Universe Today Podcast

In this week's questions show, I explain if we'd be able to see a nuclear bomb explode on the Moon, have we already passed the Great Filter, and where we could put DNA to keep it safe in the Solar System. 00:22 Could we see a nuclear bomb on the Moon? 02:18 Have we already passed the great filter? 05:28 Where could we put our DNA to keep it safe? 07:52 Could rogue planets explain dark matter 09:12...

Whenever I talk about the search for life in the Universe and its emphasis on water, I get comments that scientists aren’t being creative enough. Why does life rely on water? Couldn’t there be lifeforms which are completely different from life on Earth? Isn’t that the textbook definition of alien? Astrobiologists have only scratched the surface in their search for life in the Universe, and they’re...

In this week's questions show, I wonder whether any aliens out there would be nice to us or try to wipe us out. What would be their motivations? Why are planets turning in the wrong direction? Would Betelgeuse generate gravitational waves? XKCD Solar System Changes https://m.xkcd.com/2258/ Phil Metger's take: https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1220519840315736064 Our Book is out! https://www.am...

In 2015, scientists discovered the telltale signal from ripples of spacetime sweeping over the Earth. It was the very first direct detection of gravitational waves, generated by the merger of two massive black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. This discovery was the culmination of decades of research and construction of huge instruments called interferometers to detect the warping of spacetime c...

In this week's questions show, I explain why it doesn't make sense to send a microscope to Mars, how we could use a black hole to see a reflection of Earth and see dinosaurs, and why we don't just send a solar sail down to the Sun. Featuring Stella Kafka from the American Association of Variable Star Observers https://www.aavso.org/ 00:42 Why no microscopes to Mars? 02:38 Could we see a reflection...

We’ve now passed the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, and all eyes are back on the Moon. NASA is planning to return to the Moon by 2024 with its Artemis mission, the Chinese have put the Moon firmly in their plans for space exploration, and even SpaceX thinks the Moon is the perfect destination to test out the capabilities of its Starship. But what can you do with the Moon? Refuel spacec...

This week I'm joined by Professor Greg Eghigian, from Penn State University to talk about the history of UFO sightings and claims of alien contact. You can read a recent essay by Dr. Eghigian on Smithsonian's Air and Space Magazine: https://www.airspacemag.com/space/year-ufos-180973965/ And learn more about his work here: https://history.la.psu.edu/directory/gae2 Our Book is out! https://www.amazo...

On Monday, January 6th, 2020, another SpaceX Falcon 9 blasted off from Cape Canaveral, carrying another 60 Starlink internet communications satellites, bringing the full size of the constellation to 180. With just three launches, SpaceX becomes the largest satellite operator in the world. But the company is just getting started. They’re planning to do this again every couple of weeks during 2020,...

In this week's questions show, I've got another expert guest answerer. Space News reporter and Space Review editor Jeff Foust answers your tricky spaceflight questions. Could we attach telescopes to Starlinks? What impact will these megaconstellations have on astronomy? What can humans do that robots can't? And more... Check out Jeff's work at: https://spacenews.com/ https://www.thespacereview.com...

Thanks to our good friends at Oceanside Photo and Telescope, our livestreaming telescope is back online. I featured a couple of quick pics I took with the telescope during a test stream on Twitch Sunday night. I also answered questions about our trip to the AAS in Hawaii, if it's possible to make a more powerful telescope out of smaller telescopes, and why the ISS doesn't have an artificial magnet...

Once again, at the AAS Meeting in Hawaii, I got a chance to sit down with another astronomer to talk about their research. This time it was Dr. David Kipping from Columbia University's Cool World's Lab. We talked about how easy it'll be for aliens to know our planet is inhabited, and some ways we might be able to hide the evidence of our existence. Check out Cool Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/ch...

At the American Astronomical Society's meeting Honolulu I got a chance to talk with Adam Frank about new research he's worked with Caleb Scharf, Jonathan Carroll-Nellenback and Jason Wright about the Fermi Paradox. They calculated how difficult it would be for aliens traveling at 10% the speed of light to settle the entire Milky Way, and it turns out, it's not as simple as you might think. Visit A...

