Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by space. As a kid, I had a poster of the Eagle Nebula on my bedroom wall and a telescope I used to study the moon. My favorite movie is Contact, based on Carl Sagan’s novel about searching for extraterrestrial life.

Thinking about the cosmos gives us perspective. Not just on our own lives and problems, but on our entire species. Sagan reminded us of this in his iconic Pale Blue Dot speech. When you see how small and fragile our planet is in the vastness of the universe, it humbles you. It makes you feel insignificant, but also, paradoxically, special.

So when I had a trip planned to Baltimore, I reached out to Dr. Dan Coe, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins’ Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the operational home of both the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. To my surprise and excitement, he said yes. Not only that, he invited me to see where the magic happens, where scientists and engineers operate humanity’s most powerful eyes on the universe.

What followed was a 2.5-hour conversation that moved from mission control to Dan’s office overlooking a bright green forest, and finally to a local pub for lunch and beers. We covered everything: the origins of the universe, the search for extraterrestrial life, what dark matter might actually be, the role of AI in astronomy, and perhaps most importantly: how to find meaning in a universe so vast where we seem so small.

This is a conversation about looking up at the stars and finding perspective, humility, and maybe even kindness in the vastness of space.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The origins of the universe and what the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed

• The search for extraterrestrial life: microbes, intelligent beings, or something we can’t comprehend

• What dark matter might actually be and the best current theories

• How AI is transforming astronomy and space science

• The role of the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes in unlocking cosmic mysteries

• What it’s like working at mission control for humanity’s most powerful telescopes

• How to find meaning in a universe where we seem cosmically insignificant

• Why kindness matters in science, collaboration, and how we approach the unknown

• Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot perspective and what it teaches us about ourselves

• Whether any meaning exists in the cosmos, or if we create it ourselves

💡 Learn more about Dr. Dan Coe: https://www.stsci.edu/stsci-research/research-directory/dan-coe

💡 Learn more about Cosmic Spring: https://cosmic-spring.github.io/

💡 About Curiously: https://www.podpage.com/curiously/about/

Distant Galaxies, Dark Matter & Our Place in the Cosmos