Astrophysicist and folklorist Moiya McTier reveals that there are potentially too many galaxies for us to comprehend. Sara Kiley dives into the evolutionary history of ancient sharks and how climate changes shaped their adaptations. Rachel explains how ants act as mini surgeons, performing intricate procedures to help injured colony mates. Discover the surprising possibilities that ant saliva holds for future research and intriguing parallels between ancient and modern marine life amidst current climate challenges.

Moiya McTier says the night sky has been fueling humans' stories about the universe for a very long time, and informing how they explain the natural world. In fact, Moiya sees astronomy and folklore as two sides of the same coin. "To me, science is any rigorous attempt at understanding and explaining the world around you," she explained to Short Wave's Aaron Scott. "You can see that they knew enough about the world around them to predict eclipses, to predict annual floods in Egypt, for example. I think that you can use folklore and mythology to understand the early scientific attempts of humanity." Moiya McTier is the author of The Milky Way: An Autobiography of our Galaxy. She joins us to draw out the connections between astronomy and folklore, why the night sky is more dynamic than it might look, and what it feels like to live on an astronomical timescale.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Is it time to update the constellations? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen dive into astrophysics, folklore, and our ancient connection to the stars with astrophysicist Moiya McTier, Ph.D. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.Thanks to our Patrons Viny Adomonis, Thomas Blankenhorn, Weston Daniel L., Lauren Scott, and Aaryan Kukar for supporting us this week.Photo Credit: ESO/Y. Beletsky, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to new episodes ad-free and a whole week early.