Universe Today Podcast

My guest today is Dr. Jason Hofgartner, a planetary scientist specializing in icy worlds of the Solar System. Jason wrote a recent paper about the nature of Neptune's moon Triton, first discovered by Voyager 2 back in 1989. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason-Hofgartner 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ════════════════════...

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how astronomers use the Doppler Effect to know if objects are moving towards or away from us, I give my thoughts on Starlink as a user, and I suggest ideas on how to become a better writer. 00:00 Start 01:50 How do we know light is red or blue shifted? 04:24 What do I think of Starlink? 08:07 Why don't we visit the atmosphere of Venus? 10:33 Wha...

My guest today is Matthew Campbell, a Mechanical Engineer, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. He's a member of the Bargatin Group, researching nanomaterials and their applications. https://bargatin.seas.upenn.edu/people/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PO...

My guest today is Dr. Elena D'Onghia, an associate professor at the University of Wisconson--Madison's Department of Astronomy. Her research is focused on the dynamics of galaxies through simulations, theory, and observations. https://www.madastrodynamics.com/team#elena 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ═══════════════════════════...

In this week's episode, I explain how we could use Jupiter as a source of fuel for our fusion reactors, what it means to say there's a scientific consensus, and if gravitational waves can trigger earthquakes. 00:00 Start 01:26 Could we mine Jupiter for hydrogen? 03:24 What does "scientific consensus" mean? 07:04 Could gravitational waves trigger earthquakes? 08:47 Is there really a need to build D...

My guest today is Dr. John Mather, Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Mather received a Nobel Prize for his influential cosmology work, helping to confirm the Big Bang. He's been involved in almost every major astronomy mission in the last few decades, including Hubble, and of course, James Webb. https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/cont...

My guest today is Dr. Chenoa Tremblay, a Post Doctoral Researcher at the SETI Institute. Dr. Tremblay and her team used the Murchison Widefield Array to scan the core of the Milky Way for any sign of signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. https://twitter.com/chenoachem 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ══════════════════════...

In this week's questions show, I explain how astronomy would be different if we didn't have space telescopes, what was the Universe like shortly after the Big Bang?, and what if James Webb detects oxygen in the atmosphere of another planet? 00:00 Start 00:45 What if we couldn't build space telescopes? 05:01 Did the Universe act like a big star after the Big Bang? 06:30 If James Webb detects oxygen...

In this week's questions and answers show, I explain why people might see extraterrestrials as a threat. What could we learn about astronomy if we lived at the center of a supervoid, and how far away are we from the Big Bang? 00:00 Start 01:10 Why do we assume extraterrestrials are evil? 07:40 Could we see anything from within a supervoid? 09:40 What if we lived near the Big Bang? 10:25 Will James...

In this week's episode, I explain why James Webb is actually the perfect telescope for detecting advanced civilizations, could we hide the Earth from snooping aliens, could spacecraft go into polar orbit around the Sun? And more... 00:00 Start 00:39 Could James Webb Detect a Type 2/3 Civilization? 05:31 How can Earth hide from aliens? 07:10 Polar orbit around the Sun? 09:41 Could dark matter be al...

My guest today is Dr. Andrei Lobanov, a staff astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Bonn, Germany. Dr. Lobanov was part of a team that just took the highest resolution image ever seen of a blazar, using a network of space and ground-based radio telescopes. https://www3.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/alobanov/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universeto...

My guest today is Dr. Jillian Scudder, a PhD astrophysicist and assistant professor at Oberlin College. In addition to her teaching and research work, Dr. Scudder also answers space and astronomy questions on her blog and in her newly updated book: Astroquizzical. https://www.jillianscudder.com/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ═...

In this week's QA, I talk about how we can see individual stars in a galaxy like Andromeda, how we know the Universe is bigger than we can observe, and whether black holes are solid objects or infinitely dense singularities. 00:00 Start 01:07 Can we see the stars in Andromeda? 03:21 How do we know the Universe is bigger than we can see? 09:24 Are black holes solid? 12:03 How did the Moon form out...

