The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity

In this week's podcast episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we look at new findings concerning the physics of stars, and we look in on a newly-discovered exoplanet where it rains iron. Next, we will examine a new method of learning about massive ribbons of galaxies by examining humble slime molds. Finally, a group of researchers believe they may have found a method by which the in...

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we look at a massive white dwarf that may be the product of an ancient collision between stars. We also examine a new idea of dark matter – the mysterious mass holding galaxies together – before heading to Mars for a new discovery – as well as a stunning image of the Martian landscape – from the Curiosity rover. Finally, we wrap u...

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we examine findings from the InSight lander, which has returned its first data from Mars. We will also learn about 2020 CD3, an asteroid that recently entered orbit around the Earth as a second moon, and we talk about the composition of exoplanet K2 18b and what that means for the possibility of life on that world. This week’s st...

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we take a look at aurora seen around a star for the first time, a new super-Earth is discovered just 100 light years from Earth, and Penn State researchers search for alien civilizations that may have already found life on our own world. Video version of this podcast: Aurora on Earth are best known on as northern and southern ligh...

In this week's episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we meet the first European space telescope designed to study the Sun, and a massive young world is found in our galactic neighborhood. We also take a look up at Betelgeuse as one of the most familiar stars in the night sky may be preparing to explode, and we examine an odd radio signal from space which repeats every 16 days, leav...

In this week's episode of The Cosmic Companion, we look at how the smallest subatomic particles could be responsible for all the matter in the Universe, the icy heart of Pluto could control the climate on that world, an ancient galaxy is discovered that lived fast and died young, The CHEOPS Space Telescope takes its first image, and the Cocoon Galaxy is found to have a rare double core. Video vers...

In this installment of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we examine the opening of two new observatories — one on the ground, and the other in space. We will also learn about a new study showing how artificial intelligence can be fooled in the search for extraterrestrial life, and we will remember the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, lost 17 years ago when their vehicle disintegrated on...

Hello everyone! This week, we look at the origins of the building blocks of life on Earth, as well as how an ancient impact may have set the stage for the proliferation of life on our world. The origin of complex chemistry on one of the moons of Saturn is uncovered, and Mars may have one been home to salty oceans like those found on Earth, new data reveals. Follow Astronomy News with The Cosmic Co...

Hello everyone! This week, we look at a new theory which could explain a mysterious glow of gamma radiation from deep space, and we will see how the Solar System may have once been divided by a barrier, altering the formation of planets. We will also examine new findings about dark matter, while the discovery of strange objects near the core of the Milky Way perplexes astronomers. New simulations...

Happy New Year! For the first podcast of 2020, we will discuss how astronomers may find life on distant exoplanets, and we examine the deaths of stars and the formation of black holes. One black hole may not be as large as was originally measured, while another may not be there at all. The TESS spacecraft finds a planet orbiting a pair of stars, and a massive exoplanet is seen spiraling toward its...

Welcome to the latest episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion! This week, we look at a new method for determining whether or not planets orbiting other stars have atmospheres, we see how starquakes could help us determine the age of the Milky Way, and a new guide to atmospheres of exoplanets could assist in the search for life on other worlds. My apologies for the crackling noise - I w...

This is black hole week on The Cosmic Companion, featuring discussion of the first serious ideas of planets orbiting black holes, we hear how astronomers may have uncovered the secrets of powerful regions of radiation around these objects, and the largest stellar-mass black hole ever seen is spotted in our home galaxy. An artist’s conception of a black hole, surrounded by gas. Image credit: Gerd A...

This week, we take a look at how astronomers and astrophysicists are perplexed by different values obtained when measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, one of the most important numbers needed to determine the past and present behavior of the Cosmos. We also examine how the angle at which planets spin could affect their chances of developing life, and the discovery of a complex sugar inside...

In this episode of  Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we take a look at NASA’s planned Artemis program, designed to bring humans to the Moon, and see how the new technology compares to Apollo. We will also look at new research showing how complex structures called C60, or buckyballs, can form in space around dying stars. Next week, The Cosmic Companion interviews Dr. Lucy Ziurys, professo...

In this episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion , we examine what hydrothermal vents on Earth can teach us about alien life, questions are raised about a spherical Universe, and NASA opens Apollo rock samples preparing to return humans, once more, to the lunar surface. Keep checking back at:  thecosmiccompanion.com  for more space and astronomy news, including my new weekly podcast! Vi...

In this episode of Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we examine new ideas about the magnetic field of the Sun, look at how massive worlds orbiting near their sun interact and collide with each other, and the discovery of a new exoplanet was due to an amateur astronomer and Albert Einstein. Keep checking back at:  thecosmiccompanion.com  for more space and astronomy news, including my new w...

Hello everyone! Here’s the second (and newest) episode of the new podcast, Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion . This week, we explore evidence that Mars was once home to large salty lakes, take a new look at the expansion rate of the Universe, and consider the idea that an asteroid broke up before hitting Earth 12,800 years ago, triggering the Younger Dryas extinction. Sneak previews of the...

October 20, 2019 In this first-ever Cosmic Companion podcast, we look at yhe first all-female spacewalk, a new look at the search for life on Mars by the Viking landers, growing crops in space, and searching for rocky planets in alien solar systems by looking at the corpses of dead stars! Keep checking back at: thecosmiccompanion.com for more space and astronomy news, including my new weekly podca...