The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity

Hello and welcome back to Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion. This  week, continuing our fortnight of Mars, we have a pair of special  guests, offering us a look at both the present, as well as the future, of Martian exploration. First, we welcome Martian geologist Dr. Kirsten Siebach back to the show. She will give us a first-person look at how the Perseverance rover will explore the landsc...

This week, we welcome science writer David W. Brown to the show. He is a contributor for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Scientific American. We will discuss his new book, The Mission, telling the story of NASA's upcoming project, the Europa Clipper. But first, we kick off the fortnight of Mars, as the first two of three new spacecraft arrive at our planetary neighbor, readying to...

This week, we welcome Professor Eric Agol from the University of Washington to the show. He is an astrophysicist focused on the study of  exoplanets, and we will be talking about his work uncovering conditions on the seven worlds of the TRAPPIST-1 system.   But first, we look at a study proposing a new way to find dark matter – one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics. Next, we examine a poss...

This week, we talk to Dr. Lauren Weiss, astronomer at the University of Hawaii. We will be talking about her work discovering the TOI-561 planetary system, and discussing extreme exoplanets! But first, we head out to the TRAPPIST-1 solar system, where we find each of the seven worlds in that system are surprisingly alike. Next, we look at a new study finding that earlier reports of phosphine on Ve...

This week, we talk to Dr. Kirsten Siebach, a Martian geologist from Rice University, talking about her work uncovering secrets of the climate of ancient Mars. But first, we study a newly-discovered system of exoplanets featuring an extreme planet of molten lava. Next, we learn about a so-called cotton-candy planet with a density so low it wasn't thought to be possible. Finally, closer to home, we...

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we head out to Jupiter, where the Juno spacecraft readies to  spend five more years exploring the Jovian system. Next, we will travel far out in space, and back in time, exploring the oldest quasar ever seen by astronomers. Finally, we will examine the remains of a star that was seen exploding 1,700 years ago, piecing together details of a sup...

For our first interview of our fourth season, we talk to Dr. Jake Turner  of Cornell University, discussing his work finding the first hints of a  magnetic field surrounding a planet in an alien solar system.    But first, we examine an unusual radio signal coming from our closest  stellar neighbor that looks like it may have been created by an  intelligent species – but who? Next, we take a look...

For the first episode of our fourth season,, we have a special episode  of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, as we look forward to the  Top 10 astronomy and space stories we can expect to see unfold in 2021.  Learn about the two lunar eclipses happening in 2021, the return of  Russia to the Moon, the launch of Artemis 1, and much more!   Listen to the podcast here, or watch the video versi...

For this final episode of our third season, we welcome Dr. Paul Kalas from UC Berkeley to the show. He is an astronomer studying the exoplanet HD 106906, which might resemble an unseen ninth planet in our own solar system. But first, we journey far out in space and back in time, as astronomers lay their sights on the most distant – and oldest – galaxy ever seen. Closer to home, we examine the disc...

Hello and welcome back to Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion. This week, we welcome Professor Seiji Sugita of the University of Tokyo to the show. He is a researcher on the Hayabusa2 mission which recently brought the first large sample of an asteroid to Earth. But first, we take a look at a new study teaching us how spiders react to living in space. Next, we will journey to the exoplanet HD...

This week, we welcome Dr. Michael Wurm from the Borexino Collaboration  to the show. He recently led a new study examining neutrino emissions  from the Sun, revealing details of the nuclear furnace burning at the  heart of our parent star.   But first, we head out to the outskirts of the Solar System, where the long-lived Voyager spacecraft have seen quick-moving particles driven off the surface o...

On December 21, 2020, the two largest planets in our solar system will appear just one-tenth of a degree apart, or one-fifth of the diameter of a full Moon. This is the closest visible conjunction of the planets seen since the year 1226. We take a look at what to expect, and how to best prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-c...

