#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