Up Next
Back to Show
It's Okay to Be Smart
Measuring the Universe With a 14-Billion Light-Year Ruler
Season 12
Episode 4
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, scientists have been constructing a cosmic measuring tape to measure the universe from our own backyard all the way to its ever-expanding edge: the cosmic distance ladder. In this video, we climb that ladder and explore how each rung has revealed something new and previously unthinkable about the universe we live in.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
11:43
Despite what you may have heard or learned in school, the sun is NOT the center of the solar system.
10:23
People see faces everywhere thanks to a quirk of the brain called visual pareidolia.
10:00
Why do the same, self-repeating patterns appear in trees, rivers, lightning, and even our bodies?
15:25
Our animal brains deal with quantities in very specific, and fascinating, ways.
12:54
Can new technologies make death prediction even more accurate?
21:33
AI may help us talk to whales soon. But should we?!
15:17
On April 8, North America is getting a total solar eclipse. Here’s what you need to know.
12:09
Learn about the space junk problem and the giant space claw named ClearSpace-1 that might
14:28
These tiny pieces of an ancient asteroid could hold the secret to the origin of life.
10:28
What do scientists think are the best ways of reaching out to aliens?
9:40
How bad is climate change in 2023? Can we do anything about it?
13:38
A cosmic soup hadn’t existed in 13.8 billion years. Now, scientists cook it up in a lab.