The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity

This week, we welcome Dr. Dimitra Atri to the show. He is an astrophysicist from New York University Abu Dhabi, and we will be discussing his work showing how life might survive just beneath the surface of Mars, aided by galactic cosmic rays. We will also look at how astronomers found a type of black hole they always expected to find as well as one thought impossible. We examine the most detailed...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Brian Fields of the University of Illinois. He recently headed a study showing how the Devonian extinction which took place on Earth 359 million years ago, may have been triggered by the supernova explosion of a nearby star. We also look at a new experiment showing how life might survive a trip aboard an asteroid traveling from Mars to Earth, and we discuss new idea...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Andrea Dupree, senior astrophysicist with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She recently carried out a study showing why the red supergiant star Betelgeuse recently dimmed, a sight seen by millions of amateur astronomers worldwide. We also look at how the development of life on Earth may have been shaped by a nearby supernova explosion, and we take a...

A twin of the Sun, born with our parent star, may still be floating somewhere in space. A twin of the Sun may have formed along with our solar system, a new study from the Center for Astrophysics finds. View our special report: If confirmed, the presence of a second star would explain mysteries of the Solar System. This would mean the Oort Cloud at the edge of our system likely formed much as it i...

A twin star of the Sun, formed billions of years ago as the Solar System took shape, might help explain movements of bodies at the outer reaches of our family of planets, researchers suggest. Astronomers from The Center for Astrophysics believe that if a ninth planet is discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto, its movements could help us better understand how the Sun and our planetary neighborhood fo...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Allison Youngblood of the University of Colorado Boulder. She recently used the Hubble Space Telescope to look at the atmosphere of Earth during a lunar eclipse, testing methods to find life on other worlds. In addition, we talk with Professor Jane Charlton of Penn State University about last week's virtual Astrofest. Also on this episode of Astronomy News with The...

This week, we are joined by Dr. Allison Youngblood of the University of Colorado Boulder. She recently used the Hubble Space Telescope to look at the atmosphere of Earth during a lunar eclipse, testing methods to find life on other worlds. In addition, we talk with Professor Jane Charlton of Penn State University about last week's virtual Astrofest. Also on this episode of Astronomy News with The...

Hello everyone: This week, we are joined by Dr. Steven D'Hondt of the University of Rhode Island. He recently co-led a study reviving microorganisms that laid dormant under the ocean floor for over 100 million years. His work could re-write much of what we know about life. Also in this episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we take a look at the discovery of a world much like Saturn...

Hello everyone! This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we are joined by Dr. Laurent Montési of the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland. He recently developed new models of Venus revealing recent volcanic activity on that world. We also take an up-close look at our other planetary neighbor, Mars, as new findings uncover additional secrets of The Red Planet. We watch...

Hello everyone! This week, we are happy to be joined by Dr. Lina Necib of Caltech, talking about her discovery of a group of stars here in the Milky Way, that came from beyond our galaxy. But first, we learn about active volcanoes on Venus, we take a look at the first picture ever taken of a multi-planet system orbiting a Sun-like star, and we study a pair of type Ia supernovae seen erupting in fl...

Hello everyone! Hello and welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. This week, we are happy to be joined by Dr. Kathryn Zurek, Theoretical Physicist at Caltech, talking about how dark matter may be detected here on Earth by looking for subatomic particles called magnons. But first, we look up at Comet NEOWISE visiting the Earth this month, and we say hello to stars from another galaxy which moved into...

Hello everyone! This is a special episode, as it marks both the first show to begin our third season, and this installment is the first partly recorded in our new studio. Most special of all, we take an inside look at the James Webb Space Telescope. Scott Lambros, NASA's Instrument Systems Manager for this revolutionary telescope, joins us this week, giving us his first-hand story of this next-gen...

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we are pleased to be joined by Tyler Gorda from the Department of Physics at the University of Virginia, talking about his work discovering the newest state of matter – quark matter, which could make up much of the material in neutron stars. But first, we look at a new NASA study showing that oceans may be common on planets orbiti...

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we look at a new study suggesting the Universe is expanding faster than it should be, we travel to a solar system with four very different worlds, and we explore how dust on alien worlds can affect the development, as well as the discovery, of extraterrestrial life. Finally, we interview Dr. Matija Ćuk, a research scientist at the...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we look at quark matter, a bizarre state of matter which could make up a large percentage of some neutron stars. We will travel out to the Kepler-160 planetary system, where we will examine a planet and star much like the Earth and Sun. Next, we find evidence that may help answer one of the mysteries of planets ar...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we watch the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket, lifting a pair of astronauts to the International Space Station. We also learn about a newly-discovered type of supernova, we travel to a solar system much like our own family of stars, and we find how a world roughly the size of Earth has been confirmed around the nearest...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we look at volcanoes of mud on Mars. We also see how life on Earth may have been shaped, at the genetic level, by cosmic rays from space. We explore collisions between black holes and ultra-dense neutron stars, and we take a look at the Wolfe Disc, an ancient galaxy that grew much faster than expected. Finally, we...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we talk about Comet SWAN, which could soon grace our skies as the brightest comet in years. We will delve deep into small pockets of water, trapped in the crust of Mars, where salty water may be too harsh for life. And, finally, we will learn about the rhythms of stars, and what it can teach us about the nature of...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we take a look at a new idea about dark matter, we learn about new images of the asteroid Ryugu taken by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, and we delve deep under the atmosphere of Jupiter, studying one of that world's most familiar features, the Great Red Spot. Watch the video version of this episode: On May 19, we will t...

Hello everyone: This week on  Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we welcome a very special video guest as Dr. Ann Virkki, head of planetary radar studies for Arecibo Observatory, joins us on the show. She is an astronomer who recently made the news with her discovery of an unusual “face mask” on the asteroid 1998 OR2. Join us as we talk about asteroids, and the dangers our planet faces fro...

Hello everyone: This is a very special week for Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , as we welcome out first-ever video guest to the show. To kick things off, we have a special guest, as I interview Dr. Steven D’Hondt, of the University of Rhode Island. He led the first two drilling expeditions ever designed specifically to search for life under the ocean floor. A new study suggests his work...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we discuss the birth of a giant space cigar, and look at a planet that may look like home but which is found in dangerous territory. We will examine a pair of satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, and learn what they can teach us about dark matter. Finally, we will see how astronomers can learn about the histo...

Hello everyone: In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we dive deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, and see how bacteria living inside rocks could change our studies of life on Mars. We will undertake an immense journey through the Universe, looking at jets emanating from distant quasars, and we will feel the wind of failed stars. Finally, we will look back 50 years ago, wh...

Hello everyone! This week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion features a new method of imaging black holes, and we discuss how lunar and Martian colonies could be constructed from human urine. Finally, we will journey back 14 centuries to ancient Japan, when a giant, glowing, red pheasant was seen hovering in the skies above that island nation. I also interview Dr. Pedro Bernardi...

This week's podcast episode of  Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion is a special look at Comet Atlas, which is shaping up to (potentially) become the greatest comet seen from the northern hemisphere in over two decades. We will discuss everything we know (so far) about Comet Atlas , and learn when and where to look for this new visitor from the outer solar system. We also interview Dr. Joe Bu...