Universe Today Podcast

In this week's live Q&A, I explain what would happen if we build a particle accelerator around the entire Moon (and what would happen if it generated a black hole), if you can ice skate on Pluto, and is it better to do sample return missions or explore with rovers and landers. Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week...

My guest today is Dr. Mary Voytek, the director of NASA's Astrobiology Program since 2008. Dr. Voytek and others from NASA are proposing a new 7-step framework on how they could report on the discovery of life beyond Earth. We'll discuss this new framework as well as the latest challenges in the search for life across the Universe. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/directory/voytek-mary/ 🚀 OUR WE...

My guest today is Dr. Boris Goncharov, a researcher at the Gran Sasso Science Institute. Boris is part of the team using the precise signals from pulsars as a way to detect gravitational waves. This technique could be sensitive enough to even detect merging supermassive black holes. http://bgoncharov.com/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAS...

In this week's questions show, I answer if you could have a planet made entirely of water, is it our duty to spread life in the Universe? Could Planet 9 be a brown dwarf? And more... 00:00 Start 01:35 Could you have a planet made only of water? 04:23 Is it our duty to spread life into the Universe? 07:43 Could a civilization harvest energy from tidal flexing? 10:01 Where could you survive without...

My guest today is Dr. Justin Simon, a planetary scientist within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the Johnson Space Center. He specializes in measuring meteorites and samples collected by spacecraft. We'll be talking about what it takes to sample the surface of Mars and other worlds: https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/people/bios/justin-i-simon/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ═══════...

In this week's questions show, I answer questions about ice on rockets, the maximum gravitational slingshot, could black holes pull you out of black holes, and more... 00:00 Start 00:30 Why is iron the heaviest element produced in stars? 04:31 Why does ice fall off the outside of rockets? 06:02 What is the maximum gravitational slingshot? 09:36 Could a black hole pull you out of another black hole...

In this week's questions show, I theorize how long life can survive in the Universe, could we detect a wormhole in the Solar System, what's happening with the Chinese Space Agency? And more... 00:00 Start 00:53 How long can life survive? 04:11 Will a black hole leave a remnant after it evaporates? 06:01 Will we detect biosignatures or technosignatures first? 09:35 Will Lucy make it? 11:29 Could re...

My guest today is Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, a PhD astronomer at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Madhusudhan is one of the researchers who investigated the habitability of "hycean worlds"; ocean worlds with a thick hydrogen ocean. These worlds are completely alien to anything we have in the Solar System, and yet, could have a much wider region that remains habitable than terrestrial planets. https://...

My guest today is Dr. Hiro Ono, the Group Leader of the Robotic Surface Mobility Group for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Dr. Ono is been awarded a NIAC prize to develop a rover that could crawl into the fascinating vents on Enceladus, to search for evidence of life on this icy world. https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Masahiro_Ono/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://ww...

In this week's live questions and answer show, I explain how astronomers measure the distance to gravitational wave events, how clean are spacecraft sent to Mars, and would it be possible to have a sample return mission from Titan? https://www.universetoday.com/150507/a-titan-mission-could-refuel-on-site-and-return-a-sample-to-earth/ 00:00 Start 00:25 How do we calculate the distance of gravitatio...

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how we'll get the matter to build stuff out in space, what about the matter for a Dyson Sphere? How long will the International Space Station survive? And More... 00:00 Start 00:45 Could we create matter from photons? 03:57 Where are we going to get the matter for a Dyson Sphere? 07:56 What do I think about GPT-3? 11:32 How long will ISS survive...

In this week's questions show, I explain why we don't see the same thing multiple times as we look out into the Universe, could a planet orbit in the Lagrange Points of two stars, and why haven't there been any missions to Io? 00:00 Start 00:36 Could we see the same galaxy multiple times? 05:16 Could a planet orbit in an L4/L5 point? 08:31 Why no missions to Io? 10:42 How can we drive space explor...

