Cosmic Knowledge and the Long-term Strategy of the Human Race
Sandra Faber, UC Santa Cruz
Modern astronomy has succeeded remarkably well in explaining the cosmic origins of the human race — how the Galaxy was assembled, how the Sun and Earth were formed, and from where the precious chemical elements that comprise our bodies came. For the first time in history, the human race is poised to use that knowledge of our cosmic past to predict our cosmic future, and it looks extraordinarily bright ahead. Evidently, we human beings have been given the most precious gift of all, cosmic time — roughly a billion years of it. The ultimate challenge to our species is now clear: how will we use this extraordinary opportunity? Incorporating the profound insights from cosmology will be central to answering this question.
Hosted by Dr. Frank Summers
Recorded live on May 3, 2016 at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, USA
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