Ep. 201: Titan

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, and the second largest moon in the Solar System. It’s unique in the Solar System as the only moon with an atmosphere. In fact, scientists think that Titan’s thick atmosphere – rich in hydrocarbons...

Ep. 196: Luminosity and Magnitude

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Astronomers measure the brightness of stars as magnitude. But this brightness depends on the distance to the star as well as the total amount of energy it’s pumping out into space. And from our vantage point here on Earth, appearances can be...

Ep. 195: Planetary Rings

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) 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...

Ep. 194: Dwarf Planets

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) 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,...

Ep. 182: Astrometry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Astronomers have been cataloging star positions for thousands of years, from the first calculations made by Hipparchus, to the more recent star catalogs made by the spacecraft named after him. This is astrometry; another way to find our place in the...

Ep. 180: Albedo

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (0.0KB) Why are some objects in the Solar System bright while others are dim? Much of an object’s brightness is caused by its albedo, or how well it reflects radiation from the Sun. If you want to know how big a distant moon, comet, or asteroid is,...