Weekly Space Hangout – May 15, 2015: Finding, Studying and Visiting Other Worlds!

Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain)

Guests:
Jolene Creighton (@jolene723 / fromquarkstoquasars.com)
Brian Koberlein (@briankoberlein / briankoberlein.com)
Dave Dickinson (@astroguyz / www.astroguyz.com)
Morgan Rehnberg (cosmicchatter.org / @MorganRehnberg )
Alessondra Springmann (@sondy)

This Week’s Stories:

The Large Binocular Telescope sees Europa occult Io
Saturn Observing Season Begins
A review of Annals of the Deep Sky
ISS Crew Rotations Postponed
Ceres White Spots
Mars Blue Sunset
Emirates Mars Mission
Water around distant white dwarf
Manned Mars Plan: Phobos by 2033, Martian Surface by 2039?
Mars One Execs Dispute Criticism of Red Planet Colony Mission
Solar Roadway Installed in Netherlands Works Better Than Anticipated
Our Galaxy Could be Mixing With Andromeda’s Supersized Halo
Water on Alien Worlds: Ganymede
Next Air Force X-37B Flight To Carry NASA Materials Science Experiment
Cristoforetti Set for Endurance Record, as Expedition 43 Return Reportedly Delayed to Mid-June
KSC Constructing a “Launch Pad in a Box” at Pad 39B
UAE Details Ambitious Plan for Martian Weather Satellite
Newly Released Photograph Shows Strange “Hole” In Space
A Hot Start to the Origin of Life
3D Printer Making Chinese Space Suit Parts
What Would It Be Like to Live on Alien Planet Kepler-186f?
Now Is the Best Time to See Mercury in the Night Sky This Year
Planetary Society Presskit Information: Upcoming LightSail Launch
Bright Spots on Ceres Shown in Better Resolution
The Bright Spots of Ceres Spin Into View
Powerful New Radio Telescope Array Searches the Entire Sky 24/7
Draft 2015 NASA Technology Roadmaps
NASA Unveils Latest Technology Roadmaps for Future Agency Needs
Venus Plane Pushed for Next NASA Next Frontiers Mission
Suborbital Vehicle Developers Looking Ahead To Orbital Systems
Exos Seeks To Revive Armadillo Rocket Technology
Google Lunar X PRIZE: Creating a new generation of lunar landers
Industry Team Hopes To Resurrect Atlas V Post RD-180
#TWiM Falcon Heavy Enabler for Dragon Solar System Explorer
NASA Celebrates 50 Years of Planetary Exploration
NASA Research Reveals Europa’s Mystery Dark Material Could Be Sea Salt
2015 SpaceApps Challenge Awards
The Dark Side of Star Clusters
Two UMD Research Teams Help NASA Look for Potential Habitable Planets
Singer Sarah Brightman Changes Her Tune on Space Mission
How to Turn Your Smartphone Into a Cosmic-Ray Detector
NASA’s New Images Of Our First Asteroid, Ceres, Sheds Light On Its Greatest Mystery
Selfie to Space
Astronomers Spot One-in-10-Million Phenomenon in Early Universe
House Bill Offers Same Funding But Different Priorities for NASA
Corkscrew Planets Spiral Back and Forth Between Two Stars
Mars Volcanoes Launch Dust Storms Like a Skate Ramp
Earth’s Cloudy Demeanour Unveiled by NASA’s Aqua Satellite
Millions of Missing Galaxies Found Hiding in Plain Sight
Scientists at Keck Discover the Fluffiest Galaxies
Weather Forecasts Made for Planets Beyond Our Solar System
Maybe Dark Matter is Not Made Up of Heavy Particles After All
Superflare Stars with Large Starspots Observed
Crowdfunding Launched to Nuke Threatening Asteroids

We record the Weekly Space Hangout every Friday at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern. You can watch us live on Google+, Universe Today, or the Universe Today YouTube page.

You can join in the discussion between episodes over at our Weekly Space Hangout Crew group in G+, and suggest your ideas for stories we can discuss each week!