Astronomy Cast

Ep. 115: The Moon, Part 3: Return to the Moon

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It's time for a third lunar chapter. We've talked about the physical characteristics of the Moon, and the exploration. Now we're going to talk about the plans to return to the Moon. From the upcoming lunar reconnaissance orbiter to the plans to have humans set foot on the Moon again, for the first time in more than 50 years.

Questions Show: Spiral Arms, Seismic Waves on the Sun, and our Favorite Gear

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This week we explore galactic spiral arms, seismic quakes on the Sun, and our picks for astronomy gear. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 114: The Moon, Part 2 - Exploration of the Moon

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Let's continue on our journey to the Moon. Last week we talked about the physical characteristics of the Moon, its appearance in the sky and how it interacts with the Earth. This week we're going to take a look at how scientists have expanded our understanding of the Moon. From ancient astronomers using nothing more than their eyes and the first telescope observations of Galileo to the exploration by robotic spacecraft. And of course, the first tentative steps by the human explorers of the Apollo program.

Questions Show: Ice in Space, Expansion of the Universe, and Death from the Skies

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 6 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Another week, another batch of questions. If ice disappears in your freezer, how can it last in space? How can the Universe be expanding faster than the speed of light? And what is the risk from a coronal mass ejection in an airplane? All this and even more questions. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 113: The Moon, Part 1

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hey, here's a topic we haven't gotten around to yet... the Moon. Today we look at our closest astronomical companion: the Moon. What impact does the moon have on our lives, where did it come from, who walked on it, and are we ever going to walk on it again? We're going to learn about the phases, the tides and even a little bit about NASA's plans to return to the Moon.

Questions Show: Orbit of the Planets, Green Stars, and Oort Cloud Contamination

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We're back to a themeless questions show. We're right across the Universe this time. Why are the planets lined up in a nice flat plane? Why are there no green stars? And is the Oort Cloud contaminating our understanding of the cosmic microwave background radiation? If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 112: Death from the Skies, Interview with Phil Plait

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We say it all the time here on Astronomy Cast: the Universe is trying to kill us. This week, Pamela is joined by Dr. Phil Plait to discuss his new book, Death from the Skies. Phil and Pamela talk about asteroid strikes, solar flares and gamma ray bursts.

Questions Show: Relativity, Relativity and More Relativity

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Everyone loves a theme. And this week we've collected together some of your questions about relativity. More light speed spacecraft, twin paradoxes, and the mixing up of gravity, time and mass. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 111: Nebulae

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

When you think about the best pictures in astronomy, almost every one is a nebula; the pillars of creation in the Eagle Nebula, or the complex Helix Nebula - or my personal favorite, the Ring Nebula. They're beautiful, wispy clouds of gas and dust that signify both the birth and death of stars. Today we give tribute to nebulae.

Questions Show: Galactic Dust, the Speed of Photons, and the Big Bang Calculations

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Sun, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Another week, another roundup of your questions. This week listeners asked: what is galactic dust anyway, and where does it come from? Why can photons move at the speed of light? And how can astronomers know what happened right after the Big Bang? And there's even more. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 110: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

You know what this show needs? More aliens. Since we don't seem to have any visiting right now, we're going to have to find some. SETI is an acronym. It stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. But there's more to SETI than just putting up a radio telescope and hoping to catch a glimpse of an alien television broadcast.

Questions Show - Alignment with the Galactic Plane, Destruction from Venus, and the Death of the Solar System

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Another week, another roundup of your questions. This week listeners asked: are we all going to die in 2012 when the solar system passes through the galactic plane? Did Venus make the Moon? And what will extraterrestrials see when the Sun is dead and gone? And there's even more. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show.

Ep. 109: The Life of Other Stars

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Last week we looked at the complete life of the Sun, birth to death. But stars can be smaller, and stars can get much much larger. And with a change in mass, their lives change too. Let's start the clock again, and see what happens to the smallest stars in the Universe; and what happens to the largest.

Questions Show - Running Out of Gravitons and Hitting the Brakes at Light Speed

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Another week, another roundup of your questions. This week listeners asked: if forces are communicated through particles, can we run out? If you were traveling at light speed, when would you know to stop? And there's even more. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show.

Ep. 108: The Life of the Sun

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We've talked about the Sun before, but this time we're going to look at the entire life cycle of the Sun, and all the stages it's going to go through: solar nebula, protostar, main sequence, red giant, white dwarf, and more. Want to know what the future holds for the Sun, get ready for the grim details.

