#201 – Konstantin Batygin: Planet 9 and the Edge of Our Solar System

Konstantin Batygin is a planetary astrophysicist at Caltech. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Squarespace : https://lexfridman.com/squarespace and use code LEX to get 10% off – Literati : https://literati.com/lex – Onnit : https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off – National Instruments (NI) : https://www.ni.com/perspectives EPISODE LINKS: Konstantin’s Twitter https://twitter.com/kbatygin Konstantin’s Website https://www.konstantinbatygin.com/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: – Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast – Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman – Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman – Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) – Introduction (07:17) – Overview of our Solar System (22:14) – What is the Oort Cloud? (27:10) – Life in the interstellar medium (28:42) – Are there aliens out there? (31:22) – How unique is Earth? (34:02) – Did Jupiter destroy early planets? (40:16) – How hard is it to simulate the Universe? (44:49) – Quantum mechanics in evolution of objects in the Solar system (49:15) – Simulating the first formations around the Sun (55:02) – Will it be possible to simulate the full history of the Solar System? (57:23) – How far should we go with the simulation? (59:43) – Increasing immersion in video games (1:06:09) – What is Planet Nine? (1:12:37) – The origin of life (1:15:02) – Evidence of Planet Nine (1:17:32) – Discovery of Neptune (1:18:42) – When will we find Planet Nine? (1:21:21) – Planet Nine throws rocks into the Kuiper Belt (1:25:15) – Could Planet Nine be a primordial black hole? (1:35:20) – Commercial space revolution boosts science and the human condition (1:42:46) – Solving sex in space (1:43:24) – Would humans evolve if we couldn’t see the stars? (1:49:08) – Military funding and science (1:53:11) – Is Oumuamua space junk from a distant alien civilization? (2:06:33) – Wild ideas create the future (2:14:22) – The perfect place to die (2:16:03) – Greatest song of all time (2:22:34) – Music enables science for Konstantin (2:24:51) – Music practice tips for busy people (2:28:41) – Memories of 1990s Russia (2:35:14) – Advice for young people (2:41:10) – Meaning of life