The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity

Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all line up in the pre-dawn sky on 25 June! Here’s a look at this magical alignment with famed wizard Mauvais Sorcier! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

Our video editing software went down, but here is a podcast-only version of this week's episode - The Future of Robots w/ Jason McKenna of VEX Robotics!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...

Hello everyone:We have a podcast-only episode of this week’s episode, as our video editing software went kaput on us. Completely dead, can’t process a single frame of video right now. But, I wanted to get something out for you - so here is a podcast of this week’s episode. It is largely unedited, and probably still has a few dings and dangs in it. We look at The Future of Robots as humanity stands...

Thousands of centuries ago, on the ancient plains of Africa, our most distant hominid ancestors looked upward, embracing the pitch-dark night sky above their heads. Cultures around the globe made up stories of the bright band of light which ran across the inky darkness. Little could any person imagine the Milky Way was composed of hundreds of billions of stars, let alone comprehending the notion o...

We take a look at the history of science fiction and talk about how these stories enrich the soil from which science grows, advancing our species to our future among the stars. We will be talking with Jenny Curtis and Chris Porter from the new hit podcast, Solar , starring Helen Hunt. Science fiction - stories set in worlds where science has changed society for good or bad, plays a central role in...

When we look up at the moonless, cloudless night sky, far away from city lights, we may see as many as 5,000 stars. These distant dots of light may seem eternal, but this illusion is merely an effect of our momentary, fleeting lives in the Cosmos.  Like humans, stars are born, live, and die.  Most stars are found within local families called galaxies. Our own Milky Way is thought to contain somewh...

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at Teaching Children Science. We will be talking with National Geographic's Kelly Hargrave about her new book, Can't Get Enough Shark Stuff.  Children are natural scientists. The questions which may be tedious to some parents "Why is the sky blue?" "What are the stars?" "Why do we have belly buttons?"- reveal science to be hard-wired into the human mind. ...

The May 15 Lunar Eclipse gives us a perfect reason for Exploring Our Neighbor: The Moon! Features lunar eclipse viewing guide for Sunday's celestial event! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bon...

The buzz this week is all about the Eta Aquarid meteor shower visible late on Thursday and Friday nights! Nearly one shooting star a minute might bee seen under really dark skies. The Eta Aquarids are caused by Earth impacting tiny pieces of the most famous of all comets — Halley! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/th...

This week on the Cosmic Companion, we explore the Ocean Worlds of the Cosmos. Later in the show, we will talk with oceanographer and National Geographic explorer Sylvia Earle. Oceans are one of the defining features of our world, covering roughly three-quarters of the globe. Water is essential to life on Earth, and at one time, we thought this life-sustaining substance was rare throughout the Sola...

Exploring exoplanets — worlds orbiting alien stars — talking with Thayne Currie of NAOJ, who recently found a bizarre massive planet. This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at exoplanets — worlds orbiting alien stars. We are joined by Dr. Thayne Currie, astrophysicist at The Subaru Telescope, who recently discovered a planet nine times more massive than Jupiter orbiting a young star a little o...

Earth: Our Fragile Planet w/ Katherine Calvin and Sylvia Earle Celebrating Earth Day with NASA Senior Climate Advisor Katherine Calvin and Sylvia Earle - Time Magazine’s first Hero for the Planet! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this wi...

What is intelligence? How do we see it in other animals? And how might we recognize it on other worlds? Examining the nature of intelligence and the intelligence of nature with National Geographic’s David Liittschwager Humans often like to think we are an intelligent species. And, perhaps, that may hold a kernel of truth. We did befriend cats, so… Speaking of which (because, why not?) intelligence...

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we talk about The Future of the International Space Station, as we explore this outpost of humanity in space. We talk with Homer Hickam - the self-made rocket designer who helped lead negotiations with the Russian government over their role on the ISS. We will talk about his role as the ISS took shape, and how the War in Ukraine might affect the orbiting outpost....

Welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. This week we talk about why Black Holes Don’t Suck as we discuss these bizarre features of space. We’ll talk about the different types of black holes, explore the history of our understanding of these objects, and glance at some of the great questions astronomers have today about black holes. Later on in the show, we’ll be talking with astronomer and astrophys...

As humanity moves out into the final frontier, music will evolve and change. What can we expect from the future of music in space?   From the earliest rhythmic beats made by our distant human ancestors to independent musicians now pushing the limits of music on YouTube channels, music has always changed and evolved with society. In turn, changes in music can bring about cathartic change within the...

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at satellites, the artificial moons orbiting the Earth and other worlds. We will explore the history of satellites, look at how we all depend on these devices, and glimpse the future of these technological marvels as we explore beyond our home planet.   Later on, we're going to talk with Marc Bell of CEO Orbital, about SmallSat technology, and the future...

This week on the Cosmic Companion, we discuss the return of humans to the Moon with NASA's Artemis program and compare today's endeavors to the Apollo program of the 1960s and early 70s. Later on, we will be joined by Apollo mathematician Poppy Northcutt. She was the first woman to work at NASA mission control and was instrumental to the success of Apollo 8 and the safe return of Apollo 13. --- Se...

Welcome back to the Cosmic Companion. This is the first episode from our new studio, and I sure hope you all enjoy it. This week, we kick of Women's History Month by celebrating women in science. We have an amazing trio of guests, including science journalists Clare Fiesler and Gabby Salazar from National Geographic, and Kim Macharia, chair of Space Prize. We'll also take a look at three amazing w...

The film Don’t Look Up recently captured the eyes of the general public, bringing the story of a massive comet heading to Earth to screens everywhere. Perhaps less well-known is the recent discovery of a real-life comet racing toward its closest approach to the Sun. We talk with Pedro Bernardinelli, co-discoverer of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, a comet the size of Mount Everest. We discuss the f...

What will living in space be like? We talk with Paul Albert-Lebrun, Product Manager at Kepler Communications, bringing the internet to space.   As our species begins to move beyond our planetary cradle, what will life be like for the first generations of humans living in space? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-c...

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at meteorites, and the role they play in shaping our planet and the history of the human race.  We will be talking with Greg Brennecka, author of Impact How Rocks from Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong.   Earth is constantly impacted by material from space. Most of this debris is small - the size of an apple seed or smaller. As these pebbles fro...

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we take a look at our home galaxy, the Milky Way. We will be talking with Stefan Gillessen from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics about his work understanding Sagittarius A*— the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.   Released under Creative Commons 2.0 2022 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/me...

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we take an up-close look at the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as the most advanced spaceborne telescope ever built prepares for launch. We talk with Dr. Stefanie Milam from the Goddard Space Flight Center. She is a planetary scientist who will be telling us about how the JWST will change our notions about the Cosmos.   We will also hear fr...

The Perseverance rover made an unexpected finding on Mars - organic material in Jezero Crater. Exploring Jezero Crater on Mars, the Perseverance rover recently came across an unexpected finding - organic molecules within the Martian rocks.   The six-wheeled rover arrived on Mars in February, spending the last 10 months exploring Jezero Crater on the Red Planet. The spacecraft now reports finding o...