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PBS Space Time
Could LIGO Find Massive Alien Spaceships?
Season 9
Episode 13
The gravitational wave detector LIGO has made hugely important discoveries. But what else might be hiding in the ripples’ of spacetime? Oh, I know: how about the gravitational wakes caused by planet-sized alien spacecraft accelerating to near light speed.
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Season
![What’s The Universe’s Strongest Particle Accelerator?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dc7dfb8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2Fb0Xc9f6-asset-mezzanine-16x9-kHGYkMb.jpg)
12:51
We only recently figured out where cosmic rays are coming from.
![Can Black Holes Unify General Relativity & Quantum Mechanics?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/519f8c9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FIq5gxBA-asset-mezzanine-16x9-TILmYSD.jpg)
13:28
Black hole complementarity may force us to rethink what it means to say that it exists.
![Interstellar Expansion WITHOUT Faster Than Light Travel](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37d71b3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2F0087NHg-asset-mezzanine-16x9-CNTxbKx.jpg)
20:15
To travel the stars without faster than light travel we’re going to need a generation ship.
![What Happens If You Jump Into A Black Hole?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/080e70b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FvDgkp5n-asset-mezzanine-16x9-XHj3jVl.jpg)
16:19
Today we are jumping into a black hole. Again.
![Why Is The World Rushing Back To The Moon?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/096de71/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FIJ9ox08-asset-mezzanine-16x9-090idK2.jpg)
15:36
The Moon: humanity’s first destination beyond our atmosphere.
![How Eclipses Revealed Our Solar System](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4e50233/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FPQIrzum-asset-mezzanine-16x9-JfKeNq6.jpg)
15:07
So how did humans figure out the solar system? Eclipses!
![What If Gravity is Not A Fundamental Force?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2ef3eee/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3840x2160+0+70/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2F0VdgT3h-asset-mezzanine-16x9-vEQcxEB.jpg)
15:02
Is gravity just an emergent effect of entropy?
![Does Space Emerge From A Holographic Boundary?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7d10c56/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FvfgC3k8-asset-mezzanine-16x9-Gjpoqnm.jpg)
14:28
Is our 3-D universe is just the inward projection of an infinitely distant boundary?
![Dark Forest: Should We Not Contact Aliens?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8d34645/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1792x1008+0+8/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FPyjonCx-asset-mezzanine-16x9-jgi09Li.jpg)
14:12
What if aliens are deliberately keeping quiet for fear that they might be destroyed?
![What Happens If We Nuke Space?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/089e996/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FHnRZWzG-asset-mezzanine-16x9-cKfijmG.jpeg)
15:13
So what exactly is an EMP, and how dangerous are they?
![What if Singularities DO NOT Exist?](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4792c53/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FaVkybKH-asset-mezzanine-16x9-5MNB4O9.jpeg)
14:44
The terrible singularity at the heart of the black hole may be no more.
![Did JWST Solve The Mystery of Supermassive Black Hole Origin](https://kcet.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/65170ae/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/768x432!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.pbs.org%2Fvideo-assets%2FL0dOjis-asset-mezzanine-16x9-8BswuFA.jpg)
14:33
We may have solved the mysterious origins of supermassive black holes in our universe.