Fraser Cain
Universe Today
Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest
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...
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...
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,...
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....
Recent Episodes
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...
https://youtu.be/cIcPtF1bN-U I’ve got some bad news for you: stars die. At some point in the next few billion years or so, our Sun is going to start heating up, using up all the fuel in its core, and then eventually die, becoming a white dwarf. It will then slowly...
https://youtu.be/kgaUY0XcxZI Have you heard the big news? Of course you have, evidence of phosphine on Venus which could be a biosignature of life on our evil twin planet. There have been a lot of surprising stories about Venus, so let's get you all caught up....
https://youtu.be/vuoIlAvTfz0 Every two years or so, Mars lines up nicely with the Earth. It only takes two minutes to communicate with rovers, you can see the polar ice caps in a small telescope, and it's the best time to send spacecraft to the red planet. Download...
https://youtu.be/bxAZTyr-DXk It's time, once again, for Astronomy Cast to go on hiatus. You've got a couple of months on your own to explore the night sky. Before we say goodbye, though, we'd like to make a few suggestions. Download MP3 | Show Notes | Transcript...