In this week's questions show, I jump into the controversy between Blue Origin and SpaceX, explain why bigger telescopes are better, and talk about how Mercury has eternally shadowed craters and could serve as a place for a base. Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here. 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ══════════════...

The new season has begun! We're back with an all-new series of question shows. In this week's episode, I provide a quick guide to seeing fireballs (bolides), which are the brightest meteors you can see (and sometimes hear). I explain the philosophy behind Dyson Spheres, and explain why dark matter can't be made out of antimatter. 00:00 Start 00:43 How big are really bright meteors? 04:15 Are Dyson...

My guest today is Dr. Hamsa Padmanabhan, a cosmologist at the University of Geneva. Dr. Padmanabhan's work involves the investigation of Cosmic Dawn, the period shortly after the beginning of the Universe when the large-scale structure of the cosmos was defined. https://cosmology.unige.ch/users/hamsa-padmanabhan 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀...

My guest today is Dr. Markus Janson, an astronomy professor at Stockholm University. Dr. Janson and his co-authors have recently published a study investigating if ground-based observatory could use starshades to help directly image exoplanets. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10686-021-09792-y 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCA...

In the season finale of my questions show, I talk about high-altitude bacteria, traveling into the future, does it make sense to go back to University, and more. See you all in September! 00:00 Start 01:10 How high an altitude can bacteria survive? 04:02 Should I go back to university? 06:29 Could we terraform Venus with comets? 08:49 Could we detect life in Andromeda? 11:04 Could aliens perceive...

In this week's questions show, I explain why Dyson Spheres (and Swarms) should actually be pretty easy to detect across the Universe. If it's possible to service the Hubble Space Telescope with a Falcon 9, and will computers take jobs away from astronomers. 00:00 Start 01:04 How could we detect Dyson Swarms? 07:24 How could we hide a Dyson Swarm? 10:03 Could a Falcon 9 service Hubble? 13:02 Will c...

My guest today is Professor Lee Cronin from the University of Glasgow. Dr. Cronin investigates the chemistry of life and has developed methods that could help us detect it on other worlds - even life as we don't know it. http://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ════════════════════════════════════ RSS: h...

In this week's questions show, I explain what would happen if scientists discovered an existential threat to humanity. Would they let us know, or keep it secret to avoid a panic? Could we detect a Breakthrough Starshot fleet coming our way? And how well does China communicate its space exploration to the public? 00:00 Start 00:37 Would they tell us about the end of the world? 03:05 Is the Solar Sy...

In this week's questions and answer show, I explain how all the dust in space forms, could life be Von Neumann probes, why do people think black holes lead to another universe, and more... 00:00 Start 00:57 What is space dust? 05:14 Does the Kardashev scale make sense? 08:43 Could life on Earth be Von Neumann probes? 11:31 What should I point my telescope at? 14:23 Why do people think black holes...

In this week's Q&A, I try to imagine what might happen if a microscopic black hole passed through the Earth. How long will James Webb take to become operational, and what will be the Plan B for James Webb if it fails? 00:00 Start 00:46 What if a microscopic black hole passed through the Earth? 05:25 When will James Webb come online? 06:38 What's plan B for James Webb if it fails? 09:16 Do Oort...

I'm pleased to welcome back Dr. Casey Handmer, a software systems architect at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In addition to his work at NASA, Casey has a fascinating blog where he considers the future of human and robotic space exploration: https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ═════════════════...

In this week's episode, I talk about the various ways we measure the age of the Universe. What's next for OSIRIS-REx? And what are the next frontiers for gravitational wave astronomy? 00:00 Start 00:41 How do we calculate the age of the Universe? 04:32 Will the planets migrate again? 06:36 What's next for OSIRIX-REx? 07:47 What's next for gravitational wave astronomy? 11:27 Does the habitable zone...

My guest is Dr. Ken Olum, a research professor at Tufts University. His primary research is into cosmic strings, and how they could be detectable through techniques like gravitational waves. 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ════════════════════════════════════ RSS: https://universetoday.com/audio iTunes: https://universetoday.com...