Ask a Spaceman!

Part 1! How did Einstein develop General Relativity? What does it mean for different kinds of masses to be equivalent? How does gravity do what it does? Why is curvature so important in understanding gravity? 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.yout...

Where did all the monopoles go? Do other planets have auroras? Can binary stars host planets? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! A very special edition recorded in Vik, Iceland, where I answered questions from the AstroTourists who joined me for the excursion. Support the show:  http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes:  http://www. AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube:...

What makes Iceland so warm despite its high latitude? What powers everything from glaciers to geysers? How are the aurora connected to volcanoes? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! A very special edition recorded in Vik, Iceland, where I gave a special talk on the forces fighting for balance underneath and above the island. Support the show:  http://www.patreon.com/pmsut...

Why are small stars red? Why are small stars so common? Why are small stars so interesting for the hunt 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 questions about sp...

What did Hubble really discover? Why does redshift imply an expanding universe? Why is the night sky dark? Why is there so much hydrogen, and how is that connected to the Big Bang? 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 b...

How does gravity bend the path of light? Does it seriously act like a lens or is that just a metaphor? What does it take, and how do we know? What can we learn from this strange physics? 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 Re...

What strange creatures inhabit the so-called "particle zoo"?  Why is it a zoo instead of something simpler? Is there anything that connects the forces and particles of our universe? 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...

How does degeneracy pressure work? What kinds of particles exist below the level of neutrons? Can they hold up a star against gravity?   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 t...

Join me for an all new AstroTour adventure, one that I'm personally very excited about: a trip to the Atacama Desert of Chile to spend a week at an all-inclusive stargazing resort! The trip is perfectly timed to hit the Geminid meteor shower, explore the ALMA telescope facility, and enjoy some of the darkest, clearest skies in the world. More info: www.astrotours.co/atacama

What powers a quasar? Just how strong is a blazar? What's the connection to giant black holes?   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 space, science, ast...

What's the idea behind the holographic principle? What does it have to do with black holes and the early universe? Does this…mean something?   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  ...

Why is it tough to become a scientific researcher? What are some of the barriers in the field? Are there any other options? I have a PhD - now what? 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...

What in the world is metallic hydrogen? What does it even mean? Where does it exist in nature, and can we make it in the lab? 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 questi...

How does one become an astrophysicist? What are the challenges and rewards of that kind of career? Are there even any jobs? 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 question...

Fraser Cain and I are leading another starry-eyed adventure, this time to the beautiful caribbean on a 7-day cruise, featuring tours of the Kennedy Space Center, star viewing every night, at-sea talks and show recordings, and explorations of Mayan ruins! Visit www.astrotouring.com for more info!

Why were the Voyager missions so important? Where are they now, and where are they going? What is their ultimate fate? And that Golden Record…good idea or bad idea? 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...

What does it mean for an electron to spin? Why do we have such a hard time measuring it? And why doesn't Paul Dirac get any attention anymore, anyway? 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/...

What's the balancing act happening inside stars? Why is iron the fusion limit? How long does it take for a star to blow? 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...

A quick update on Patreon, Astrotours, and a preview of the new Space Radio show!  Space Radio: http://www. SpaceRadioShow.com Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www. AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/PaulMattSutter Keep tho...

How does the universe generate giant magnetic fields? Is it astrophysical or primordial? How do we find them anyway? Why am I not talking about Maxwell? 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.co...

What's the deal with time crystals? Do they break physics as we know it? Or are they merely…neat? What do symmetries and the conservation of energy have to do with 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://...

Do black holes exist, or are they merely theoretical constructs? What's the evidence? And what about the singularity, surely that doesn't happen, right? 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.co...

Does everyone have the same clock? Can we skip forward into the future? What about the past? Why does it appear to be forbidden in our universe? 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...

How is the bullet cluster the "smoking gun" for dark matter? Why aren't alternate theories of gravity satisfactory? Could dark matter just be a bunch of black holes? 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://ww...

Just how mediocre are we? I've heard there's an "axis of evil" in space - what's up with that? Is there anything special about our position within the universe? 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...