60-Second Space - podcast cover

60-Second Space

Scientific Americanwww.scientificamerican.com
Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of astronomy and space exploration

Episodes

Saltine-Sized Satellites Set for Space

More than 100 tiny satellites are set to launch into space on April 14th, in a demonstration of a possible future inexpensive technology that could pave the way for the $1,000 satellite. Clara Moskowitz reports

Apr 13, 20141 min

Planet X Gets X'd Out

An exhaustive search by NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer has found no hints of a theorized planet or dwarf star in our neck of the cosmic woods. Clara Moskowitz reports

Mar 11, 20141 min

Hubble Finds Possible Oldest Object Ever Seen

The Hubble Telescope's new set of Frontier Fields images includes a galaxy some 13-billion light-years away, which makes it a candidate for the most distant object ever seen. Clara Moskowitz reports

Feb 20, 20141 min

We Celebrate a Galilean Anniversary

Galileo—who, among many accomplishments, was first to use a telescope to discover moons around Jupiter—was born 450 years ago this week. Clara Moskowitz reports

Feb 13, 20141 min

Wacky World Wobbles Wildly

Exoplanet Kepler 413 b's tilt can vary by as much as 30 degrees over 11 years, leading to extremely erratic seasons. Clara Moskowitz reports

Feb 05, 20141 min

Faraway Planets May Be Far Better for Life

Astronomers have come up with a shopping list of what a planet needs to support life, perhaps even better than our Earth does, making them "superhabitable." Michael Moyer reports

Jan 31, 20141 min

Comet Spacecraft Wakes from Slumber

On January 20th the European Space Agency woke its Rosetta probe after two-and-a-half years in hibernation, in preparation for its final approach to a comet

Jan 23, 20141 min

Weird Supernovae Spin Faster Than Blender Blades

Two recently found supernovae are much farther away and brighter than almost any star explosion ever seen, perhaps because they wound up as rapidly spinning magnetars. Clara Moskowitz reports

Dec 30, 20131 min

Asteroid-Hunting Satellite Returns from Dead

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite that went into hibernation in 2011 has been brought to life as an asteroid lookout. Clara Moskowitz reports

Dec 23, 20131 min

Say I Saw ISON

Don't miss viewing Comet ISON, visible in the east before dawn, with a tail now as long as the bowl of the Big Dipper. Clara Moskowitz reports

Nov 25, 20131 min

India Targets Red Planet

India aims to become the fourth entity to send a mission to Mars with its launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission, aka Mangalyaan. Clara Moskowitz reports.

Nov 18, 20132 min

Astronaut Sounds Alarm On Asteroids

At a symposium on the danger of asteroid impacts, Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart said it's time for the planet to develop a strategy should a big rock come our way. Clara Moskowitz reports.

Nov 04, 20132 min

System Has Multiple Planets Off Kilter

Two of the three known planets around the star Kepler 56 orbit their host out of line with the star's equator. Clara Moskowitz reports.

Oct 21, 20131 min

Voyager 1 Is Officially out There

Voyager 1's own record of the plasma vibrations in its vicinity conclusively show that it has reached the space between the stars. John Matson reports

Sep 16, 20131 min

Home PCs Help Pinpoint Pulsars

The distributed computing project Einstein@Home uses home computers to search through years of telescope data to find pulsars. John Matson reports.

Sep 04, 20131 min

Kepler Exoplanet Hunter Limps Into Sunset

Although the Kepler space telescope's stabilization system is beyond repair, it has produced reams of data that have yet to be fully searched for exoplanets. John Matson reports.

Aug 21, 20131 min

Solar Magnetic Field Flip Poses No Problem

The only issue related to the flip of the sun's magnetic field is that it corresponds with the peak of the sunspot cycle, when the sun is prone to launch flares and bursts of plasma into space that can effect satellites and power grids. John Matson reports.

Aug 15, 20131 min

Neutrino Identity Switch Confirmed

Theory said that muon neutrinos could transform into electron neutrinos. A neutrino detector confirms this by catching many more electron neutrinos than it should have otherwise. John Matson reports

Jul 22, 20131 min

Giant Black Hole May Be Fugitive

The black hole in galaxy NGC 1277 is way more massive than usual. Astronomers hypothesize it was ejected from another galaxy before settling in its new home. John Matson reports

Jul 15, 20131 min

Flare Star Goes Wild in Minutes

The star WX UMa went from 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit to 30,000 degrees F in less than three minutes. Chris Crockett reports

Jul 08, 20131 min

Frigid Space Speeds Chemical Reaction

A reaction between two common molecules occurs much faster at frosty interstellar temperatures than on our toasty Earth due to a cold-stabilized transition and quantum tunneling. John Matson reports

Jul 01, 20131 min