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Do Colliding Pulsars Create All of the Universe’s Gold? | Cosmic Queries #112

2026-06-09 Science & Technology
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T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet Order Take Me to Your Leader here 👇 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Take-Me-to-Your-Leader/Neil-deGrasse-Tyson/9781668249970 Are all galaxies redshifting away? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Negin Farsad tackle a grab bag of fan questions covering cosmic infrastructure, redshift, werewolves, gravitational waves, and the nature of time itself. Could micro-satellites serve as cosmic relay points between spacecraft? We explore the concept of deep space fueling stations and how space travel often comes down to one big fuel problem. If Neil could pick one thing that scientists say can’t be done to come true, what would he pick? Learn how the laws of physics are always right but have their limits. What causes redshift when light travels great distances? We explore how redshifting works across the light spectrum and what causes it and explain why almost every galaxy is redshifted, with one famous blueshifting galaxy. Does the full moon trigger seizures or influence human behavior? Neil dismantles moon myths and why werewolves should be just as active in the day as they are on nights with a full moon. Why haven't gravitational wave detections been confirmed by optical telescopes? Learn how LIGO found colliding black holes and how pulsars are helping bridge the world between gravitational and optical telescopes. Will we find life on Mars in the next 30 years? Is time itself an emergent illusion? And is building artificial intelligence not unnatural at all or is it just the next layer of complexity in what nature has been doing all along? Thanks to our Patrons Alex Nuche, Christian Payne, Gage Ewing, Ryan Whynot, Temirlan, 2 Lives Left, Chad Keeler, Harli Shae Smith, Brad Smith, Norm Bailey, James Peterson, Ryan Coppens, David Whittenberg, Scott Jarboe, Varun Krishnan, Eric Salinas, Mary Seman, Melissa Davis, Stephen Rockwell, Catrina, Max Wilburn, keith Koenigsberg, LEIII, Vincent Loniello, Simon Toth, DoctorWaterGod, Ruthanne Nava, Martineau Alex, Matthew, Phil, Jaden, Arik Drori, Papersneaker, Steven Peeters, Trey Durango, Julianne, Robbie James, Jason Foreman, Liam, Steven Van Vleet, Marilyn, Zakk Why, Ben Wheeldon, Erik Leazure, KONAL SHARMA, Dušan Živanović, Erik Strandberg, berklie novak-stolz, Kazi Mahin Mahfuz, Tim Van Devender, Andrew Martin, Jason F, Charles Joubert, Youcef Kazwiny, Joy Joslyn, Freeman, Jessica, Pat, Phillip Brooks, Michael Hues, Jacqueline Sinclair, Robert Marsh, Botas, Raza Naqvi (Sid), Jake Colón, Christine Bartholomew & Family, Mr Xoot, Dyonté Houston, Daryl, Rob Weiss, Caleb Holmes, Jeffrey Luce, Kellie Owczarczak, and Brandt Reppond for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Grab Bag 02:13 - Creating a Cosmic Hyperlink vs. Space Fueling Stations 08:24 - Scientists Say it Can’t Be Done 17:20 - What Makes Light Redshift? 23:27 - Why the Full Moon Seems to Change Things 33:20 - Why Can’t We See Black Holes Collide? 38:03 - Mysteries We’ll Answer in the Next 30 Years 42:45 - Is Time an Illusion? 46:08 - Is AI “Natural”? Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the lates StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

Top Comments (10)

@sarahowen56 2026-06-09

When my mom was in college...early to mid 40's...her science professor spoke about the eventuality of space flight and moon landing. The poor guy was publicly fired and then permanently blacklisted. She shared this with me as we were 'watching' the moon landing on our family radio.

124 23 replies
@isaak.studio 2026-06-09

If an alien ever asks me to bring them to my leader, I'll bring them to Neil.

113 10 replies
@iraazela 2026-06-09

The cross over between Star Talk and NPR is beautiful ❤🎉

44 2 replies
@janerkenbrack3373 2026-06-09

8:00 fueling stations. Wait until you taste their sushi.

39 7 replies
@rtboyce 2026-06-09

When I saw the podcast advertised with "Why do strange things happen under a full moon?", my first reaction was "Because it would be strange if they took that time off." :)

32 1 replies
@agaruutresearch 2026-06-09

Great segment! Dr. Tyson is spot on that we need these edge case ideas to keep us uncomfortable enough to make new discoveries. The concept of time being emergent becomes incredibly concrete when you look at it as a physical baseline. If time is simply the macroscopic tracking of sequential state updates driven by the smallest gravitational particles, produced at a structural black hole threshold to give our specific scale its mass. Then it isn’t a sci fi illusion at all. It is just the natural clock rate of deterministic structural mechanics. Thought provoking discussion!

11 2 replies
@ArchieLundy 2026-06-10

Always good to be reminded of the fact everything we learn about the universe just leads to smarter questions.

6
@MartinMcMartin 2026-06-10

I love these, I see it and think I'll watch the first 5 minutes. And just like that, 50 mins fly's by.

4
@dabajabaza111 2026-06-11

The long answers in this were nice. I appreciate the less-businessy, more-discussy aspect of the show. Also, great guest. Hope to see her again.

3
@Kadian2 2026-06-12

I just like listening to Neil talk tbh he’s kinda calming

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