Universe Today » Podcasts

Podcast: Planet X

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:20:16 +0000

Astronomers have been searching for the mysterious Planet X for hundreds of years. It was the search for a theoretical planet beyond Uranus that turned up Neptune, and then again for Pluto. And even now there are some astronomers who think there's a more distant planet out there. Oh, and there are a bunch of pseudoscience cranks trying to freak people out about the end of the world. Don't worry, we'll make time for them too, but first let's start with some real science.

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Planet X show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Pulsars

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:17:52 +0000

Imagine an object with the mass of the Sun, crushed down to the size of Manhattan. Now set that object spinning hundreds of times a second, blasting out powerful beams of radiation like a lighthouse. That's a pulsar, one of the most exotic objects in the Universe.

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Pulsars show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Constellations

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:00:52 +0000

Did you know there are 88 constellations in the night sky? Let's learn about the constellations and other star formations, their history, their connection to the zodiac, and how to find some of them.

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Constellations show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Famous Stars

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:45:43 +0000

This week we're going to talk about famous stars. But not those boring human ones you read about in People magazine. No, we're talking about those hot balls of plasma across the distant Universe. The close ones, the bright ones, the massive ones, the giant ones. Let's get to know some famous stars.

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Famous Stars show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Dwarf Stars

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:32:50 +0000

We think we live near an average star, but that's not the case at all. Compared to most stars in the Universe, the Sun is a giant! Let's look at the small end of the stellar spectrum, to stars with a fraction of the size and mass of our own Sun. There are many ways that a star can get small, and they lead dramatically different lives and deaths.

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Dwarf Stars show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Dragon*Con With Seth Shostak

Nancy Atkinson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:32:20 +0000

Seth Shostak. Image credit: SETI.org

This week we step away from our regular programming to bring you a live show from Dragon*Con in Atlanta. Pamela shares the stage with SETI researcher Seth Shostak. Together they discuss the technology and science of searching for intelligence, and answer questions from the audience.

Click here to download the episode.

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Dragon*Con with Seth Shostak show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Binary Stars

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:05:48 +0000

Artist's illustration of a cataclysmic variable

Did you know that our Solar System is a rarity with its single star? Astronomers believe that most star systems out there actually contain 2 or more stars – imagine seeing a sky with 4 suns. These binary and multiple star systems are a great target for new astronomers, and the dynamics of multiple stars keep astrophysicists busy too. Let's take a look at what it would be like to live on Tatooine.

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Binary Stars show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Atmospheres

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:24:12 +0000

Take a quick breath. There, that's what we're going to talk about today – the atmosphere. And not just the Earth's familiar atmosphere, but the strange, exotic and deadly atmospheres we find in the Solar System and surrounding extrasolar planets.

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Atmospheres show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Telescopes, the Next Level

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:43:08 +0000

We've explained how to get into astronomy and buy your first telescope. Now we're going to take things to the next level and get you drooling about bigger and better telescopes. If you're serious about astronomy, what kinds of telescopes will give you the best bang for big bucks?

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Telescopes, the Next Level show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: The Constellation Program

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:40:03 +0000

It's been more than 40 years since humans first set foot on the Moon. But plans are in place to return humans to the surface of the Moon, and maybe even to asteroids and the planet Mars. New rockets, landers and flight technology are all under development. Humans are pushing out into space again, and this time we're going to stay. Let's take a look at NASA's new Constellation Program. What's been developed so far, and what's coming up.

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Constellation Program show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: Astronomy and New Media

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:33:42 +0000

Astronomy is one of the scientific fields that have been completely shaken up by new media. The Internet has enabled communication between researchers in a dramatic new way, creating new collaborations, removing obstacles, and drawing in an army of enthusiastic volunteers to help with research. Let's take a look at how new media is helping change astronomy, and how you can get involved.

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Astronomy and New Media show notes and transcript.

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Podcast: How to be Taken Seriously by Scientists

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:50:30 +0000

For those non-scientists trying to get their original ideas accepted by the scientific community, you've got to have thick skin. It might seem like there's a vast conspiracy, or a general attitude that drives away original, but unorthodox ideas. But that's not true, the reality is that great ideas in science come from everywhere, even amateurs. In this episode we'll help you understand what scientists will be looking for, and the best ways to be taken seriously.

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How to be Taken Seriously by Scientists — transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Astronomy Research from Idea to Publication

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:37:32 +0000

Have you ever wondered how astronomers do their research? How do they go from idea or question, to gathering their data, to publishing the research. What are all the hoops they have to jump through, the paperwork to fill out, and the cool toys they get to use along the way?

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Astronomy Research from Idea to Publication – Transcript and show notes.

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A Plethora of Recent Astronomy Cast Offerings

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:43:01 +0000

Fraser and Pamela recently unleashed their astronomical prowess in a big way with five new episodes of Astronomy Cast. Included are some very thought-provoking topics like astrobiology, space elevators and interstellar travel, not to mention a whole host of other topics covered in a couple of questions shows. So, here's a chance to immerse yourself in Astronomy Cast!