In this week's Open Space QA, I respond to complaints about my Betelgeuse video, wonder about alien civilizations stuck in heavy gravity, and consider whether we could terraform Earth to make it better. 03:30 Betelgeuse video comments 08:30 Can gravitational waves travel at the speed of light 11:45 Can we terraform Earth to a better place? 13:38 Could there be civilizations stuck in heavy G? 15:39...

This week's questions show was recorded at the 235th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii. I was lucky enough to have 3,500 astronomers, space scientists and others to talk with. Ethan Siegel from "Starts with a Bang" is back, and this time he's answering your questions about space and astronomy. Visit his blog here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/#5bfca02...

In this week's questions show I explain how we'll ever study 100 million planets, what's the business case for space exploration, and how I pull the questions together for these shows. 00:42 Can we ever study all the planets? 03:33 Return on investment from space exploration? 03:35 Will we become a post-scarcity economy? 05:59 Why not a better Mars simulation? 08:16 How do I manage the QAs? 10:10...

Over the last weekend, astronomy Twitter started noting that the red giant Betelgeuse, the prominent shoulder of Orion was looking visibly dimmer in the sky, and I had a few people reach out to me and ask me if it was really happening and if I knew what was going on. This is exciting, of course, because Betelgeuse is living on borrowed time, and it could explode as a supernova any day now. Or, it...

This week I'm joined by Andrew Rader, a game designer and mission manager at SpaceX. Andrew's new book is called Beyond the Known and it's all about the history and future of space exploration. Learn more about Andrew here: https://andrew-rader.com/ And learn about his book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Beyond-the-Known/Andrew-Rader/9781982123536 Our Book is out! https://www.amazon....

As I’m recording this video near the end of 2019, the total number of confirmed exoplanets stands at 4,104. We’ve come a long way since the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a sunlike star back in 1995 with 51 Pegasi b. And the reality is that the race to find new exoplanets is only accelerating. New ground and space-based telescopes are turning up planetary candidates at an increasing rat...

How old is the Universe? In order to figure that out, all you have to do is figure out how quickly it’s expanding, and then the clock backward until everything is crunched together. And astronomers have measured the rate that the Universe is expanding with tremendous precision at various times in its history; at the beginning, and much more recently. The problem is, these expansion rates disagree,...

In this week's questions show, I explain why I don't think we always need to be realistic, if galaxies in the local group are bound together gravitationally, and what we should call Earth-moving equipment on Mars. 00:20 Be realistic. 04:24 Are galaxies in the local group bound? 05:56 Will gravitational waves give us advanced notice of collisions? 08:36 Will we ever be able to live outside on Mars?...

Extending humanity to other worlds in the Solar System is at the very limits of our modern technology. And unless there are dramatic discoveries in new propulsion systems or we learn how to build everything out of carbon nanotubes, the future of space exploration is going to require living off the land. The technique is known as In-Situ Resource Utilization or ISRU, and it means supplying as much...

In this week's questions show, I explain why you could have a steam-powered rocket, how often spacecraft have crashed into asteroids and comets, and why a red supergiant star actually has a very low surface gravity. 02:42 Could you build a steam-powered rocket? 04:48 Have any probes crashed into asteroids or comets? 06:47 Surface gravity of UY Scuti 08:57 Will we ever send humans to the surface of...

The exploration of Venus has been mainly about getting down to the surface of the planet. The Soviet Union sacrificed lander after lander to discover just how extreme the conditions are down there on the ground. But higher up, among the clouds, the climate on Venus is surprisingly Earthlike in temperature and pressure, and there have been some fascinating ideas for robotic and human explorers to f...

This week I'm joined by Jason Derleth from NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (or NIAC). This is a special part of NASA that funds innovative ideas for new telescopes, propulsion systems and rovers. Many of the cool, science-fiction ideas I present on this channel come from research done at NASA. Jason is an aerospace engineer and tech analyst, and the Program Executive for NASA NIAC. Learn more...

In this week's questions show, I explain why we can see meteor showers every year, why we're not 3D printing telescopes in space, why there aren't any plans to launch telescopes with SpaceX Starship. And a lengthy answer to one of the most common James Webb questions we get: can it be refueled? This was answered by Paul Geithner, a Deputy Project Manager for James Webb during a recent livestream....