#760: What to Look For This Summer

It’s almost time for our annual summer hiatus, but before we go, we wanted to direct you towards all the fun and space stuff we’ll be enjoying this summer. We’ve got meteor showers, planets, rocket launches, TV shows, movies! Here’s what’s good. In a couple of weeks,...

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Fraser Cain
Universe Today

Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest

Production by

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  • Ally Pelphrey, Video Engineer

18 Seasons

700+ Episodes

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#751: Vacuum Energy

#751: Vacuum Energy

Even empty space isn’t empty. It’s filled with quantum fluctuations of spacetime itself. Which can be measured with Casimir Effect experiment

#749: Dark Energy Changing Over Time

#749: Dark Energy Changing Over Time

We thought Dark Energy was constant, but new results from DESI say maybe not, and if it wasn’t the Hubble Tension would be easier to solve.

#748: Fast Radio Bursts

#748: Fast Radio Bursts

Fast Radio Bursts the briefest of moments, some dead stars can flash brighter than their entire galaxy (in Radio light) and then live to do it again and again. It’s time for an update on fast radio bursts, a phenomenon we’ve only known about for a few decades.

Recent Episodes

#722: Weather on Exoplanets

Here’s a familiar question: how’s the weather? We’re familiar with the weather on Earth and telescopes and missions are watching the weather on other planets in the Solar System. But for the first time in history, astronomers can now answer that question for...

#721: Free-Floating Planets

Most of the exoplanets we’ve found are around stars, where they belong. But a few have been found free-floating in interstellar space. The evidence is growing that there are a lot of them out there, maybe even more than planets with stars. How do they form and how can...

#720: Galaxy Series – Elliptical Galaxies

Our galaxy series continues with elliptical galaxies. Unlike other types, these are large, smooth with very few distinguishing features. They’re filled with red and dead stars, a clue to their evolution. Listen Show Notes This episode discusses Elliptical Galaxies,...

Ep. 719 – Galaxy Series: Spirals

Our galaxy series continues, on to spiral galaxies. In fact, you’re living in one right now, but telescopes show us the various shapes and sizes these galaxies come in. Thanks to JWST, we’re learning how these spirals got big, early on in the Universe....

Ep. 718: Galaxy Series – Dwarf Galaxies

It’s time to begin a new mini-series, where we’ll look at different classes of galaxies. Today, we’ll start with the dwarf galaxies, which flock around larger galaxies like the Milky Way. Are they the building blocks for modern structures?...

Ep. 717: Understanding the Ages of Distant Cosmic Objects

How old is that star? That planet? That nebula? Figuring out the ages of astronomical objects is surprisingly challenging. Fortunately, astronomers have developed a series of techniques they can use to work out the ages of stuff. https://youtube.com/live/MWA3OUyQQIQ...

Ep. 716: The God**** Particle – Remembering Peter Higgs

Last week, we learned about the death of Peter Higgs, a physicist and discoverer of the particle that bears his name. The Large Hadron Collider was built to find and describe the particle. Today, we’ll look back at the life of Peter Higgs and his particle....

Ep. 714: Orbital Resonances

Several of the planets and moons in the Solar System are in orbital resonance, orbiting in a geometric lockstep. And not just the Solar System, astronomers have found the same resonances in other star systems. https://youtube.com/live/fEW-13DJlIY Transcript (This is...

Ep. 713: Solar System Volcanoes – An Update from LPSC 2024

Last week was one of the most exciting meetings we’ve seen from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, with hundreds of announcements and discoveries from various missions. One theme kept coming up, the Solar System is more volcanically active than we thought....

Ep. 712: How Peer Review Fails

You’ve probably heard that the best kind of science is peer-reviewed research published in a prestigious journal. But peer review has problems of its own. We’ll talk about that today. https://youtube.com/live/JfeKfMQUrYw Show Notes Definition and Purpose of Peer...

Ep. 711: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)

NASA works on many missions using tried and true technology, but they also invest in creative ideas that could drive the future of space exploration. It’s called NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts or NIAC. https://youtube.com/live/Wx0ome_rtUU?feature=share Show Notes...

Ep. 709: Space Weapons

Last week we learned that Russia might be planning nuclear weapons to take out satellites in space. What is the current and future possibility of weapons in space and what are the treaties designed to prevent them? https://youtube.com/live/jLdReWGjF5c?feature=share...

Ep. 707: What Goes Into Sample Return Missions for the Moon and Mars?

We’ve sent robots to other worlds, but the amount of science we can deploy to another planet can’t compare with the vast science labs we have on Earth. That’s why more and more missions are for a sample return, bringing pieces of alien worlds back to Earth, were we...

Ep. 706: China’s Space Program

We’re so familiar with NASA’s exploration efforts in space, but you might be surprised to learn that China launches almost as many rockets as the US. They’ve got their own space exploration program that could soon bring humans to the surface of the Moon. Let’s give a...

Ep. 705: Water Worlds – Looking for Life Beyond Earth

Wherever we find liquid water on Earth, we find life, so it makes sense to search for water across the Universe, and hopefully we can find evidence of life. But what about worlds which are completely covered in water, oceans hundreds of kilometers deep. Can there be...

Ep. 704: NASA’s Juno Releases New Images

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has completed dozens of flybys of Jupiter, seeing the planet from many angles and delivering some of the most beautiful images we’ve ever seen of the Jovian world. Now it’s focusing in on Io, sending home images of the tiny volcanic world from...

Ep. 703: Solar Maximum of Doom? Maybe

Solar cycle 25 is shaping up to be a doozy, with plenty of flares and coronal mass ejections blasting off the Sun. As the solar activity continues to rise, how are things shaping up? https://youtube.com/live/olavaQ0F-UY?feature=share Show Notes | Transcript Show Notes...