Ep. 514: Planetary Protection Protocols
As we send rovers and landers to other worlds, we have to think about the tiny microbial astronauts we’re sending along with us. In fact, NASA is so concerned about infecting other worlds that it has established the planetary protection protocols. Just to be safe.
read moreEp. 513: Stellar Fusion
The Sun. It’s a big ball of fire, right? Apparently not. In fact, what’s going on inside of the Sun took us some time and knowledge of physics to finally figure out: stellar fusion. Let’s talk about the different kinds of fusion, and how we’re trying to adapt it to generate power here on Earth.
read moreEp. 512: Direct Imaging of Exoplanets
Finding planets is old news, we now know of thousands and thousands of the places. But the terrible irony is that we can only see a fraction of the planets out there using the traditional methods of radial velocity and transits. But the new telescopes will take things to the next level and image planets directly.
read moreEp. 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.
read moreEp. 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.
read moreAstronomy Cast has won a Parsec Award!
After many years as a finalist, Astronomy Cast has finally won in the Fact Behind the Fiction category of the 2018 Parsec Awards, joining the ranks of other fantastic podcasts such as Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria, HubbleCast, the Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio, Monster Talk, 365 Days of Astronomy and Universe Today’s Guide to Space.
read moreEp. 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.
read moreEp. 508: 2018 Holiday Gift Guide
We did it, we made it to the end of another year. Once again it’s time to wonder what gifts to get your beloved space nerds. We’ve got some suggestions. Some are brand new this year, others are classics that we just can’t help but continue to suggest. Let’s get into it.
read moreEp. 507: From Fiction to Fact : Ion Drive
Ion engines are a mainstay of science fiction, featured in both Star Trek and Wars. But this is a very real technology, successfully used on several missions out there in the Solar System right now. How do they work and what are the limits?
read moreEp. 506: It's not Aliens, Unless it's Aliens
Did you hear that astronomers from Harvard think that the interstellar asteroid Oumuamua was actually an alien solar sail? Is it aliens? Of course it’s not aliens. But some day, it’ll actually be aliens.
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