Stars often come in groups of two or more. And if they’re orbiting close enough to each other, one star can feast on the other. And when that happens, well, mayhem ensues.
Our Hosts
Fraser Cain
Universe Today
Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest
Production by
- Richard Drumm, Audio Engineer
- Ally Pelphrey, Video Engineer
17 Seasons
700+ Episodes
2018 Winner Parsec Award
Ep. 592: Gamma-Ray Bursts (Updated)
Some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe are gamma ray bursts, capable of blasting a beam of death halfway across the galaxy. In just the last few years, astronomers have discovered a tremendous amount about these blasts, and what’s actually causing them. The answer, of course, is that it’s more complicated than we thought.
Ep. 591: Space Junk
Remember the good old days, where there were only a few thousand living and dead satellites? Those days are long over. We’re now entering an era where there will be tens of thousands of satellites, not to mention the spent rocket boosters and other space junk. What kind of a risk do we face and what can be done about it?
Ep. 590: Lunar Hazards: Dust, Radiation, and More
2024 can’t come soon enough. You know, that’s the year when humans will set foot on the Moon again. Don’t you roll your eyes. That’s the plan. Well, unless the plan changes. But my point is, explorers going to the Moon will need to be concerned about all kinds of hazards, like dust, radiation and gigantic moon worms.
Recent Episodes
Ep. 98: Quasars
Last week we talked about galaxies in general, and hinted at the most violent and energetic ones out there: active galaxies. Quasars have been a mystery for half a century; what kind of object could throw out more radiation than an entire galaxy? A black hole, it...
Ep. 97: Galaxies
This week we're going to look at some of the biggest objects in the Universe: galaxies. It was the discovery of galaxies in the early 20th century that helped astronomers realize just how big the Universe is, and how far away everything is. Let's learn how galaxies...
Ep. 96: Humans to Mars, Part 3 – Terraforming Mars
And now we reach the third part of our trilogy on the human exploration and colonization of Mars. Humans will inevitably tire of living underground, and will want to stretch their legs, and fill their lungs with fresh air. One day, we'll contemplate the possibility of...
Student Questions: Collinsville High School
This is our third installment in our series of student questions shows and these questions come to us from Collinsville High School. Thanks to GLAST, Astronomy Cast is now able to provide equipment to send to high school teachers who want to Pamela and Fraser to do a...
Ep. 95: Humans to Mars, Part 2 – Colonists
After astronauts make the first tentative steps onto the surface of Mars, a big goal will be colonization of the Red Planet. The first trailblazers who try to live on Mars will have their work cut out for them, being in an environment totally hostile to life. What...
Ep 94: Humans to Mars, Part 1 – Scientists
We're learned about the failed missions to Mars in the past, and the current spacecraft, rovers and landers currently exploring the Red Planet. But the real prize will come when the first human sets foot on Mars. Robots are cheaper, but nothing beats having a real...
Ep. 93: Missions to Mars, Part 2
I know last week was a bit of a dry history lesson, but we wanted to give you some understanding of past efforts to explore Mars. Now we'll look at the missions currently in orbit, and crawling around the surface of Mars, and help you understand the science that's...
Ep. 92: Missions to Mars, Part 1
With last month's safe arrival of the Phoenix Mars Lander, Mars enthusiasts breathed a collective sigh of relief... phew. Now it's time to search for evidence of organic molecules in the ice at Mars' north pole. But this is just the latest in a long series of missions...
Ep. 91: The Search for Water on Mars
With the successful touchdown of the Phoenix Lander, NASA is continuing its quest to find evidence of past and present water on Mars. This week we discuss the geologic history of Mars, and explain why NASA thinks the story of water on Mars is so important. And how...
Ep. 90: The Scientific Method
You've heard me say it 90 times: "How we know what we know." But how do we know how we know what we know? So astronomers like all scientists use the scientific method. Without the scientific method we'd probably still think the Earth is flat, only a few thousand years...
Ep. 89: Adaptive Optics
Since the dawn of humanity, astronomers have wished to destroy the atmosphere. Oh sure, it's what we breathe and all, but that stupid atmosphere is always getting in the way. Since destroying the atmosphere is out of the question, astronomers have figured out how to...
Ep. 88: The Hubble Space Telescope
Our understanding of the cosmos has been revolutionized by the Hubble Space Telescope. The breathtaking familiar photos, like the Pillars of Creation, pale in comparison to the astounding amount of science data returned to Earth. Hubble's getting old, though, serviced...
Ep. 87: The End of the Universe Part 2: The End of Everything
Hopefully you've all recovered from part 1 of this set, where we make you sad about the future of the humanity, the Earth, the Sun and the Solar System. But hang on, we're really going to bring you down. Today we'll look far far forward into the distant future of the...
Ep. 86: The End of the Universe Part 1: The End of the Solar System
This is a show we wanted to do since we started Astronomy Cast but we always thought it was too early. We wanted you to know that we're positive, happy people with enthusiasm for astronomy and the future. It's time for some sadness. It's time for a grim look to see...
Ep. 85: Detectors
Our senses can only detect a fraction of the phenomena happening in the Universe. That's why scientists and engineers develop detectors, to let us see radiation and particles that we could never detect with our eyes and ears. This week we'll go through them all, so...
Ep. 84: Getting Around the Solar System
Have you ever wondered what it takes to get a spacecraft off the Earth and into space. And how managers at NASA can actually navigate a spacecraft to another planet? And how does a gravity assist work? And how do they get them into orbit? And how do they land? So many...
Ep. 83: Wave Particle Duality
Have you ever heard that photons behave like both a particle and a wave and wondered what that meant? It's true. Sometimes light acts like a wave, and other times it behaves like a little particle. It's both. This week we discuss the experiments that demonstrate this,...
Ep. 82: Space Junk
We're polluting every corner of our own planet, so it only makes sense that we'll take our trashy habits out into space with us. This week we look at the myriad of ways we're messing up space, from the trash orbiting the planet to the radiation we're leaking out into...
Ep. 81: Questions on the Shape, Size and Centre of the Universe
As predicted we got a lot of questions from people about our trilogy of shows on the size, shape and centre of the universe. Today we'll do our best to clear them all up.As always, if you're still confused drop us an email to info@astronomycast.com Episode 81:...
Ep. 80: Craters
Pamela's attending the 39th Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference, and you know what that means: the Moon... and planets! When you think of the Moon, you think of craters. In fact, that's a big theme this week at the conference, so Pamela took it as inspiration....