Nov 29, 2022
Astrophysicist and folklorist Dr. Moiya McTier visits Google to
discuss her book "The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy."
This approachable and fascinating autobiography of our galaxy
details what humans have discovered about everything from its
formation to its eventual death, and what more there is to learn
about this galaxy we call home.
After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth, of
watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day
lives, and of hearing its own story told by others, The Milky Way
would like a chance to speak for itself. All one hundred billion
stars and fifty undecillion gaseous tons of it. It all began some
thirteen billion years ago, when clouds of gas scattered through
the universe's primordial plasma could not keep their metaphorical
hands off each other. They succumbed to their gravitational
attraction, and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born. Since
then, the galaxy has watched as dark energy pushed away its first
friends, as humans mythologized its name and purpose, and as
galactic archaeologists have worked to determine its true age. The
Milky Way has absorbed supermassive black holes, made enemies of a
few galactic neighbors, and mourned the deaths of countless stars.
This fascinating autobiography recounts the history and future of
the universe in accessible but scientific detail, presenting a
summary of human astronomical knowledge thus far that is
unquestionably out of this world.
Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.