Fraser Cain
Universe Today
Dr. Pamela Gay
CosmoQuest
Wherever we find liquid water on Earth, we find life, so it makes sense to search for water across the Universe, and hopefully we can find evidence of life. But what about worlds which are completely covered in water, oceans hundreds of kilometers deep. Can there be too much water?
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has completed dozens of flybys of Jupiter, seeing the planet from many angles and delivering some of the most beautiful images we’ve ever seen of the Jovian world. Now it’s focusing in on Io, sending home images of the tiny volcanic world from just 1,500 km away. And the best is yet to come.
Solar cycle 25 is shaping up to be a doozy, with plenty of flares and coronal mass ejections blasting off the Sun. As the solar activity continues to rise, how are things shaping up?
With Artemis 1 completing its robotic flight around the Moon, we know that the SLS works. Next comes Artemis 2, with a crew of astronauts flying past the Moon. If that’s successful, we could see humans set foot on the Moon in December 2025. But there is a long list of challenges to consider that could delay things considerably. Go or no go for launch?
Recent Episodes
https://youtu.be/ZZdbQXOwT40 We continue our refreshed tour of the Solar System, checking in on the inner terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. What have we learned about their formation, evolution and what they might tell us about other planets in the...
https://youtu.be/rHfXnJj4LIU We've reached the end of 2021, and this is the last episode of the year. Let's look back at the big space events of the last year and talk about what we're looking forward to in 2022. Download MP3 | Show Notes | Transcript Show Notes...
https://youtu.be/GRGnvSi7noE We've talked about the icy objects of the Solar System, today let's talk about space rocks. There's a surprising variety of rocky material in the Solar System, and each object has a story to tell about the history and formation of the...
https://youtu.be/AWvd_LN1VL8 Are asteroids dangerous? Just ask the dinosaurs, and they'll tell you a sad story of fiery death. It turns out we're in a shooting gallery of space rock and metal, and somewhere out there there's one with our name on it. Should we be...
https://youtu.be/H8JiaXcGvVI A rock is a rock is a rock, right? Across the Solar System there are giant rocky asteroids and even rockier moons. What's the difference between these two families of objects, and where did they come from? Show Notes | Transcript Show...
https://youtu.be/YvV9X_weY1w For the longest time, the only gas giant planets we knew about were Jupiter and Saturn. But now in the age of extrasolar planets, astronomers have discovered thousands of gas giants across almost as many star systems. What new discoveries...
https://youtu.be/9OVAbDgTgSM Good news! Over the next few years, we're going to see a flotilla of new missions headed to Jupiter and Saturn. Why aren't we seeing more missions to the outer planets, like Uranus and Neptune? It turns out, those places are far away....
https://youtu.be/3hJVYAH5wsQ The outer Solar System is far enough from the Sun that water doesn't get blasted away into deep space. In this icy realm, there are many worlds with vast quantities of water ice. Today let's look at the icy outer moons and dwarf planets....
https://youtu.be/1L2FdcC_vsA We're learning more and more about the outer planets of the Solar System. Uranus and Neptune are ice giants, filled with water and other volatiles that we'd consider ice if it was here on Earth. What's inside these worlds, and what could...
https://youtu.be/La5ZNRro6zM Funding for basic science has always been tricky business, coming mainly from universities, government, companies, or wealthy individuals, but who knows how many fascinating discoveries were never made because of a lack of funding? We now...
https://youtu.be/ZGJesDhTVpw You're familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope, of course, but it's just one of NASA's Great Observatories. After Hubble came three more incredible observatories, each greater than the last. Together, they would fill in almost the entire...
https://youtu.be/r4wvIIWLfcI After Pluto lost its planethood, we were down to 8 planets. But there's growing evidence of another world (or worlds) out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Is Planet 9 out there and how will we find it? Could there even be a Planet 10? Show Notes...
https://youtu.be/Rik2atXaE6E There are asteroids and there are comets. But there's an entirely separate class of objects called centaurs. But instead of half-human, half-horse, imagine an object that's half comet, half asteroid but 100% interesting. Show Notes |...
https://youtu.be/qreJoGzZx-4 It's been 15 years since Pluto was kicked out of the planet club. It also happens to be the topic of our very first episode of Astronomy Cast more than 600 episodes ago. Are there any updates? Does Pluto have a chance of regaining...
https://youtu.be/hMULAbRA8YQ Last week we talked about the various ways that astronomers could detect the presence of intelligent civilizations by observing technosignatures. This week we'll give you an update on the state of searching for extraterrestrials. This...
https://youtu.be/64_YM6PgnA0 Last week we talked about what it's going to take to confirm basic biological life across the Solar System and the Milky Way. This week, we'll discuss what it's going to take to detect intelligent life out there in space. Show Notes |...
https://youtu.be/0rtBR5WUx6E Are we alone in the Universe? It's one of the biggest scientific questions we can possibly ask. And yet, with rovers on Mars, missions planned to visit Europa and Ganymede. Powerful telescopes able to detect the atmospheres of exoplanets,...
https://youtu.be/q9ycfi0lbGo Volcanoes can be some of the worst natural disasters we can experience here on Earth, but life wouldn't even exist without them. What are volcanoes good for anyway? Show Notes | Transcript Show Notes See the First Images NASA’s Juno Took...
https://youtu.be/A3cfWlxF4YI As you all know, Pamela refuses to talk about any missions which aren't actually doing science. Well, Perseverance has crossed the line, from fantasy to an actual working rover, scooping regolith and yeeting helicopters. What has the rover...
https://youtu.be/9Hd_7NacOgU Mars is cold and dead today, but the massive volcanoes tell us what the planet used to be like, millions and even billions of years ago. But how volcanically active is the planet today? That's what NASA's Mars InSight lander is there to...