Episode # 145: Interstellar Travel

Questions Show: Imaging Extrasolar Planets, Infinite Universe, Inside a Black Hole

Episode # 144: Space Elevators

Questions Show: Matter Balance, Jumping Light Speed, and Black Hole Star Formation

Episode # 143: Astrobiology

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Who Flew the Ship When Mike Collins Went to Sleep?

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:46:08 +0000

I mentioned in a previous post that upcoming, there would be lots of fun ways to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and here's one I hope you enjoy. My latest podcast on the 365 Days of Astronomy is my reminiscences about that event, which includes another song I wrote. It's about Apollo 11 through the eyes of a young girl, (which I was at the time), with all the interesting questions and the unique viewpoint that children can bring.

Back on July 20 1969, with everyone focusing on whether Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would make it down to the lunar surface, my thoughts stayed with Mike Collins up orbiting all alone in the command and service module, which is what the song is about. I was inspired and brought back to that time by a children's book, "The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins" by Bea Uusma Schyffert. It's a wonderful book that focuses on Michael Collins and what he did, and what he saw, and the things he thought about in space.

The book brought me back to that time, and how I sat in front of the TV watching history unfold. I don't remember exactly what I was thinking or the questions I had, but I'm sure there was a lot going on inside my little head, and likely, that event was part of what brought me to where I am today.

I hope you enjoy it. Apollo 11 Through the Eyes of a Young Girl

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Podcast: Questions Show: An Unlocked Moon, Energy into Black Holes and the Space Station's Orbit

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:28:08 +0000

What would happen if the Moon wasn't tidally locked to the Earth? What happens to all that mass and energy disappearing into a black hole? And how can we explain the space station's crazy orbit?

If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Click here to download the episode.

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Questions show- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Quantum Mechanics

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:31:59 +0000

Quantum mechanics is the study of the very tiny; the nature of reality at the smallest scale. It's a science that defies common sense, and delivers no helpful analogies. And yet it delivers the goods, making scientific predictions with incredible accuracy. Let's look into the history of quantum theory, and then struggle to comprehend its connection to the Universe.

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Quantum Mechanics- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Questions Show: Hidden Fusion, the Speed of Neutrinos and Hawking Radiation

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:25:48 +0000

Are new stars dark until their photons reach the surface? How fast do neutrinos travel? And what’s the story with Hawking Radiation?

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Questions show- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Large Scale Structures in the Universe

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:17:17 +0000

We're thinking big. We’re going to consider the biggest things in the Universe. If you could pull way back, and examine regions of space billions of light-years across, what would you see? How is the Universe arranged at the largest scale? And more importantly… why?

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Large Scale Structures in the Universe- Transcript and show notes.

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Nancy Comes Out of the Closet on 365 Days of Astronomy

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:09:56 +0000

For Universe Today readers who know me only as a journalist, there's something I've never revealed until today. But I tell all on today's 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. The truth is, I'm a closet musician and songwriter. But while most musicians write songs about love, or love gone wrong, or that kinda stuff, being the space geek that I am, I write songs about things like, well, satellites, spacecraft and space missions. Today's podcast is about the International Space Station, and I share a song I wrote after I saw the ISS for the first time in the night sky.
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Read the rest of Nancy Comes Out of the Closet on 365 Days of Astronomy (151 words)

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Podcast: Optical Astronomy

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:38:43 +0000

Optical astronomy; now this is the kind of astronomy a human being was born to do. In fact, until the last century, this was the only kind of astronomy anybody ever did. Now we've got the whole electromagnetic spectrum to explore, but our heart still belongs to optical astronomy. Of course, with bigger telescopes, better optics and more sensitive detectors, even optical astronomy has come a long way.

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Infrared Astronomy- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Questions Show: Undoing Inflation, Searching for Water, and Seeing Everything a Black Hole's Ever Eaten

Nancy Atkinson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:36:35 +0000

If there was enough mass to cause a big crunch, would inflation go backwards too? How do spacecraft know that hydrogen is bonded to water? And why can't we see everything that's ever fallen into a black hole?

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Infrared Astronomy- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Infrared Astronomy

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:29:25 +0000

Today we continue our unofficial tour through the electromagnetic spectrum, stopping at the infrared spectrum – you feel it as heat. This section of the spectrum gives us our only clear view through dusty material to see newly forming planetary systems and shrouded supermassive black holes. And infrared lets us look out to the most distant regions of the observable universe, when the first building blocks of galaxies came together.

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Infrared Astronomy- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Submillimeter Astronomy

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:34:18 +0000

Last week we examined the largest wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum: radio. This week we get a little smaller… but not too small! And look at the next step in the spectrum, the submillimeter. Astronomers have only recently began exploiting this tiny slice of the spectrum, but the payoff has been huge.

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Submillimeter Astronomy- Transcript and show notes.

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Podcast: Questions Show: Decelerating Black Holes, Earth-Sun Tidal Lock, and the Crushing Gravity of Dark Matter

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 02:29:10 +0000

This week we wonder if you can made a black hole by accelerating a mass, but then can you un-make it again? Will the Earth ever be tidally locked to the Sun? And can dark matter crush an unsuspecting space ship?

Click here to download the episode.

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Questions Show- Transcript and show notes.

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