You’ve heard me 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.

Our Hosts
Fraser Cain
Universe Today
Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest
Production by
- Richard Drumm, Audio Engineer
- Ally Pelphrey, Video Engineer
Ep. 89: Adaptive Optics
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
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
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.
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