Questions Show - light speed, Andromeda galaxy, dark matter and black holes

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Another week, another roundup of your questions. This week listeners asked: will reaching light speed destroy the Universe? When is Andromeda going to look really, really cool with the unaided eye? Why didn't dark matter all turn into black holes? And there's even more. If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show.

Ep. 107: Nucleosynthesis: Elements from Stars

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Look around you. Breathe in some air. Everything you can see and feel was formed in a star. Today we'll examine that long journey that matter has gone through, forged and re-forged in the hearts of stars. In fact, the device you're using to listen to this podcast has some elements formed in a supernova explosion.

Questions Show - Black Hole Surfaces, Magnetic Field Strengths, and the Speed of Gravitons

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As you know, we wanted to answer listener questions regularly, but we found it was taking away from the regular weekly episodes of Astronomy Cast. So we've decided to just split it up and run the question shows separately from the regular Astronomy Cast episodes. If this works out, you might be able to enjoy twice the number of Astronomy Cast episodes. So if you've got a question on a topic we cover in a recent show, or you just have a general astronomy question, send it in to info@astronomycast.com. Either by email, or record your question and email in the audio file.

Ep. 106: The Search for the Theory of Everything

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

At the earliest moments of the Universe, there were no separate forces, energy or matter. It was all just the same stuff. And then the different forces froze out, differentiating into electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force. Today we'll look at the problem that has puzzled physicists for generations: is there a single equation that explains all the forces we see in the Universe. Is there a theory of everything?

Student Questions Show: Leelanau School

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is our forth installment in our series of student questions shows and these questions come to us from Leelanau High School.

Ep. 105: The Strong and Weak Nuclear Forces

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After a quick Dragon*Con break, we're back to our tour through the fundamental forces of the Universe. We've covered gravity and electromagnetism, and now we're moving onto the strong and weak nuclear forces. We didn't think they'd really need to be separate episodes, so we're putting them together. And then we'll cap the whole series with the quest for the theory of everything.

Ep. 104: Science Fiction at Dragon*Con with Plait and Grazier

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 1 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Pamela left Fraser behind (with sorrow) and took on Dragon*Con and the facts (or lack there of) in Science Fiction. Helping her out were special guests Phil Plait and Kevin Grazier.

Ep. 103: Electromagnetism

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our series on the basic forces of the cosmos continues! Last week we discussed gravity, and this we'll handle electromagnetism. Electricity and magnetism are just two aspects of the same force, and you can't talk about astronomy without understanding these two keys aspects of physics.

Ep. 102: Gravity

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

You seem to like a nice series, so here's a new one we've been thinking about. Over the course of the next 4 weeks, we're going to cover each of the basic forces in the Universe. And this week, we're going to start with gravity; the force you're most familiar with. Gravity happens when masses attract one another, and we can calculate its effect with exquisite precision. But you might be surprised to know that scientists have no idea why gravity happens.

Ep. 101: Advanced Propulsion Systems

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Last week we talked about rockets. How they work and their limitations. This week we're going to look at the future of propulsion systems. From the ion engines that are already working to explore the Solar System to the prototype solar sails to futuristic technologies like magnetic sails, and bussard ramjets. This is how we'll travel to other stars.

Ep. 100: Rockets

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

To move around in space, you need some kind of propulsion system. And for now, that means rockets. Let's learn the underlying science of rockets, and how they work. And learn why a rocket will never let us reach the speed of light.

Ep. 99: The Milky Way

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Milky Way is our home. An island of stars in a universe of other galaxies. But you might be surprised to learn that astronomers have only known the Milky Way's true nature for just a century. Let's learn the history of discoveries about the Milky Way, and what today's science tells us. And let's peer into the future to learn the ultimate fate of our galaxy.

Ep. 98: Quasars

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Last week we talked about galaxies in general, and hinted at the most violent and energetic ones out there: active galaxies. Quasars have been a mystery for half a century; what kind of object could throw out more radiation than an entire galaxy? A black hole, it turns out, with the mass of hundreds of millions of suns performs this feat. Let's trace back the history of quasars, how they were first discovered and puzzled astronomers for so long. And let's look at what we know today.

