Cool Worlds

About 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

Publisher

Cool Worlds

Category

education · science · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Sept 2026

Latest episode

29 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

139 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Oct 2026

   The Drake Equation After Sixty Years | Part 1 of 2

   Sixty years ago Frank Drake wrote down an equation that has become one of the most famous in astronomy - the Drake Equation. This formula, aiming to estimate the number of alien civilizations communicating within the galaxy, has been celebrated, abused and criticized. Today, we are taking a deep dive into this special equation in a two part special. Written and presented by Prof David Kipping. Thanks to Jason Wright and Nadia Drake for help with this video.This video was sponsored by CuriosityStream - sign up for CuriosityStream here: https://curiositystream.com/CoolWorlds and be sure to use the code: "CoolWorlds" WATCH PART TWO HERE: https://youtu.be/kliJ-CFVLeEYou can support our research program and the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University: https://www.coolworldslab.com/supportGet Stash here! https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-storeThank-you to our supporters T. Widdowson, D. Smith, M. Sloan, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, J. Allen, S. Brownlee, G. Fulton, N. Kildal, M. Lijoi, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zanjonc, C. Wolfred, F. Rebolledo, T. Leger, L. Skov, G. Suter, M. Elliot, M. Wallstab, B. Daniluk, J. Patrick-Saunders, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, V. Alexandrov, L. Macchia, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, H. Jensen, F. Linker, J. Rockett, N. Fredrickson, N. Geisler, P. Cleeves, R. Case & B. Desormeaux.::References::► Kipping, D., 2021, "A Stationary Drake Equation Distribution as a Balance of Birth-death Processes", RNAAS, 5, 44: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/abeb7b::Check out Dr. Sutter's videos for more::► Paul M. Sutter - The Equation is Useless (Part 1): https://youtu.be/6B8yAxiPbk0► Paul M. Sutter - The Equation is Useless (Part 2): https://youtu.be/B8-k8ZoMaa0::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► "Bruised Hope" by Hill [Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]► "Long Note Two" by Kevin MacLeod► "Y" by Joachim Heinrich► "Always Dreaming" by Caleb Etheridge► "Fusion" by Indive► "Cylinder Five" by Chris Zabriskie► "Ticking" by Alternate Endings::Movies clips used::► Agora (2009) 20th Century Fox/Newmarket Films► Contact (1997) Warner Bros.► The Big Short (2015) Paramount Pictures► Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993) Paramount Television::Chapters::0:00 Prologue2:48 Origins8:23 The Drakonian Free-For-All14:58 Criticisms of the Drake Equation#DrakeEquation #AreWeAlone #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. 

   29 Oct 2026

   The Birth-Death Drake Equation | Part 2 of 2

   Welcome to Part Two of our deep dive into the Drake Equation. In the second part, we explore the temporal aspect of the Drake Equation and how it illuminates a path towards an alternative formalism - the Birth-Death formalism. Join us as we move forward to the bleeding edge of modern research on the Drake Equation. Written and presneted by Prof David Kipping. Thanks to Jason Wright and Nadia Drake for help with this video.This video was sponsored by CuriosityStream - sign up for CuriosityStream here: https://curiositystream.com/CoolWorlds and be sure to use the code: "CoolWorlds" WATCH PART ONE HERE: https://youtu.be/dM_Pelfc92sYou can support our research program and the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University: https://www.coolworldslab.com/supportGet Stash here! https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-storeThank-you to our supporters T. Widdowson, D. Smith, M. Sloan, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, J. Allen, S. Brownlee, G. Fulton, N. Kildal, M. Lijoi, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zanjonc, C. Wolfred, F. Rebolledo, T. Leger, L. Skov, G. Suter, M. Elliot, M. Wallstab, B. Daniluk, J. Patrick-Saunders, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, V. Alexandrov, L. Macchia, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, H. Jensen, F. Linker, J. Rockett, N. Fredrickson, N. Geisler, P. Cleeves, R. Case & B. Desormeaux.::References::► Kipping, D., 2021, "A Stationary Drake Equation Distribution as a Balance of Birth-death Processes", RNAAS, 5, 44: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/abeb7b::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► "Waking Up" by Atlas► "Always Dreaming" by Caleb Etheridge► "The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow" by Chris Zabriskie► "Y" by Joachim Heinrich► "Fusion" by Indive► "Cylinder Five" by Chris Zabriskie► "The Oceans Continue to Rise" by Chris Zabriskie► "Stories About the World That Once Was" by Chris Zabriskie► "Trace Correction" by Indive::Movies clips used::► The Time Machine (2002) DreamWorks/Warner Bros.► Noah (2014) Paramount Pictures::Chapters::0:00 Drakonian Time9:37 The Birth-Death Formalism15:25 Some Consequences of the Birth-Death Formalism22:14 Final ThoughtsThumbnail by Paul Brennus: https://paulboy.artstation.com/store/art_posters/m9Bx/lost-in-mind#DrakeEquation #AreWeAlone #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. 

   29 Oct 2026

   Nobel Prize Physics 2017 for Gravitational Waves! | Nick Stone

   The Nobel Prize for Physics 2017 was announced this week and astronomers won the day! So who won the prize and why? This week Dr Nick Stone swung by the Cool Worlds Lab to tell us about the historic discovery of graviational waves from merging black holes and how this year's winner pioneered methods to discover them. ::More about this Video::► Nobel Prize in Physics 2017 announcement: https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/phys…► Abbott et al. (2016), "Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger": https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102► Barish & Weiss (1999), "LIGO and the Detection of Gravitational Waves": http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/52/10/10.1063/1.882861► Columbia University Department of Astronomy: http://www.astro.columbia.edu► Cool Worlds Lab website: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu► Outro music by 8-bit Universe "Harder Better Faster Stronger [8 Bit Cover Tribute to Daft Punk]": https://8bituniverse.bandcamp.com/track/harder-better-faster-stronger-8-bit-tribute-to-daft-punk::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/CoolWorldsQATabby's Star ► http://bit.ly/TabbysStarScience 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