Ancient astronomers knew of 5 planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – 6 if you count Earth. But then in 1781, William Herschel discovered an entirely new planet, boosting the number of planets to 7. Let’s learn about Herschel, his equipment, his discoveries, and his sister Caroline – an accomplished astronomer of her own.
Our Hosts
Fraser Cain
Universe Today
Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest
Production by
- Richard Drumm, Audio Engineer
- Ally Pelphrey, Video Engineer
18 Seasons
700+ Episodes
2018 Winner Parsec Award
Ep. 171: Solar System Movements and Positions
Even in ancient times, astronomers realized there was something different about the planets – they move! The movement of the planets and their moons are governed by gravity. And as we all know, gravity can do some funny things.
Ep. 170: Coordinate Systems
This is going to be one of those weeks where we tackle something you’re mentally avoiding. You know all those astronomical terms, like alt-azimuth, right ascension and declination, arc seconds and arc minutes? Of course not, your mind has blocked them out. Today we’re going explain them, so you don’t need to avoid them any more. Soon, you’ll be ready to find anything in the cosmos.
Ep. 169: The Fermi Mission
Last week we talked about Fermi the man, now we’re going to talk about Fermi the space telescope. That’s right, Enrico Fermi made such an impact in the astronomy and physics community that he got a space telescope named after him. Let’s take a look at what this mission will do, and its discoveries so far.
Recent Episodes
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.