Learn about research-based advice for staying happy in your later years, from neuroscientist and author Daniel Levitin. Then, you’ll learn about how a faraway star helped researchers figure out when the Milky Way was formed.
Learn about research-based advice for staying happy in your later years, from neuroscientist and author Daniel Levitin. Then, you’ll learn about how a faraway star helped researchers figure out when the Milky Way was formed.
Additional resources from Daniel Levitin:
A Massive Collision Helped Us Judge the Milky Way’s Age by Grant Currin
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/tips-for-happy-healthy-aging-w-daniel-levitin-and-a-massive-collision-helped-us-judge-the-milky-ways-age
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about research-based advice for staying happy in your later years, from neuroscientist and author Daniel Levitin. Then, you’ll learn about how a faraway star helped researchers figure out when the Milky Way was formed.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
None of us are getting younger. And let’s face it: the idea of growing old can be scary. But it turns out that not only can you stay happy in your 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond — you might even be happi-EST during those later decades. That’s according to our guest today, neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and bestselling author Daniel Levitin [LEV-ittin]. He told us that recently, his parents were asking him for advice on what they should be doing differently as they get into their late 80s and 90s. And when looked to see what books were out there, he said he didn’t find any! And that’s why he wrote his newest book. It’s called “Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.” And it debunks the idea that aging inevitably brings unhappiness. Here’s our conversation with Daniel, starting with the fact that some things actually get BETTER with age!
[CLIP 1:55]
[Edit in-line] CODY: So is that your advice for people to age with grace and confidence? Be happy with what you have? Or do you have other tips for aging successfully?
[CLIP 4:06]
Again, Daniel Levitin’s new book is called called “Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.” You can find links to buy the book and more in today’s show notes.
Astronomers are a lot closer to understanding the history of our galaxy after paying very, very close attention to one star on the edge of the Milky Way. The star is called nu Indi (nu like the Greek letter), and its shakes and wiggles tell the story of a massive collision that happened 11.5 billion years ago, when a small galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus slammed into the Milky Way.
Astronomers can learn a lot about a star based on what it’s made of, and it’s clear that a lot of stars in the Milky Way weren’t born here. But while they know that our galaxy has been involved with a lot of intergalactic collisions in its 13.5 billion years, it’s been a lot harder to figure out the details. That’s where nu Indi comes in.
Nu Indi is a bright star in the Indus [IN-duus] constellation. We can’t see it here in Chicago, but to skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s about as bright as Uranus. Since the star is so bright, astronomers using state-of-the-art telescopes can look at it closely enough to measure its natural oscillations. In other words, they’re watching earthquakes happening in a star 12 light-years away — and that data helped them figure out how old nu Indi is.
And it turns out that the star has been in the Milky Way since before the collision with Gaia-Enceladus. When the stars, planets, and everything else from the smaller galaxy came into the Milky Way, all the mass exerted enough gravity to change the orbits of stars that were already circling the center of the Milky Way.
The researchers used new data about nu Indi’s age and orbit to figure out how exactly its orbit shifted when Gaia-Enceladus came into the picture. According to their calculations, the galaxies began colliding about 11.5 billion years ago, right around the time the Milky Way was turning 2 billion years old. What a way to celebrate a birthday, am I right?
Let’s recap today’s takeaways
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CODY: Today’s last story was written by Grant Currin, and edited by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!