Ep. 569: Ethics of Commercial and Military Space, Part 1: Private Space Flight
Every year, more and more people are making their way to space. Some private citizens have already gotten their astronaut wings, paying for a trip to space out of their own pocket. What are the ethical implications of this as the costs of spaceflight come down?
read moreEp. 568: In Situ Resource Utilization
The key to surviving in space will be learning how to live off the land. Instead of carrying all your fuel, water, and other resources from Earth, extract them locally at your destination. It’s called In Situ Resource Utilization and if we can figure this out it’ll change everything.
read moreEp. 567: When Satellites Need a House Call
Space is really far away, so when you send a satellite out into the void, that’s pretty much the last you’re going to be able to work on it. And if anything goes wrong, too bad, you’re out a satellite. But a new test has shown that it’s possible to actually visit and fix a satellite in space. Maybe we don’t have to throw them all away after all.
read moreEp. 566: When Comets Fall Apart
As everyone knows, the Universe owes us a bright comet. There have been a lot of promising candidates, but in the end, they always fail to live up to our expectations. Comets keep on breaking up with us.
read moreEp. 565: When Worlds Collide
So much of our Solar System has been shaped by enormous collisions early on in our history. Seriously, the nature of every planet in the Solar System has some evidence of massive impacts during some point in its history.
read moreEp. 564: Mini Moons
Last month astronomers announced that they had detected a tiny asteroid that had been captured by the Earth’s gravity well and had been sharing our orbit for a few years. Today, let’s talk about the smallest moons in the Solar System.
read moreEp. 563: White Dwarf Mergers
http://traffic.libsyn.com/astronomycast/AstroCast-200330.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Android | RSS White dwarfs are usually about 60% the mass of the Sun, so it was a bit of a surprise when astronomers found one that was almost exactly twice that. What happens when white dwarfs merge? Download MP3| Download Raw Show with Q&A| Show Notes | Transcript Show Notes White Dwarfs: Compact Corpses of Stars (Space.com)White Dwarf Stars (NASA)A massive white-dwarf merger product before final collapse (Nature)White Dwarf...
read moreEp. 562: Dealing with COVID-19 and the Changes it will Bring
Pamela and Fraser discuss the implications of COVID-19 and it’s changes on the world, and what we all can do during this time.
read moreEp. 561: Remembering Katherine Johnson
We lost a bright star here on planet Earth last week. NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson passed away at the age of 101, after an incredible career of helping humans land on the Moon. If you saw the movie Hidden Figures, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
read moreEp. 560: Betelgeuse
You might be surprised to hear that we’ve never done an episode of Astronomy Cast featuring Betelgeuse. Well, good news, this is that episode. Let’s talk about the star, why it might be dimming, and what could happen if it explodes as a supernova.
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