Fraser Cain
Universe Today
Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest
Our journey through space missions continues. Now we move away from the Earth to the rest of the solar system. What’s out there orbiting, roving and flying on other worlds and in interplanetary space. Today we look inward and we’ll talk about the missions studying the Sun, Mercury and Venus.
Last week, we brought you up to speed on the spacecraft which are helping to study Earth from above. Many of our missions are in Earth orbit but looking outward to study the Universe. Today, we’ll talk about the missions close to home, helping us understand our place in the cosmos.
It’s time for another series. This time we’re going to look at the missions that are currently in place across the Solar System. Today we’ll start with the key missions here on Earth, studying the planet from above and looking out into the Universe.
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is one of its most iconic features, first seen hundreds of years ago. Although it’s certainly long-lasting, it’s been changing in size over the last few decades, shrinking and changing in color. Is it fading away? And what can the changes tell us about storms on giant planets?
Recent Episodes
https://youtu.be/p_R5l-zWH3c Pamela has told us in the most flowery terms about the diffuse dust across inner solar system. Leftover from the formation the inner planets. Well, it turns out, she was wrong. Super wrong. Time to update. Download MP3 | Show Notes |...
https://youtu.be/iNqffMHq-x8 You've probably heard of dark matter and dark energy, but maybe you don't fully understand what they are. Or maybe the idea itself just rubs you the wrong way and you'd like to know why scientists think they can just make stuff up like...
https://youtu.be/LR794Yqm-aI It's been a while since we checked to make sure the Universe was still expanding. Yeah, apparently, that's still a thing. But in the last few years powerful new telescopes and expansive surveys have given us much more knowledge about...
https://youtu.be/72ZiKBeCI0U You might be familiar with the cosmic microwave background, but that's just one of the background radiations astronomers look at. Some are well known and cataloged, while others are just starting to be possible to see. All of them tell us...
https://youtu.be/hwEArYx7bgk This is going to be another one of those evergreen topics, where we come back to again and again. Finding planets. Every time we talk about this now, it seems like we've gained thousands of new planets. Well, buckle up, new techniques will...
https://youtu.be/jD2yXzWoK9Y Pamela's always loathed to talk about spacecraft until the mission's in space and the science is rolling. NASA's Juno mission just received a mission extension, adding Jupiter's moons to the menu. Now, finally, we can talk about Juno. Next...
https://youtu.be/qyKGBykkcuA Stars often come in groups of two or more. And if they're orbiting close enough to each other, one star can feast on the other. And when that happens, well, mayhem ensues. Download MP3 | Show Notes | Transcript Show Notes Red Dwarf...
https://youtu.be/Yi5qW1sWDx8 Some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe are gamma ray bursts, capable of blasting a beam of death halfway across the galaxy. In just the last few years, astronomers have discovered a tremendous amount about these blasts, and...
https://youtu.be/DJ1-vulMiUM Remember the good old days, where there were only a few thousand living and dead satellites? Those days are long over. We're now entering an era where there will be tens of thousands of satellites, not to mention the spent rocket boosters...
https://youtu.be/ruLE8lWObaE 2024 can't come soon enough. You know, that's the year when humans will set foot on the Moon again. Don't you roll your eyes. That's the plan. Well, unless the plan changes. But my point is, explorers going to the Moon will need to be...
https://youtu.be/2klFkWV-ZFc We've talked about water on the Moon many times here on Astronomy Cast, but there have been a bunch of big updates, thanks to new research from NASA and others. Today we're going to give you an update on the state of water on the Moon and...
https://youtu.be/BuoDoceXbrI Ep. 588: Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes All eyes are on the Moon. We're going back, this time to stay... right? One of the best resources on the Moon will be the lava tubes that crisscross the subsurface of the Moon. These can provide...
https://youtu.be/VxGKzE7bTvs The Moon is about to become a very busy place, with multiple countries and private companies planning missions in the next few years. It's been decades since the Outer Space Treaty was negotiated. It's time for the Artemis Accords....
https://youtu.be/MkrxGG32Ac4 As scientists continue to explore the Earth, they're discovering life surviving and even thriving in extreme environments. What hints can this give us about what we might find as we search for life on other worlds? Download MP3 | Show...
https://youtu.be/ZK_sS56EmMY As astronomers are finding even more new extrasolar planets, they're starting to discover entirely new categories. There are classes of planets out there that we just don't have any analog here in the Solar System. Let's talk about them....
https://youtu.be/n4x3XyJtgXQ With a sample of asteroid Bennu firmly inside OSIRIS-REx's return capsule, it's time to bring this treasure home so scientists can study the composition and history of the space rock. But it's not the only sample return mission out there,...
https://youtu.be/fCxkDWINq1I This year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three brilliant researchers who worked out some of the secrets of black holes. Today we're going to talk about the chain of discoveries that led to this award. Download MP3 | Show Notes |...
https://youtu.be/prdjF4YmAas (Sorry for the delay everyone. It has been a week.) Did you hear the news? Nobel Prizes for black holes. We know there are stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes, but how do you get from one to the other? How do black holes...
https://youtu.be/qm5q4aRwtNQ Don't ever accuse us of not comprehensively covering every kind of exploding star. This week we gather up all the leftover ways that stars partially or fully explode, or don't. Probably. Enjoy. Download MP3 | Show Notes | Transcript Show...
https://youtu.be/09NzMzt8yXE You'd think that a white dwarf star is the end of a stellar life. It's all downhill from there. A long, slow cool down towards the end of everything. But in some situations, even dead stars can get exciting again, briefly becoming some of...