Ep. 195: Planetary Rings

Saturn is best known for its rings. This huge and beautiful ring system is easy to spot in even the smallest backyard telescope, so you can imagine they were a surprise when Galileo first noticed them. But astronomers have gone on to find rings around the other gas giant worlds in the Solar System – the differences are surprising.

[Download MP3] Play Podcast

random posts

Questions Show: Relativity, Relativity and More Relativity

Ep. 64: Pluto and the Icy Outer Solar System

subscribe to rss

RSS 2.0

Welcome to Astronomy Cast! Like it? Please share it.

recent shows

Ep. 194: Dwarf Planets...

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto out of the planet club. But they also started up a whole new dwarf planet club, with Pluto, Eris and the asteroid Ceres as charter members. Let’s find out what it takes to be a dwarf planet, and discuss...
Play Podcast

Ep. 193: Astronomy with the Un...

We talk a lot about telescopes here on Astronomy Cast, but you really don’t need any special equipment to appreciate what the night sky has to offer. Just head outside with some sky charts, maybe a planisphere, some friends and hot chocolate, and you’re...
Play Podcast

192: Chandra X-Ray Observatory...

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory is the third of NASA’s Great Observatories, sent into space aboard the space shuttle to view the Universe in high energy X-ray radiation. This is the territory of supernovae, supermassive black holes and neutron stars; some of the...
Play Podcast

Ep. 191: Chandrasekhar...

The first half of the 20th Century was a productive time for astronomy, with theorists working out much of the science that we take for granted today. One of these astronomy stars was Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who determined the maximum mass of a white dwarf star. ...
Play Podcast

Ep. 190: Kepler Mission...

Last week we studied Kepler the man, and this week we take a look at Kepler, the mission. Launched in March, 2009, this is a spacecraft designed to search for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. Let’s take a look at the history this mission, the launch and...
Play Podcast

Ep. 189: Johannes Kepler and H...

Nicolaus Copernicus changed our understanding of the Universe when he rearranged the Solar System to put the Sun at the center, with the Earth becoming just another of the planets orbiting it. But the movement of the planets didn’t really match the theory; not...
Play Podcast

Ep. 188: The Future of Astrono...

We spent 5 episodes telling the story of astronomy so far, how we got from the work of the Babylonians to the modern discoveries made in the last decade. But now we want to look forward, studying the current space missions and experiments to uncover the mysteries that...
Play Podcast

Ep. 187: History of Astronomy,...

Many of the modern ideas in astronomy happened in just the 20th century: dark matter, the Big Bang, inflation, quasars, black holes. So many discoveries in one important century. ...
Play Podcast

- Browse the Archive -

Episode List

Ep. 195: Planetary Rings

Ep. 194: Dwarf Planets

Ep. 193: Astronomy with the Unaided Eye

192: Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Ep. 191: Chandrasekhar

Ep. 190: Kepler Mission

Ep. 189: Johannes Kepler and His Laws of Planetary Motion

Ep. 188: The Future of Astronomy

Ep. 187: History of Astronomy, Part 5: The 20th Century

Ep. 186: History of Astronomy, Part 4: The Beginning of Modern Astronomy