An astrophysicist reacts to Carl Sagan's Contact

Jodie Foster as an astrophysicist searching for alien signals - what's not to love?! To learn more about radio waves head to http://brilliant.org/DrBecky and sign up for free. The first 200 people that go to that link will get 20% off an annual premium subscription. 00:00 - Introduction 01:07 - Reaction 22:24 - Bloopers --- 👕 Check out my merch here: https://teespring.com/stores/dr-becky --- 📚 "Space: 10 Things You Should Know" - UK Edition: http://bit.ly/SpaceDrBecky 📚 US & Canada version: "Space at the speed of light" (same book, different title, with some beautiful illustrations): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635406/space-at-the-speed-of-light-by-dr-becky-smethurst/ 📚 German translation "Das kleine Buch vom großen Knall" : https://www.dtv.de/buch/becky-smethurst-das-kleine-buch-vom-grossen-knall-28254/ --- 🎧 Royal Astronomical Society Podcast that I co-host: podfollow.com/supermassive --- 🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and click the little bell icon to be notified when I post a new video! -- The artwork in the background is a scientifically accurate map showing the orbits of more than 18000 asteroids in the Solar System, created by Eleanor Lutz. Find out more and buy one here: https://eleanorlutz.com/mapping-18000-asteroids --- 👩🏽‍💻 I'm Dr Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on *how* we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars. http://drbecky.uk.com https://rebeccasmethurst.co.uk