Category: Podcasts

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In the old days, astronomers had to beg for telescope time. They’d put together a proposal, convince observatories to gather data for them, crunch that data and release the results. No telescope, no results. But everything’s different now. Fleets of robotic telescopes constantly scan the skies, building up a vast database of raw data about the Universe. Anyone who wants can access the information through the Internet, download what they need to do real science. No telescope necessary. Let’s look at the development of sky surveys, and how they’re changing how astronomy gets done.

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Sky Surveys – Transcript and show notes.

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Today, time rules our lives. We live each day with the moments broken up into hours, minutes and seconds. We never seem to have enough time. But can you imagine not being able to tell time at all, where the movements of the Sun and the stars was the only way to know what time it was? Let’s learn about the history of time, methods of telling time, and Einstein’s historic discovery that time isn’t as fixed as we thought it was.

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Time – Transcript and show notes.

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As part of her trip to England, Pamela had a chance to sit down with Oxford astrophysicist Chris Lintott and record an episode of Astronomy Cast. From the first stars to the newest planets, molecules and the chemistry that allows them to form affects all aspects of astronomy. While most astronomers group molecules into three bins of hydrogen, helium and everything else, there are a few who do proper chemistry by studying the sometimes complex molecules that form between the stars.

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Molecules in Space – Transcript and show notes.

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This week we explore galactic spiral arms, seismic quakes on the Sun, and our picks for astronomy gear. If you’ve got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we’ll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

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Spiral Arms, Seismic Waves on the Sun, and our Favorite Gear – Transcript and show notes.

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Another week, another batch of questions. If ice disappears in your freezer, how can it last in space? How can the Universe be expanding faster than the speed of light? And what is the risk from a coronal mass ejection in an airplane? All this and even more questions. If you’ve got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we’ll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

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Ice in Space, Expansion of the Universe, and Death from the Skies – Transcript and show notes.

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We’re back to a themeless questions show. We’re right across the Universe this time. Why are the planets lined up in a nice flat plane? Why are there no greenstars? And is the Oort Cloud contaminating our understanding of the cosmic microwave background radiation? If you’ve got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we’ll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

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Orbit of the Planets, Green Stars, and Oort Cloud Contamination – Transcript and show notes.

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We say it all the time here on Astronomy Cast: the Universe is trying to kill us. This week, Pamela is joined by Dr. Phil Plait to discuss his new book, Death from the Skies. Phil and Pamela talk about asteroid strikes, solar flares and gamma ray bursts.

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Death From the Skies, Interview with Phil Plait – Transcript and show notes.