This week, we welcome Dr. Ezat Heydari to the show. He is a professor of  geoscience at Jackson State University. We will discuss his work  showing evidence of a possible megaflood on Mars in the ancient solar  system.   But, first, we examine fusion processes at the core of our Sun, using a  detector buried deep underground. We also take a look at a sunspot that  became visible from Earth on Than...

This week, we welcome Wen-fai Fong of Northwestern University to the  show, talking about her work studying kilonova explosions and collisions  of neutron stars.   But first, we will look at new findings showing the Universe is getting  hotter, and we will examine the mysterious Blue Ring Nebula. Next, we  will journey back in time to the ancient solar system, when a massive  megaflood ravished th...

This week, we welcome Laura Fackrell, geochemist at the University of  Georgia, to the show. We will be discussing her work developing soil for  farms on Mars, capable of growing crops to feed interplanetary  colonists. We will also journey out beyond our solar system, where Voyager 2 hears from NASA for the first time in months. We examine a tiny asteroid  traveling through space along with Mars...

Amateur astronomers have a rare treat this week, as all seven planets  visible in the sky can be observed over the course of a single night.  Here's how to find every planet in the sky visible to amateur  astronomers any night this week.    Subscribe to this channel and never miss a story! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: https://anc...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Oskar Elek from the University of  California, Santa Cruz. We will be discussing his work seeking to  understand the Cosmic Web – the largest structures in the Universe –  through computer modeling and humble slime mold.    We'll also take a look at the future of farming on Mars, as a new study  examines how to turn Martian topsoil into a fertile growing medium for...

Water on the Moon has been seen before in dark craters. Now, a new study finds water in a crater exposed to sunlight. We explore the finding, and SOFIA - the airborne telescope that made the discovery.  Learn more at https://thecosmiccompanion.net/water-on-the-moon-isnt-just-hiding-in-the-shadows --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast: http...

Dr. Meridith Joyce of Australian National University joins us on the  show, talking about her new finding showing that the red giant star Betelgeuse is both smaller and closer than we believed.    We'll also take a look at the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which touched down  last week on the surface of the asteroid Bennu. We examine a  new study identifying 1,000 worlds where extraterrestrial astronomer...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Roberto Gilli from the National  Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, speaking with us from Italy.  We will talk about his recent discovery of six galaxies huddled around a  supermassive black hole in the early Universe.    But first, we take a look at the massive red giant star Betelgeuse,  finding it's not as big –or as close to exploding – as we thought.  Sp...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Maciek Wielgus, astronomer at Harvard  University, speaking to us from Gdansk, Poland. We will discuss his work  revealing glittering around the supermassive black hole at the center  of the M 87 galaxy. But first, we look at a new study identifying 24 exoplanets that appear  to be even friendlier to life than Earth. We also see how superflares –  powerful eruptions...

This is a very special global episode on Astronomy News with The Cosmic  Companion, as we talk with Dr. Amanda Karakas of Monash University,  speaking from Melbourne, Australia, as well as Dr. Chiaki Kobayashi,  from the University of Hertfordshire, joining us from London. These  researchers were at the heart of the new study showing how much of the  gold in the Universe was produced by a particul...

Astronomers recently found six galaxies orbiting a distant quasar from  the early age of the Universe. What can this tell us about the formation  of supermassive black holes? Dr. Roberto Gilli from the National Institute for Astrophysics in Italy will join us October 20 to talk about this discovery.   --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/message Support this podcast:...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Natalie Hinkel, planetary astrophysicist  at the Southwest Research Institute. We will talk about her work showing how we might look for phosphorus around other stars in the  search for extraterrestrial life.   We will also talk about the discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, and what that means in the search for life on other worlds. We will learn abou...

This week, we welcome Dr. Christopher Berry to the show. He is an astrophysicist who recently helped discover the first intermediate-mass black hole ever seen by astronomers. We will also look at an ancient galaxy that looks normal, and talk about why that's so  unusual. We learn of an active environment around the asteroid Bennu, and we see how our ideas of dark matter may change, due to an unexp...