Astronomy Cast

Episodes

Ep. 142: Plate Tectonics

Jul 5, 2009 |

The surface of the Earth feels solid under your feet, but you’re actually standing on a plate of the Earth’s crust. And that plate is slowly shifting across the surface of the Earth. Over geologic timescales, plate tectonics has totally resurfaced our planet, bringing continents together, and tearing them apart. We know we have plate tectonics here on Earth, but what about other worlds?

Questions Show: Avoiding the Heat Death, Orbiting Galaxies, and the Dangers of Space Radiation

Jul 4, 2009 |

Will robots be able to avoid the heat death of the Universe? Can galaxies orbit each other like binary stars? And what are the dangers of space radiation to astronauts on the Moon?
If you’ve got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we’ll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 141: Volcanoes, Hot and Cold

Jul 3, 2009 |

You’re familiar with volcanoes, eruptive vents where hot magma escapes the Earth’s interior – sometimes with disastrous effects. But did you know that volcanoes have shaped many of the planets and moons in the Solar System, not just our own Earth? And just in the last few years astronomers have discovered there are cold volcanoes on some of the icy objects in the outer solar system.

Ep. 140: Entanglement

Jun 29, 2009 |

One of the most amazing aspects of quantum mechanics is quantum entanglement. This is the strange behavior where particles can become entangled, so they’re somehow connected to one another – no matter the distance between them. Interact with one particle and the other reacts instantly; even if they’re separated by billions of light-years.

Questions Show: Telescope Suggestions, Black Hole Energy, and Universal Time

Jun 22, 2009 |

What starting telescope equipment does the Astronomy Cast team suggest? How much energy does a black hole generate? And how do we measure time outside the Earth?
If you’ve got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we’ll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 139: Energy Levels and Spectra

Jun 15, 2009 |

Last week we took a peek into the tiny world of quantum mechanics, and its unintuitive, but very accurate mathematical predictions. And although we all appreciate the physics lesson, you’re probably wondering what this all has to do with astronomy. Well, today we bring it all home and explain how quantum mechanics has given astronomers one of the most powerful tools they have to study the nature of the cosmos.

Questions: An Unlocked Moon, Energy Into Black Holes, and the Space Station's Orbit

Jun 6, 2009 |

What would happen if the Moon wasn’t tidally locked to the Earth? What happens to all that mass and energy disappearing into a black hole? And how can we explain the space station’s crazy orbit?
If you’ve got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to info@astronomycast.com and we’ll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

Ep. 138: Quantum Mechanics

Jun 4, 2009 |

Quantum mechanics is the study of the very tiny; the nature of reality at the smallest scale. It’s a science that defies common sense, and delivers no helpful analogies. And yet it delivers the goods, making scientific predictions with incredible accuracy. Let’s look into the history of quantum theory, and then struggle to comprehend its connection to the Universe.