Ep. 97: Galaxies

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This week we're going to look at some of the biggest objects in the Universe: galaxies. It was the discovery of galaxies in the early 20th century that helped astronomers realize just how big the Universe is, and how far away everything is. Let's learn how galaxies formed and how they evolve and change over time, merging with the neighbors. And what the future holds.

Ep. 96: Humans to Mars, Part 3 - Terraforming Mars

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

And now we reach the third part of our trilogy on the human exploration and colonization of Mars. Humans will inevitably tire of living underground, and will want to stretch their legs, and fill their lungs with fresh air. One day, we'll contemplate the possibility of reshaping Mars to suit human life. Is it even possible? What technologies would be used, and what's the best we can hope for?

Ep. 95: Humans to Mars, Part 2 - Colonists

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After astronauts make the first tentative steps onto the surface of Mars, a big goal will be colonization of the Red Planet. The first trailblazers who try to live on Mars will have their work cut out for them, being in an environment totally hostile to life. What challenges will they face, and how might they overcome them?

Ep. 94: Humans to Mars, Part 1 - The Scientists

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We're learned about the failed missions to Mars in the past, and the current spacecraft, rovers and landers currently exploring the Red Planet. But the real prize will come when the first human sets foot on Mars. Robots are cheaper, but nothing beats having a real human being on the scene, to search for evidence of water and life.

Ep. 93: Missions to Mars, Part 2

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

I know last week was a bit of a dry history lesson, but we wanted to give you some understanding of past efforts to explore Mars. Now we'll look at the missions currently in orbit, and crawling around the surface of Mars, and help you understand the science that's happening right now.

Ep. 92: Missions to Mars, Part 1

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With last month's safe arrival of the Phoenix Mars Lander, Mars enthusiasts breathed a collective sigh of relief… phew. Now it's time to search for evidence of organic molecules in the ice at Mars' north pole. But this is just the latest in a long series of missions sent to the Red Planet. Let's have a history lesson, and look back at the missions sent to Mars, successful and unsuccessful.

Ep. 91: The Search for Water on Mars

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 2 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With the successful touchdown of the Phoenix Lander, NASA is continuing its quest to find evidence of past and present water on Mars. This week we discuss the geologic history of Mars, and explain why NASA thinks the story of water on Mars is so important. And how this ties into the search for life on the Red Planet.

Ep. 90: The Scientific Method

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

You've heard us say it 90 times: "How we know what we know." But how do we know how we know what we know? So astronomers like all scientists use the scientific method. Without the scientific method we'd probably still think the Earth is flat, only a few thousand years old and the center of the universe. But with the scientific method everything changes. From biology, to chemistry, to physics, to astronomy it is impossible to count the number of changes that have happened to human society because of changes brought about from the scientific method. In this episode we tell you about what the scientific method is, how you can use it to improve your life, and discuss why gravity isn't just a theory.

Ep. 89: Adaptive Optics

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Since the dawn of humanity, astronomers have wished to destroy the atmosphere. Oh sure, it's what we breathe and all, but that stupid atmosphere is always getting in the way. Since destroying the atmosphere is out of the question, astronomers have figured out how to work with it. To distort the mirror of the telescope itself though the magic of adaptive optics.

Ep. 88: The Hubble Space Telescope

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our understanding of the cosmos has been revolutionized by the Hubble Space Telescope. The breathtaking familiar photos, like the Pillars of Creation, pale in comparison to the astounding amount of science data returned to Earth. Hubble's getting old, though, serviced several times already, and due for another mission later this year. Let's relive the historic observatory's amazing life so far, and see what the future holds.

Ep. 87: The End of the Universe Part 2: The End of Everything

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 5 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hopefully you've all recovered from part 1 of this set, where we make you sad about the future of the humanity, the Earth, the Sun and the Solar System. But hang on, we're really going to bring you down. Today we'll look far far forward into the distant future of the Universe, at timescales that we can barely comprehend.

Ep. 86: The End of the Universe Part 1: The End of the Solar System

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is a show we wanted to do since we started Astronomy Cast but we always thought it was too early. We wanted you to know that we're positive, happy people with enthusiasm for astronomy and the future. It's time for some sadness. It's time for a grim look to see what the future holds for the Universe. This week we stay close to home and consider the end of humanity, the Earth, the Sun, and the entire Solar System. Next week we'll extend out to the very end of the Universe.

