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Ep. 169: The Fermi Mission...

Ep. 169: The Fermi Mission
Last week we talked about Fermi the man, now we're going to talk about Fermi the space telescope. That's right, Enrico Fermi made such an impact in the astronomy and physics community that he got a space telescope named after him. Let's take a look at...
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Ep. 168: Enrico Fermi...

Ep. 168: Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi Today's episode of Astronomy Cast is about another famous physicist: Enrico Fermi. We've already taken a look at one of Fermi's most famous ideas, the Fermi Paradox – or, where are all the aliens? But let's meet the man behind the...
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Ep. 167: Future Civilizations...

Ep. 167: Future Civilizations
An O'Neill Cylinder. An example of a future space colony. Let's assume that humans survive the next few hundred years without destroying ourselves, or the planet, and we actually become a space faring civilization. What kinds of challenges will we face, and...
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Ep. 166: Multiverses...

Ep. 166: Multiverses
Deep field image by Hubble What if our universe was just one in an infinite number of parallel universes; a possible outcome from the specific predictions of quantum mechanics. The idea of multiple universes is common in science fiction, but is there any actual science...
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Ep. 165: Doppler Effect...

Ep. 165: Doppler Effect
You know how a police siren changes sound when it passes by you? That's the doppler effect. It works for sound waves and it works for light waves. Astronomers use the doppler effect to study the motion of objects across the Universe, from nearby extrasolar...
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Ep. 164: Inside the Atom...

Ep. 164: Inside the Atom
Caffeine atom with 3D electron orbitals. Image credit: Ivan S. Ufimtsev, Stanford University We've talked about the biggest of the big, now let's focus in on the smallest of the small. Let's see what's inside that basic building block of matter: the...
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Ep. 163: Auroras...

Ep. 163: Auroras
Aurora Seen from ISS When the Sun's solar winds crash into the Earth's magnetosphere, we get to enjoy an incredible light show called auroras, or the Northern and Southern Lights. Let's learn about what causes these incredible phenomena, and the best...
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Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble...

Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble
Edwin Hubble You might know the name "Hubble" because of the Hubble Space Telescope. But this phenomenal observatory was named after one of the most influential astronomers in modern history. Hubble discovered that galaxies are speeding away from us in all...
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- Browse the Archive -

Episode List
  • Ep. 170: Coordinate Systems
  • Ep. 169: The Fermi Mission
  • Ep. 168: Enrico Fermi
  • Ep. 167: Future Civilizations
  • Ep. 166: Multiverses
  • Ep. 165: Doppler Effect
  • Ep. 164: Inside the Atom
  • Ep. 163: Auroras
  • Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble
  • Ep. 161: Launch Facilities
  • Ep. 160: Eclipses
  • Ep. 159: Planet X
  • Ep. 158: Pulsars
  • Ep. 157: Constellations
  • Ep. 156: Famous Stars
  • Ep. 155: Dwarf Stars
  • Ep. 154: Dragon*Con Live with Seth Shostak
  • Ep. 153: Dark Skies
  • Ep. 152: Binary Stars
  • Ep. 151: Atmospheres
  • Ep. 150: Telescopes, the Next Level
  • Ep. 149: Constellation Program
  • Ep. 148: Astronomy and New Media
  • Ep. 147: How to Be Taken Seriously By Scientists
  • Ep. 146: Astronomy Research from Idea to Publication
  • Ep. 145: Interstellar Travel
  • Questions Show: Imaging Extrasolar Planets, Infinite Universe, Inside a Black Hole
  • Ep. 144: Space Elevators
  • Questions Show: Matter Balance, Jumping Light Speed and Black Hole Star Formation
  • Ep. 143: Astrobiology
  • Questions Show: Black black holes, Unbalancing the Earth, and Space Pollution
  • Ep. 142: Plate Tectonics
  • Questions Show: Avoiding the Heat Death, Orbiting Galaxies, and the Dangers of Space Radiation
  • Ep. 141: Volcanoes, Hot and Cold
  • Ep. 140: Entanglement
  • Questions Show: Galileoscope, Black Hole Time, and What Exactly is Energy?
  • Questions Show: Telescope Suggestions, Black Hole Energy, and Universal Time
  • Ep. 139: Energy Levels and Spectra
  • Questions: An Unlocked Moon, Energy Into Black Holes, and the Space Station's Orbit
  • Ep. 138: Quantum Mechanics
  • Questions Show: Hidden Fusion, the Speed of Neutrinos, and Hawking Radiation
  • Ep. 137: Large Scale Structure of the Universe
  • Questions Show: The Source of Atmospheres, the Vanishing Moon, and a Glow After Sunset
  • Ep. 136: Gamma Ray Astronomy
  • Questions Show: Dangerous Solar Flares, Higgs Boson Insights, and Light Speed Flashlights
  • Ep. 135: X-Ray Astronomy
  • Questions Show: NorthEast Astronomy Forum (NEAF)
  • Ep. 134: Ultraviolet Astronomy
  • Ep. 133: Optical Astronomy
  • Questions Show: Undoing Inflation, Searching for Water, and Seeing Everything a Black Hole's Ever Eaten
  • more ...