>> Stephen: BACK, EVERYBODY.
WE'RE HERE WITH OUR FRIEND NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING SMALLER IN A WAY BUT IN SORT OF
MENTALLY, ANOTHER THING THAT WILL KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT AND
KIND OF MAKE YOUR BRAIN EXPLODE IS--
>> YOU KNOW, I'M SCARED WHEN YOU PULL STUFF OUT.
>> Stephen: LIKE THIS?
YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS.
>> OH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
>> Stephen: SO RECENTLY INTO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, ABOVE THE--
WHAT'S IT CALLED, THE PLANE OF THE ECLIPTIC?
>> SURE.
>> Stephen: WHERE THE PLANETS GO AROUND FROM ABOVE OR BELOW,
OR WHATEVER, OFF THE AXIS OF WHERE THE PLANETS GO AROUND.
>> PLANETS DO THIS AROUND THE SUN.
>> Stephen: THIS CAME FROM DEEP SPACE.
>> FIRST TIME EVER AN OBJECT FROM INTERSTELLAR SPACE HAS BEEN
OBSERVED TO VISIT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
>> Stephen: NOW, THIS THING'S GOT TO BE LIKE A SHIP, RIGHT?
THAT LOOKS TOO MUCH LIKE A SPACESHIP.
>> THIS IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPH.
>> Stephen: WHAT?
>> THIS IS AN ARTIST'S RENDERING.
WE KNOW IT'S ELONGATED-- I DON'T BELIEVE--
( LAUGHTER ) JUST --
>> Stephen: YOU DON'T GET TO TAKE-- WHAT ABOUT THAT ONE RIGHT
THERE?
YOU HOLD IT WHATEVER-- >> YOU GOT PEOPLE.
YOU GOT PEOPLE -- >> Stephen: I GOT PEOPLE.
LOOK AT THAT BUT IT LOOKED LIKE THAT.
>> NO.
>> Stephen: IT WAS ELONGATED.
>> CIGARS DON'T COME JOURNEYING INTO SOLAR SYSTEM S.
>> Stephen: WHICH IS WHY IT HAS TO BE AN ALIEN SPACESHIP.
>> SO, SO--
>> Stephen: YEAH?
>> ASTEROIDS WE KNOW, MANY OF THEM, IN NOT MOST OF THEM ARE
LOOSELY HELD TOGETHER RUBBLE PILES, AND IF THEY COME NEAR
GRAVITATIONAL SOURCES, TIDAL FORCES CAN STRETCH THEM SO THEY
BECOME A STREAM OF PART NELS RATHER THAN ONE SOLID MASS.
>> Stephen: THIS IS NOT SOLID?
>> IT IS LIKELY NOT SOLID.
>> Stephen: WHAT IS IT?
>> BUT THE SIGNAL WE GET FROM IT IS ELONGATED, BUT IT'S PROBABLY
A RUBBLE PILE STRETCHED INTO THAT SHAPE.
BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET THAT BY NATURE.
YOU DON'T GET THAT.
>> Stephen: YEAH, THAT'S WHY IT'S MANMADE.
>> ALIEN.
>> Stephen: ALIEN MADE.
>> YOU WANT THAT TO BE ALIENS.
FESS UP-- YOU WANT THAT TO BE ALIENS.
>> Stephen, OF COURSE, I WANT THAT TO BE ALIENS!
THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS QUESTION THAT I'VE NEVER
FINISHED.
( LAUGHTER ) >> HERE'S THE PROBLEM-- HERE'S
THE PROBLEM, THIS THING CAME IN MOVING FAST.
>> Stephen: YEAH.
>> IT HAS ESCAPE VELOCITY, HYPERBOLIC ORBIT, HYPERBOLIC
TRAJECTORY, WE SAY "HYPER."
IT'S GOT MORE ENERGY.
>> Stephen: THAN A BOLIC.
>> IT'S PARABOLIC, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO, SO, THE REASON WHY IT'S PROBABLY NOT ALIEN ALIENS IS ITS
TRAJECTORY AROUND THE SUN WAS COMPLETELY DETERMINED BY
GRAVITATIONAL FORCES.
>> Stephen: HOW DO YOU KNOW?
>> BECAUSE BEE KNOW.
WE CALCULATE THIS.
THERE ARE LAWS OF GRAVITY, LAWS OF PHYSICS.
>> Stephen: LOOK, SEE THIS, SEE THAT?
THAT TRAJECTORY WAS COMPLETELY CONTROLLED BY GRAVITATIONAL
FORCES AFTER IT REACHED ITS PEAK UP HERE AND CAME BACK DOWN, AND
YET A THINKING CREATURE STARTED THE PROCESS, OKAY.
IT DOESN'T MEAN-- IF THIS CAME IN AND YOU GO, "OH, GRAVITY DID
THAT."
BUT SOMEBODY MADE IT GO TO HERE.
CHECKMATE!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) PARABOLIC!
PARA-BOLLIC GLIEWD #.
>> Audience: STEPHEN!
STEPHEN STEPHEN!
STEPHEN!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: THAT, MY FRIEND,
IS CALLED A TASTE OF YOUR OWN MEDICINE.
>> ALL I'M SAYING IS IF IT'S ONLY MOVING BY THE FORCE OF
GRAVITY, THEN IT'S NOT-- WE PRESUME IT DOESN'T HAVE, LIKE,
ROCKETS AND THINGS.
IF THIS WERE ALIENS.
>> Stephen: YEAH.
>> IN SOME KIND OF ADVANCED SHIP IT WOULD BE MAWFERG, DOING
INTERESTING THING.
