Last week we looked back at some of the ideas that science has changed its mind about. This, we look forward, into the future, at some of the big ideas that astronomers are making progress in. What space science are we looking forward to?
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. 700: Things We Got Wrong
Astronomers talk about all the amazing discoveries they’re making but sometimes, it turns out, they were wrong. After decades and centuries of discoveries, how have they changed their minds?
Ep. 699: Holiday Gift Giving Ideas for Astronomy and Space Fans
Just a warning, the holidays are rapidly approaching. It’s time, once again, to think about what to buy all the space nerds on your lists. Here’s what we like.
Ep. 698: Insights into the Universe, featuring JWST Results
How the time flies. It’s been over a year since JWST went operational, with other missions joining the fun. What new insights have we gained about the Universe thanks to these powerful new tools?
Recent Episodes
Ep. 590: Lunar Hazards: Dust, Radiation, and More
https://youtu.be/ruLE8lWObaE 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...
Ep. 589: Lunar Resources: Water (Update) & Other Volatiles
https://youtu.be/2klFkWV-ZFc We've talked about water on the Moon many times here on Astronomy Cast, but there have been a bunch of big updates, thanks to new research from NASA and others. Today we're going to give you an update on the state of water on the Moon and...
Ep. 588: Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes
https://youtu.be/BuoDoceXbrI Ep. 588: Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes All eyes are on the Moon. We're going back, this time to stay... right? One of the best resources on the Moon will be the lava tubes that crisscross the subsurface of the Moon. These can provide...
Ep. 587: Artemis Accords
https://youtu.be/VxGKzE7bTvs The Moon is about to become a very busy place, with multiple countries and private companies planning missions in the next few years. It's been decades since the Outer Space Treaty was negotiated. It's time for the Artemis Accords....
Ep. 586: Life as We Know It: Habitable Exoplanets & Extremophiles
https://youtu.be/MkrxGG32Ac4 As scientists continue to explore the Earth, they're discovering life surviving and even thriving in extreme environments. What hints can this give us about what we might find as we search for life on other worlds? Download MP3 | Show...
Ep. 585: Super Earths, Mini-Neptunes, Gas Dwarfs
https://youtu.be/ZK_sS56EmMY As astronomers are finding even more new extrasolar planets, they're starting to discover entirely new categories. There are classes of planets out there that we just don't have any analog here in the Solar System. Let's talk about them....
Ep. 584: Sample Return Missions from Asteroids
https://youtu.be/n4x3XyJtgXQ With a sample of asteroid Bennu firmly inside OSIRIS-REx's return capsule, it's time to bring this treasure home so scientists can study the composition and history of the space rock. But it's not the only sample return mission out there,...
Ep. 583: The Nobel Prize
https://youtu.be/fCxkDWINq1I This year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three brilliant researchers who worked out some of the secrets of black holes. Today we're going to talk about the chain of discoveries that led to this award. Download MP3 | Show Notes |...
Ep. 582: Building Bigger Black Holes
https://youtu.be/prdjF4YmAas (Sorry for the delay everyone. It has been a week.) Did you hear the news? Nobel Prizes for black holes. We know there are stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes, but how do you get from one to the other? How do black holes...
Ep. 581: Other Kinds of Novae
https://youtu.be/qm5q4aRwtNQ Don't ever accuse us of not comprehensively covering every kind of exploding star. This week we gather up all the leftover ways that stars partially or fully explode, or don't. Probably. Enjoy. Download MP3 | Show Notes | Transcript Show...
Ep. 580: Exploding Dwarfs
https://youtu.be/09NzMzt8yXE You'd think that a white dwarf star is the end of a stellar life. It's all downhill from there. A long, slow cool down towards the end of everything. But in some situations, even dead stars can get exciting again, briefly becoming some of...
Ep. 579: White and Black Dwarfs
https://youtu.be/cIcPtF1bN-U I’ve got some bad news for you: stars die. At some point in the next few billion years or so, our Sun is going to start heating up, using up all the fuel in its core, and then eventually die, becoming a white dwarf. It will then slowly...
Ep. 578: Life on Venus?!?
https://youtu.be/kgaUY0XcxZI Have you heard the big news? Of course you have, evidence of phosphine on Venus which could be a biosignature of life on our evil twin planet. There have been a lot of surprising stories about Venus, so let's get you all caught up....
Ep. 577: Mars in Opposition
https://youtu.be/vuoIlAvTfz0 Every two years or so, Mars lines up nicely with the Earth. It only takes two minutes to communicate with rovers, you can see the polar ice caps in a small telescope, and it's the best time to send spacecraft to the red planet. Download...
Ep. 576: Summer Stargazing Special
https://youtu.be/bxAZTyr-DXk It's time, once again, for Astronomy Cast to go on hiatus. You've got a couple of months on your own to explore the night sky. Before we say goodbye, though, we'd like to make a few suggestions. Download MP3 | Show Notes | Transcript...
Ep. 575: Observing the Moon
https://youtu.be/-jvklCr8btg As amateur astronomers, we curse the Moon every month. Seriously, why doesn't someone get rid of that thing? This week, something occurred to us. What if we actually pointed our telescopes at the Moon? What would we see? Download MP3 |...
Ep. 574: Trojan Asteroids
https://youtu.be/-ttZy7UXp6s We imagine the asteroid belt as the place where all the rocks hang out in the Solar System, but there are two huge bands of asteroids that orbit the Sun with Jupiter called the Trojans. And soon, we might actually get a chance to see them...
Ep. 573: Exoplanet Atmospheres
https://youtu.be/Q7uWOp7kxwU Not only have astronomers discovered thousands of exoplanets, but they're even starting to study the atmospheres of worlds thousands of light-years away. What can we learn about these other worlds, and maybe even signs of life. Download...
Ep. 572: Twists in Planet Formation
https://youtu.be/Scs9NHSSNu0 We're all looking forward to the next generation of exoplanetary research, where we get to see pictures of planets directly. But astronomers are already making great strides in directly observing newly forming planets, helping us...
Ep. 571: Extreme Binaries
https://youtu.be/lcbALEjp0k4 We're familiar with regular binary stars. Two stars orbiting each other. Simple. Of course, the Universe has come up with every combination of things orbiting other things. And this week we look at the extreme version of this. Download MP3...