Science | Astronomy Cast

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?

Ep. 608: NASA Perseverance – The First 100 Days

As you all know, Pamela refuses to talk about any missions which aren’t actually doing science. Well, Perseverance has crossed the line, from fantasy to an actual working rover, scooping regolith and yeeting helicopters. What has the rover accomplished in its first 100 days?

Ep. 607: InSight and Marsquakes

Mars is cold and dead today, but the massive volcanoes tell us what the planet used to be like, millions and even billions of years ago. But how volcanically active is the planet today? That’s what NASA’s Mars InSight lander is there to figure out.

Ep. 606: Time Dilation – Skipping Through Time

Have you ever wanted to be a time traveler? Good news! You’re time traveling right now. Into the future at one second per second. Too long? Don’t want to wait? Good news, Einstein’s got you covered. Today, let’s talk about the weird world of time dilation.

Ep. 605: Sounding Rockets

Last week we talked about balloon-based astronomy. This week we’re going to talk about putting balloons on rockets and making observations mid-flight. Welcome to the world of sounding rockets.

Ep. 603: The New Colors of Radio – Getting Longer

Last week we talked about how new telescopes and techniques are allowing astronomers to explore the shortest wavelengths of light. This week, we go to the other end of the electromagnetic spectrum, and explore the longer radio waves which are now accessible to astronomers.

Ep. 602: The New Colors of Gamma Rays – Getting Shorter

The Earth’s atmosphere protects us from a Universe that’s trying to kill us, but it also blocks our view of the extreme cosmos, like seeing x-rays and gamma radiation. Space telescopes are changing our view of the most extreme events in the Universe.

Ep. 600: Looking Ahead

Today, we gaze into the future of space and astronomy. What upcoming missions and events are we excited about?

Ep. 598: How You Could Overturn Cosmology

You’ve probably heard of dark matter and dark energy, but maybe you don’t fully understand what they are. Or maybe the idea itself just rubs you the wrong way and you’d like to know why scientists think they can just make stuff up like this. So you’d like to overturn cosmology? Here’s all you need to do.

Ep. 597: The Expansion of the Universe (Updated)

It’s been a while since we checked to make sure the Universe was still expanding. Yeah, apparently, that’s still a thing. But in the last few years powerful new telescopes and expansive surveys have given us much more knowledge about what’s happening.

Ep. 596: Universe’s Background Noise

You might be familiar with the cosmic microwave background, but that’s just one of the background radiations astronomers look at. Some are well known and cataloged, while others are just starting to be possible to see. All of them tell us more about our Universe.

Ep. 593: Stellar Parasites

Stars often come in groups of two or more. And if they’re orbiting close enough to each other, one star can feast on the other. And when that happens, well, mayhem ensues.

Ep. 588: Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes

All eyes are on the Moon. We’re going back, this time to stay… right? One of the best resources on the Moon will be the lava tubes that crisscross the subsurface of the Moon. These can provide protection from space, and a look into the geologic history of the Moon. And they can be enormous.

Ep. 583: The Nobel Prize

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three brilliant researchers who worked out some of the secrets of black holes. Today we’re going to talk about the chain of discoveries that led to this award.

Ep. 581: Other Kinds of Novae

Don’t ever accuse us of not comprehensively covering every kind of exploding star. This week we gather up all the leftover ways that stars partially or fully explode, or don’t. Probably. Enjoy.

Ep. 511: Predictions for 2019

We did it, we made it through 2018 in space. Now let’s look forward to the incredible launches, discoveries and astronomical events happening in 2019.

Ep. 510: 2018 – Year in Review

2018 was an incredible year in space news. Rockets launched, landers landed, spacecraft were born and died. We learned tremendous new things about Universe around us, and today we’re here to look back fondly over the last 12 months to review the year in space that was.

Ep. 509: Fiction to Fact: 3D Printers

The technology of 3D printing is taking off. From tiny home-based 3D printers to larger manufacturing. And of course, 3D printing is going to space with the International Space Station and beyond.

Ep 490: What's New with Supernovae

Time for another update, this time we’re going to look at what’s new with supernovae. And once again, we’ve got good news, lots of new stuff to report.

Astronomy Cast Special: Q & A with Dr. Pamela Gay

Pamela will be on to answer your space and astronomy questions live, as Fraser enjoys auroras in Iceland this week!

Updated Audio: Ep. 475: Fast Radio Bursts

Ep 475 fixed audio version – You know what’s fun? Mysteries. Here’s one: fast radio bursts. Astronomers have been detecting mysterious one-time signals from across the sky. What’s causing them? Nobody knows for sure, but the search is on to get to the bottom of them.