Ep. 85: Detectors

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our senses can only detect a fraction of the phenomena happening in the Universe. That's why scientists and engineers develop detectors, to let us see radiation and particles that we could never detect with our eyes and ears. This week we'll go through them all, so you can understand how we see what we can't see.

Ep. 84: Getting Around the Solar System

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered what it takes to get a spacecraft off the Earth and into space. And how managers at NASA can actually navigate a spacecraft to another planet? And how does a gravity assist work? And how do they get them into orbit? And how do they land? So many questions…

Ep. 83: Wave Particle Duality

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Have you ever heard that photons behave like both a particle and a wave and wondered what that meant? It's true. Sometimes light acts like a wave, and other times it behaves like a little particle. It's both. This week we discuss the experiments that demonstrate this, explain how scientists figured it all out in the first place. What does wave/particle duality have to do with astronomy? Well, everything, since light is the only way astronomers can see out into the Universe.

Ep. 82: Space Junk

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We're polluting every corner of our own planet, so it only makes sense that we'll take our trashy habits out into space with us. This week we look at the myriad of ways we're messing up space, from the trash orbiting the planet to the radiation we're leaking out into space.

Ep. 81: Questions on the Shape Size and Centre of the Universe

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As predicted we got a lot of questions from people about our trilogy of shows on the size, shape and centre of the universe. Today we'll do our best to clear them all up.As always, if you're still confused drop us an email to info at astronomycast dot com.

Ep. 80: Craters

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Pamela's attending the 39th Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference, and you know what that means: the Moon… and planets! When you think of the Moon, you think of craters. In fact, that's a big theme this week at the conference, so Pamela took it as inspiration. Here you go, the week we drove the show into a crater. Wait… there's got to be a better way to describe this.

Ep. 79: How Big is the Universe?

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We’re ready to complete our trilogy of discovery about the universe. We’ve learned that it has no center; rather everywhere is its center and nowhere. We discovered that the universe seems to be flat. It not open, it is not closed, it is flat. If that doesn’t make any sense, you need to listen to the previous show because there’s no way I could give that an explanation. So now we want to know: “How big is it?” Does it go on forever or is it finite in scale? How much of it can we see?

Ep. 78: What is the Shape of the Universe?

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Some of the biggest questions in the universe depend on its shape. Is it curved? Is it flat? Is it open? Those may not make that much sense to you, but in fact it’s very important for astronomers. So which is it? How do we know? How did we figure it out? Why does it matter?

Ep. 77: Where is the Centre of the Universe?

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There are some people – I’m not naming names – who think the universe revolves around them. In fact, for most of humankind, everybody thought that. It’s only been in the last few hundred years that scientists finally puzzled out that the Earth isn’t the centre of the universe at all. That begs the question: where is the centre?

Ep. 76: Lagrange Points

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Gravity is always pulling you down, but there are places in the solar system where gravity balances out. These are called Lagrange points and space agencies use them as stable places to put spacecraft. Nature is on to them and has already been using them for billions of years.

Student Questions: Curtis High School

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is our second installment in our series of student questions shows and these questions come to us from Curtis High School.

Ep. 75: Stellar Populations

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After the big bang, all we had was hydrogen, a little bit of helium, and a few other trace elements. Today, we’ve a whole periodic table of elements to enjoy, from oxygen we breathe to the aluminium cans we drink from to the uranium that powers some people’s homes. How did we get from plain old hydrogen to our current diversity? It came from stars, in fact successive generations of stars.

Ep. 74: Antimatter

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Sometimes, we don’t get to decide what our show’s about. So many threads come together at the same time driving the decision for us. This is one of those situations. We’ve gotten so many questions from listeners in just the last week about antimatter that our show had just been chosen for it. You command, we obey. Let’s talk about antimatter.

Ep. 73: Questions Show #8

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We’ve been so crazy following our own whims through the universe that we’ve neglected your questions. That ends today. It’s time to dig deep into our overflowing email box to retrieve the puzzling questions our listeners have sent in.

Ep. 72: Cosmic Rays

info@astronomycast.com (Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We’re going to return back to a long series of episodes we like to call: Radiation that Will Turn You Into a Superhero. This time we’re going to look at cosmic rays, which everyone knows made the Fantastic Four. These high-energy particles are streaming from the Sun and even intergalactic space, and do a wonderful job of destroying our DNA, giving us radiation sickness, and maybe (hopefully!) turning us into superheroes.