How much of the galaxy have we actually searched for extraterrestrial life? Neil deGrasse Tyson explores just how little we’ve looked at with Jill Tarter, astronomer and former director of the SETI Institute. Jill makes an astounding comparison of how much we’ve searched the galaxy for extraterrestrial life to searching for fish in the ocean that will put things in perspective.
Then, Neil is joined by comic co-host Michael Ian Black and Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, to ponder what humanity’s role is if we find out we’re alone in the universe. Lastly, we answer a couple Cosmic Queries on discovering E.T. signals from life long gone and the process behind sharing signals with the public when we finally receive them.
This segment originally appeared in our 4x Emmy-nominated StarTalk TV show on the National Geographic Channel, and in the StarTalk Radio podcast, The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, with Jill Tarter, on June 2, 2017.