In this week's episode, I talk about the possibility of a copy of the Hubble Space Telescope, if satellites could relay information like a mesh network, and if it's even possible for plants to survive on the surface of Mars. 00:00 Start 01:22 Could we launch a copy of Hubble? 03:34 Could satellites relay information like a mesh network? 06:17 Could plants survive on Mars? 08:52 Could Planet 9 be d...

My guest today is Andreas Hein, Executive Director, Chairman Technical Research Committee of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies. Andreas is part of a team working to develop practical missions for interstellar exploration. https://i4is.org/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ════════════════════════════════════ RSS: https://un...

My guest today is Dr. Joanna Barstow, a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at University College London. Dr. Barstow specializes in planetary science, studying the atmospheres of planets both inside and beyond the Solar System. She's also a member of the ARIEL science team, an upcoming mission that will categorize the atmospheres of exoplanets. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/astrophysics/people/joa...

In this week's Questions Show I explain why James Webb doesn't have any cameras on board, what the Universe is expanding into, and what is the point of building big telescopes when we're trapped in the Solar System? 00:00 Start 06:35 Why build big telescopes? 00:35 Are there cameras on board James Webb? 04:17 What is the Universe expanding into? 09:01 When will we see the first image from James We...

In this week's final 2021 QA, I explain why landing on the Moon could make it difficult for other spacecraft to land, if binary planets could exist, and if there are plans to do a JWST version of the Hubble Deep Field. 00:00 Start 00:29 Can spacecraft land on the Moon or Mars without a landing pad? 03:29 Could binary planets exist? 06:25 Will we ever have certainty? 09:15 Can black holes absorb da...

My guest today is Dr. Michael Zemcov, an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Zemcov has proposed putting a telescope out beyond the orbit of Saturn to capture the clearest possible view of the Universe, away from the light-polluted inner Solar System. https://theconversation.com/a-small-telescope-past-saturn-could-solve-some-mysteries-of-the-universe-better-than-giant...

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how an infinite Universe could be the ultimate answer to the Fermi Paradox, where the energy for tidal heating comes from, and why are there always so many asteroid scare stories in media? 00:00 Start 00:43 Can a satellite remain in one spot? 03:56 Does an infinite Universe solve the Fermi Paradox? 06:41 Where does tidal heating energy come from...

My guest today is Andrea Lin, a graduate student at the Eberly College of Science at Penn State University. Andrea is working with the NEID Spectrograph, a brand new instrument that will eventually be capable of detecting Earth-sized worlds orbiting sunlike stars. https://science.psu.edu/astro/people/apl5194 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 POD...

In this week's live questions and answers show, I explain why NASA doesn't build standardized rovers, how we know the Universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old, and which are the best (and worst) entry-level telescopes to get. Mars Magnetosphere story https://www.universetoday.com/153368/an-absolutely-bonkers-plan-to-give-mars-an-artificial-magnetosphere/ 00:00 Start 00:28 When will NASA ma...

In this week's live questions and answers show, I speculate what kind of civilization could be permanently stuck on the surface of their planet, if rival nations could shoot down each other's spacecraft, and how do I really feel about the Space Launch System? 00:00 Start 01:01 How much gravity makes spaceflight impossible? 04:40 Could a rival shoot down a rocket during launch? 07:07 Should I apolo...

My guest today is Dr. Alex Teachey, a Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taipei, Taiwan. Alex specializes in searching for moons orbiting extrasolar planets: exomoons. Learn why these could be some of the most interesting places to search for life in the Universe. https://alexteachey.wordpress.com/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ═════════...

In this week's episode, I answer questions about the speed of supernovae, if a black hole can pull itself apart, is there really no way to repair James Webb, and more... 00:00 Start 00:41 What are the timescales for a supernova? 02:59 Could a black hole spin itself apart? 05:37 Will James Webb launch on time? 07:10 What do I think about Apophis? 09:24 Can a magnetar collapse into a black hole? 12:...