Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO
Overview
Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago (z=0.4) and life shortly thereafter, while the universe itself is only 13.8 billion years old---the story of life unfolds on cosmic timescales. Understanding how cosmic environments influence the conditions for life over time may be critical in answering meaningful questions like: Are we alone? Are we among the first forms of intelligent life? However, with the discoveries of dark matter and dark energy in the 20th century, modern cosmology has largely operated as a branch of the physical sciences. As a result, cosmology's deep connections to life, in my view, have been underexplored. In this talk, I will ask: What kinds of science questions come to the fore when we prioritize meaning and life in cosmology? I will also discuss ongoing work to leverage future FRB surveys to make the first unambiguous detections of extragalactic exoplanets.