Look Who it Was Random video

TEDxUSC - Dr. Jill Tarter - The Search for Cosmic Company

2,081 views · Published 15 September 2011 · 21:32 · Indexed 5 October 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2011 · Science & Technology

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Dr. Jill Tarter, Astronomer and Director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California explains the technology and significance of NASA's Kepler, which detects when stars "blink" or a planet passes in front of it, and her role in SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.  With the use of Kepler, Tarter tells us that there are probably about 50 billion planets in the Milky Way galaxy, of which 500 million are potentially habitable.  So, she asks, are we alone?  Tarter explains her research with SETI involving new ways to search for biosignatures around these planets that indicate extraterrestrial life.

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