>> Stephen: MAYBE IT MANEUVERED ON ITS WAY IN, A PASS
AROUND THE SUN, THE WAY THEY USE SATELLITES TO GO AROUND THE BACK
OF A PLAN TOTE WHIP THEM AROUND OUTER SPACE.
>> IT'S CALLED THE SLINGSHOT EFFECT.
>> Stephen: YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME.
>> SO, MAYBE THE ALIENS SHUT OFF THEIR ENGINES TO MASQUERADE AS A
COSMIC OBJECT TO GET A SLINGSHOT EFFECT AROUND OUR STAR.
>> Stephen: MAYBE WE CAN'T PERCEIVE WHAT THEIR ENGINES ARE
AND THEY HAVE A MODE-- >> I CAN JUST TELL YOU THEY'RE
OFF.
( LAUGHTER ) WHATEVER THEY ARE, THEY'RE OFF,
BECAUSE IT'S-- BECAUSE A TENNIS BALL WOULD HAVE THAT TRAJECTORY
MOVING AT THAT SPEED.
THAT'S ALL.
>> Stephen: IS THERE ANY CHANCE?
>> NOT -- >> Stephen: THAT THAT'S A
TENNIS BALL?
>> NO.
( LAUGHTER ) NO, AND BY THE WAY, BIG NEWS WAS
THAT THE PENTAGON, WAS TRACKING UFOs.
>> Stephen: RIGHT, WE SAW THE FOOTAGE.
THEY RELEASED THE FOOTAGE FROM LIKE, F-18 FIGHTER PILOTS ON
THEIR SCOPE, TABLET-SHAPED THING, ACCEL RATHE, STOPPING,
ACCEL RATHE IN THINGS THEY CAN'T EXPLAIN.
>> THAT HAS A WAY BETTER CHANCE OF BEING ALIENS THAN THIS.
THOSE OBJECTS WERE DOING THINGS THAT WERE NOT DPRAFITATIONAL.
>> Stephen: DO YOU THINK THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING THERE?
>> I DON'T KNOW.
HENCE THE "U" IN UFO.
>> Stephen: I'M WITH YOU.
I'M ON BOARD.
>> ARE YOU GOING TO SAY-- ARE YOU GOING TO SAY-- THIS IS A
UFO, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, THEREFORE, IT'S INTELLIGENT
ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE.
YOU SAID YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.
YOU CAN'T BE CERTAIN OF ANYTHING.
>> Stephen: I'M HOPING.
>> I'M HOPING, TOO.
I WANT TO MEET THE ALIENS.
BY THE WAY, IF YOU EVER MEET THE ALIENS, THEY TAKE YOU ON BOARD,
FIRST, TAKE SOME PHOTOS, FIRST.
SECOND, WHEN THEY DO THE SEX EXPERIMENTS ON YOU, OKAY--
( LAUGHTER ).
>> HERE'S WHAT YOU DO--
THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.
WE ALL KNOW THAT.
>> Stephen: DON'T YOU HAVE TO CHECK A BOX TO, LIKE, OPT IN TO
THAT.
>> HERE'S WHAT YOU DO, HERE'S WHAT YOU DO-- TELL THE ALIEN--
SAY, "OH, LOOK OVER THERE," AND QUICKLY SNATCH SOMETHING OFF THE
SHELF LEAK AN ASH TRAY OR SOMETHING AND PUT IT IN YOUR
POCKET AND LAY BACK ON THE SLAB.
THEN WHEN THEY LET GO OF YOU, YOU HAVE SOMETHING OF ALIEN
MANUFACTURE.
>> Stephen: SO IN THIS SCENARIO, THE ALIENS SMOKE?
>> YES.
>> Stephen: IF I SEE THEM, I WILL GIVE THEM THIS, WHICH IS
YOUR BOOK "NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A
HURRY."
A "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSALER FOR 34 WEEKS.
>> CRAZY, CRAZY.
>> Stephen: EXTRAORDINARY.
>> I'M DELIGHTED APPETITE IS OUT THERE.
MAYBE IT OPPOSE DOORS FOR MANY MORE SCIENCE BOOKS TO APPEAR
THERE.
>> Stephen: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE THING?
>> OH!
MAY I?
>> Stephen: IT'S YOUR BOOK, MAN.
IT'S YOUR BOOK.
>> OH, MAY I?
>> Stephen: SURE.
>> SO REFLECTIONS ON THE COSMIC PERSPECTIVE.
THE WORDS I'M ABOUT TO READ ARE NOT MINE.
THEY'RE BY JAMES FERGUSON, A PHYSICIST FROM THE 1700s.
IF I MAY.
>> Stephen: YOU MAY.
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: OKAY.
>> FIMAY.
>> Stephen: I'LL GET YOU A GLASS OF MEADE.
>> JAMES FERGUSON, 1757.
"OF ALL THE SCIENCES CULTIVATED BY MANKIND, ASTRONOMY IS
ACKNOWLEDGED TO BE AND UNDOUBTEDLY IS THE MOST SUBLIME,
THE MOST INTERESTING, AND THE MOST USEFUL, FOR BY KNOWLEDGE
DERIVED FROM THIS SCIENCE, NOT ONLY THE BULK OF THE EARTH IS
DISCOVERED, BUT OUR VERY FACULTIES ARE ENLARGE WITH THE
GRANDEUR OF THE IDEAS IT CONVEYS.
OUR MINDS EXALTED ABOVE THEIR LOW, CONTRACTED PREJUDICES."
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ♪ ♪ ♪
>> Stephen: 34 WEEKS.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU FOR 10.
LET'S MAKE IT AN EVEN TWO DIGITS.
>> OKAY.
>> Stephen: "ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY" IS AVAILABLE
NOW, AND "STAR TALK" IS ON NAT- GEO SUNDAYS.