:12 The Timescape Ahead04:06 Gyr Evolution06:32 A Technological Future?09:38 What We Leave Behind11:42 Who Are We To Them?13:02 Unidirectional14:57 Outro and credits#GeologicalTime #Earth #Future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Earth Over The Next Billion Years
  7. 3h ago

    Einstein's (small) mistake

    Breakthrough Starshot plans to accelerate a gram-mass spacecraft up to one-fifth the speed of light to reach nearby stars in our lifetimes. In a recent video (https://youtu.be/Ksb6Vh0BT_E), I discussed some work I'd taken on calculating how the speed of the spacecraft (a light sail) changes as one shines an intense laser beam on it. It turns out my equations differ with the predictions of the Breakthrough team, and indeed just about everyone whose worked on this problem all the way to Einstein himself, who treated it as an example calculation for relativity. Remarkably, there does appear to be a small mistake in this example calculation (but not relativity itself) and in this video I explain how I came across it, why I'm convinced it's right and the nature of serendipitous discovery.::More about this Video::► The paper (now accepted for publication) is available here- David Kipping (2017), "Relativistic Light Sails": https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.04310► Asst Prof David Kipping homepage: www.davidkipping.com► Philip Lubin (2016), "A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight": https://arxiv.org/abs/1604.01356► Kulkarni, Lubin & Zhang (2016), "Relativistic solutions to directed energy": http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=2555764► Arthur Compton (1923), "A Quantum Theory of the Scattering of X-rays by Light Elements": https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.21.483► Albert Einstein (1905), "Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper": http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/andp.19053221004/abstract► Breakthrough Initiatives website: https://breakthroughinitiatives.org► Cool Worlds Lab website: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu► Columbia University Department of Astronomy: http://www.astro.columbia.edu► Background music by MelodySheep "Secrets of the Stars": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuxFXHircaI::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! ヅ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Einstein's (small) mistake

About

Space, astronomy, exoplanets, astroengineering and the search for extraterrestrial life & intelligence.The Cool Worlds Lab (http://coolworldslab.com), based at the Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, is a team of astronomers seeking to discover and understand alien worlds, particularly those where temperatures are cool enough for life, led by Professor David Kipping.Links:Subscribe!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGHZpIpAWJQ-Jy_CeCdXhMA?sub_confirmation=1

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