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Ep. 257: Viking Orbiters

Ep. 257: Viking Orbiters
Posted by on May 2, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity get all the news now, but it was NASA’s Viking Missions that gave us our first close up view of the surface of Mars. These twin missions, both made of orbiter and lander set the...

Ep. 256: Resolution

Ep. 256: Resolution
Posted by on Apr 30, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) When it comes to telescopes, astronomers really just care about resolution: how much can you see? Your resolution defines how much science you can get done, and it depends on your gear, wavelength, and conditions....

Ep. 255: Observing Hydrogen

Ep. 255: Observing Hydrogen
Posted by on Mar 11, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Hydrogen is the most common element in the Universe, formed at the beginning of everything in the Big Bang. It’s the raw material of stars, gathering together through mutual gravity into vast nebulae....

Ep 254: Reflection and Refract...

Ep 254: Reflection and Refraction
Posted by on Mar 11, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Light can do some pretty strange stuff, like pass through objects and bounce off them; it can be broken up and recombined. In fact, everything we “see” is actually the end result of reflection and...

Ep. 253: Rayleigh Scattering (...

Ep. 253: Rayleigh Scattering (Why is the Sky Blue?)
Posted by on Mar 2, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Next time a kid asks you, why is the sky blue? Answer them: because of Rayleigh scattering. If they’re not happy with that answer, feel free to expand based on the knowledge we’re about to drop today,...

Ep. 252: Heisenberg Uncertaint...

Ep. 252: Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Posted by on Feb 16, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Quantum theory is plenty strange, but one of the strangest discoveries is the realization that there’s a limit to how much you can measure at any one time. This was famously described by Werner Heisenberg, with...

Ep. 251: Messier Catalog

Ep. 251: Messier Catalog
Posted by on Feb 16, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Have you ever looked into the sky and noticed a fuzzy blob? That’s a Messier Object, carefully cataloged by Charles Messier to make it easier to find comets. We’ll learn about the history of the catalog,...

Ep. 250: Precision

Ep. 250: Precision
Posted by on Feb 10, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Accuracy, precision and reproducibility. These are the foundations of science that make our progress possible. How do these play into a scientist’s daily activities? And just how precise can we get with our...

Ep. 249: Schrödinger’s C...

Ep. 249: Schrödinger’s Cat
Posted by on Feb 7, 2012
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) You’ve probably all heard of Schrödinger’s Cat, that strange thought experiment designed by Erwin Schrödinger to show how the strange predictions of quantum theory could impact the real world. No cats...

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