Paul M. Sutter

Ask a Spaceman!

Science EN ↓ 281 episodes

You've got questions and astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter has answers - every episode you will come closer to complete knowledge of time and space!

Author

Paul M. Sutter

Episodes

AaS! 55: Does Dark Energy Exist? 02.05.2017 36:45

How do we measure the expansion history of the universe? Why are supernovae so dang useful? Come on, what's with this "dark energy" business? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books K...

AaS! 54: What Happens When Galaxies Collide? 18.04.2017 37:34

What happens during a galaxy merger event? Is dark matter involved? How do we use simulations to learn about these processes that last hundreds of millions of years? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://...

AaS! 53: Why Is the Higgs Boson Important? (Part 2) 04.04.2017 30:34

Part Two! What's the relationship between the Higgs Boson and mass? What does that even mean, and how do we go about detecting it? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those q...

AaS! 52: Why Is the Higgs Boson Important? (Part 1) 21.03.2017 37:55

Part One! What does the Higgs Boson mean? What role does it play in the forces of nature? What makes it so special? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions about...

AaS! 51: What Has New Horizons Learned About Pluto? 07.03.2017 50:23

What has New Horizons taught us about Pluto so far? What's going on under the ice? Why does the "heart" of Pluto still beat? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questio...

AaS! 50: What's Up With Saturn's Rings? 21.02.2017 40:13

How (and when) did the rings of Saturn form? How are we to understand the complex systems of rings and gaps? How do the moons influence their shape? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/bo...

AaS! 49: What Were the Most Clever Experiments of All Time? 07.02.2017 45:12

What are the most clever physics and astronomy experiments of all time? What did we learn from them, and what made them so dang clever? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep th...

AaS! 48: Why Are Kepler's Laws Important? 17.01.2017 35:53

Why are Kepler's Laws important? What was Kepler trying to understand? What connection did Kepler think he was making? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions abo...

AaS! 47: What's the Universe Made Of? 03.01.2017 42:48

What's the universe made of? How is this connected to its age? What's the connection between dark matter and dark energy? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions...

AaS! 46: How to Describe Astronomy to the Blind? 20.12.2016 36:42

How can the night sky be described to someone who can't see it? What's it like to do astronomy? What kind of feelings come into play? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep thos...

AaS! 45: Wormholes - Deal or No Deal? 06.12.2016 36:16

Are wormholes real or what? How did we even start thinking of them? If we could build one, would it be possible to actually, you know, use it? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books ...

AaS! 44: How Does the Sun Get Spots? 15.11.2016 36:13

How do sunspots work? What do magnetic fields have to do with it? Who was Zeeman and why was his splitting so important? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions a...

AaS! 43: What's the Shape of the Universe? 01.11.2016 32:45

What's the shape of the universe? What does it even mean for the universe to have a "shape"? If you traveled far enough, would you end up where you started? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutte...

AaS! 42: Where Do "Weird" Radio Signals Come From? 18.10.2016 33:09

Where do "weird" radio signals come from? Is this the first time we thought something weird was happening in space? Why does it make the news so much? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/...

AaS! 41: How Do (Regular) Novas Work? 04.10.2016 34:09

How do regular non-super-novas work? What's the connection to white dwarves? Where do they happen and why should we care? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions...

AaS! 40: Do Black Holes Die? 20.09.2016 41:19

What's the deal with Hawking Radiation? Does it really mean what we think it means? How do black holes form in the first place? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those ques...

AaS! 39: Is There Life on Europa? 06.09.2016 41:53

What's going on under the ice of Europa? What keeps it so warm down there? Are the oceans pure or have the right chemistry for life? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those...

AaS! 38: How Do We See Beyond the Visible? 16.08.2016 34:43

How do we make observations beyond visible light? What exactly is a telescope? And what's up with NASA adding colors to images? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those ques...

AaS! 37: What is the Cosmic Microwave Background (Part 2)? 02.08.2016 46:56

Part 2 of What is the cosmic microwave background? What causes those bumps and wiggles? What does it tell us about the early universe, and the universe we have today? What does the universe have to do with a tuba? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www...

AaS! 36: What is the Cosmic Microwave Background? (Part 1) 19.07.2016 43:22

What is the cosmic microwave background? How was it discovered? What did it have to do with the great debate between Big Bang theory and the Steady State model? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pms...

AaS! 35: What Are "Virtual Particles"? 05.07.2016 36:59

What are virtual particles? What do they have to do with waving fields around? And why can't physicists use meaningful jargon words? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those...

AaS! 34: What Is the Great Attractor? 21.06.2016 39:29

What is the so-called Great Attractor? What's the Zone of Avoidance, and is it scary? What makes galaxies move in the first place? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those q...

AaS! 33: What If the Moon Disappeared? 07.06.2016 30:00

What would happen if the moon disappeared tomorrow? What makes it so special in the first place? Does it really *do* anything useful? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep thos...

AaS! 32: Where Do Nebulae Come From? 17.05.2016 36:16

How are nebulae formed or created? Where do they go when they're done being nebulae? How is it linked to the formation of stars? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those que...

AaS! 31: How Can the Universe Expand Faster Than Light? 03.05.2016 35:22

How can the universe expand faster than the speed of light? What does it mean for Special Relativity to be "local"? Is there a conflict between General and Special Relativity? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book:...