Ep. 634: Milky Way’s Mergers & Acquisitions

Ep. 634: Milky Way’s Mergers & Acquisitions

The Milky Way is a vast grand spiral today, but how did it get this way? Astronomers are starting to unravel the history of our galaxy, revealing the ancient collisions with dwarf galaxies, and how they came together to build the Milky Way.

Ep. 633: Weirdly Habitable Places

Ep. 633: Weirdly Habitable Places

We’ve always assumed that habitable planets would need to be like Earth; a terrestrial planet orbiting a sunlike star. But now astronomers have been discovering planets in the habitable zone around very much non-sunlike stars. What strange places could be habitable?

Ep. 632: Building Images: Optical vs. Radio

Ep. 632: Building Images: Optical vs. Radio

A recent image from the South African Meerkat telescope blew our minds. It was a high resolution image of the center of the Milky Way, showing delicate filaments and other structures. What was so mind blowing is that this was an image from a radio telescope. Today we’re going to talk about why this was such an accomplishment and what the future holds for radio astronomy.

Ep. 631: All the Uses of Pulsars (Including Murder)

Ep. 631: All the Uses of Pulsars (Including Murder)

Pulsars are the rapidly spinning degenerate husks of dead stars, turning hundreds of times a second. But they’re also handy clocks, spinning with such certainty and accuracy that astronomers can use them for all kinds of stuff. We might even use them to navigate the cosmos.

Ep. 630: Things We Can Look Forward To

Ep. 630: Things We Can Look Forward To

In a rare moment of weakness, Pamela has decided she’s open to the possibility that a future exists. That missions, telescopes and spacecraft are going to be built and they’re going to do some science. Today we’ll talk about what we’re looking forward to before she changes her mind and ruins Fraser’s naive optimism for the future.

Ep. 629: The Cost of Delays

Ep. 629: The Cost of Delays

With all the success of James Webb so far, it’s looking like science’s huge gamble is going to pay off, but there were years of delays and budget overruns. What impacts did these delays have on science, careers, and the future of space exploration?

Ep. 628: The Sun Revisited

Ep. 628: The Sun Revisited

Once again, it’s time to take a look at the Sun. You know, ongoing thermonuclear explosion of fusing hydrogen that’s right over there. Fortunately, there’s a fleet of spacecraft and ground observatories ready to give our best ever view of the Sun.

Ep. 627: Mercury Revisited

Ep. 627: Mercury Revisited

It’s been about a thousand years since we last looked at Mercury, so we figured it’s time for an update. What new things have we learned about Mercury, or even new questions? Fortunately, there’s a mission on the way to help get us some answers.

Ep. 625: End of the Year Review

Ep. 625: End of the Year Review

We’ve reached the end of 2021, and this is the last episode of the year. Let’s look back at the big space events of the last year and talk about what we’re looking forward to in 2022.

Ep. 624: Small Rocky Bodies (Including Phobos and Deimos)

Ep. 624: Small Rocky Bodies (Including Phobos and Deimos)

We’ve talked about the icy objects of the Solar System, today let’s talk about space rocks. There’s a surprising variety of rocky material in the Solar System, and each object has a story to tell about the history and formation of the planets, moons and other rocky bodies.

Ep. 623: NEOS: Concern or Nah?

Ep. 623: NEOS: Concern or Nah?

Are asteroids dangerous? Just ask the dinosaurs, and they’ll tell you a sad story of fiery death. It turns out we’re in a shooting gallery of space rock and metal, and somewhere out there there’s one with our name on it. Should we be worried or are the risks so minimal to be irrelevant?

Ep. 622: Rocky Moons and Giant Asteroids

Ep. 622: Rocky Moons and Giant Asteroids

A rock is a rock is a rock, right? Across the Solar System there are giant rocky asteroids and even rockier moons. What’s the difference between these two families of objects, and where did they come from?

Ep. 621: Gas Giants

Ep. 621: Gas Giants

For the longest time, the only gas giant planets we knew about were Jupiter and Saturn. But now in the age of extrasolar planets, astronomers have discovered thousands of gas giants across almost as many star systems. What new discoveries have been made about gas giants, both here in the Solar System and across the Milky Way?

Ep. 620: Why Getting to the Outer Worlds is So Difficult

Ep. 620: Why Getting to the Outer Worlds is So Difficult

Good news! Over the next few years, we’re going to see a flotilla of new missions headed to Jupiter and Saturn. Why aren’t we seeing more missions to the outer planets, like Uranus and Neptune? It turns out, those places are far away. Today let’s talk about the challenge of exploring the outer Solar System.

Ep. 619: Icy Moons and Dwarf Planets

Ep. 619: Icy Moons and Dwarf Planets

The outer Solar System is far enough from the Sun that water doesn’t get blasted away into deep space. In this icy realm, there are many worlds with vast quantities of water ice. Today let’s look at the icy outer moons and dwarf planets.

Ep. 618: Ice Giants

Ep. 618: Ice Giants

We’re learning more and more about the outer planets of the Solar System. Uranus and Neptune are ice giants, filled with water and other volatiles that we’d consider ice if it was here on Earth. What’s inside these worlds, and what could we expect to find across the Milky Way?

Ep. 616: Hangout-a-thon Episode 1 – The Great Observatories

Ep. 616: Hangout-a-thon Episode 1 – The Great Observatories

You’re familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope, of course, but it’s just one of NASA’s Great Observatories. After Hubble came three more incredible observatories, each greater than the last. Together, they would fill in almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Ep. 615: Planet 9

Ep. 615: Planet 9

After Pluto lost its planethood, we were down to 8 planets. But there’s growing evidence of another world (or worlds) out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Is Planet 9 out there and how will we find it? Could there even be a Planet 10?

Ep. 614: Centaurs, Comets and Asteroids

Ep. 614: Centaurs, Comets and Asteroids

There are asteroids and there are comets. But there’s an entirely separate class of objects called centaurs. But instead of half-human, half-horse, imagine an object that’s half comet, half asteroid but 100% interesting.

Ep. 612: Update: SETI, METI (and WETI)

Ep. 612: Update: SETI, METI (and WETI)

Last week we talked about the various ways that astronomers could detect the presence of intelligent civilizations by observing technosignatures. This week we’ll give you an update on the state of searching for extraterrestrials. This field has gone from a collection of pariahs to a completely legitimate field of research. What’s changed?

Ep. 610: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Non-sentient Edition

Ep. 610: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Non-sentient Edition

Are we alone in the Universe? It’s one of the biggest scientific questions we can possibly ask. And yet, with rovers on Mars, missions planned to visit Europa and Ganymede. Powerful telescopes able to detect the atmospheres of exoplanets, we’re closer than ever to finding out the answer.

Ep. 609: The Benefits of Volcanoes

Ep. 609: The Benefits of Volcanoes

Volcanoes can be some of the worst natural disasters we can experience here on Earth, but life wouldn’t even exist without them. What are volcanoes good for anyway?

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