What is the “missing baryon problem”? How do we know how many baryons there ought to be? What does the cosmic web have to do with it? What the heck is a baryon, anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a boo...
May 19, 2020•27 min•Ep. 128
What was Newton’s genius? Why was his work so controversial? Why are his laws of motion so radical? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on an adventure: http://www.AstroTours...
May 05, 2020•43 min•Ep. 127
What makes the Earth’s atmosphere so special? What makes the atmospheres of other planets so special? Why are atmospheres so special anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book ...
Apr 21, 2020•33 min•Ep. 126
Why do we think the solar system might have another planet? Why do we think it doesn’t? How do test for something that’s too far away to see? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book...
Apr 07, 2020•34 min•Ep. 125
Why is the speed of light so important in physics? Why does the value not matter at all? And why does it have the speed that it does? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on a...
Mar 17, 2020•36 min•Ep. 124
My next book, How to Die in Space , is coming out June 2020! Here's a special sneak preview reading from the book, and info about how you can get a free autographed copy! Book info: www.pmsutter.com/book Autographed copy: www.patreon.com/pmsutter
Mar 10, 2020•14 min
How can a supernova become even more powerful? Why do we have such a hard time studying them, let alone defining them? What happens when you let a giant star unleash its full potential? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulM...
Mar 03, 2020•27 min•Ep. 123
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Feb 18, 2020•49 min•Ep. 122
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Feb 04, 2020•30 min•Ep. 121
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Jan 21, 2020•32 min•Ep. 120
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Jan 07, 2020•36 min•Ep. 119
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Dec 17, 2019•42 min•Ep. 118
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Dec 03, 2019•42 min•Ep. 117
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Nov 19, 2019•48 min•Ep. 116
How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and the AdS/CFT Correspondence? What do holograms have to do with this? How many dimensions do we live in? Why does String Theory have such a hard time making predictions? How are we supposed to judge a theory that isn’t done yet? It’s a non-stop String Theory bonanza as I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...
Nov 05, 2019•50 min•Ep. 115
How did chemists save astronomy? What’s so important about the spectrum, and how are they made? How can we tell what things in space are made out of? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsut...
Oct 15, 2019•32 min•Ep. 114
Why is infrared astronomy so hard? How do we fit giant telescopes into tiny rockets? What will the James Webb uncover? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on an adventure: ht...
Oct 01, 2019•36 min•Ep. 113
Where does the quantum world begin? Why do we have a hard time fundamentally understanding quantum systems? What connects quantum and classical physics? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pm...
Sep 17, 2019•39 min•Ep. 112
What’s it like to fall into a black hole (again)? What does the outside universe look like? Is there any way to avoid your grisly fate at the singularity? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www....
Sep 03, 2019•42 min•Ep. 111
What is chaos theory? How can something be both deterministic and unpredictable? Is there are hope at all for physics? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on an adventure: ht...
Aug 20, 2019•26 min•Ep. 110
How do cracks appear in spacetime? What does it have to do with symmetry? Could we ever hope to find a cosmic string? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on an adventure: htt...
Aug 06, 2019•29 min•Ep. 109
Why is it so hard to predict solar eclipses? How did Newton and Halley team up to solve it? What have we learned from solar eclipses since then? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/b...
Jul 16, 2019•32 min•Ep. 108
How hard is interstellar travel? What are the possible ways to achieve the required energy? Is there anything at all feasible in the works? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book G...
Jul 02, 2019•37 min•Ep. 107
What’s the deal with redshift? How can we actually interpret velocities when it comes to cosmic expansion? And what’s with the recent tension over measuring the expansion rate? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Re...
Jun 18, 2019•36 min•Ep. 106
Is light made of waves or particles? Is matter made of waves or particles? What does it mean for matter to “wave”, anyway? Why is this so hard to understand? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://w...
Jun 04, 2019•27 min•Ep. 105
What’s so bad about Venus, besides everything? How did it get so bad? And are we next? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on an adventure: http://www.AstroTours.co Keep thos...
May 21, 2019•24 min•Ep. 104
What is the “cosmic calendar”? What are some important scales in the universe? Why is it so hard to judge “importance” of events? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter/book Go on an ad...
May 07, 2019•25 min•Ep. 103
What are galaxy clusters made of, besides galaxies? How can we use them to understand dark matter? And how can we make pretend ones on a computer? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsutter...
Apr 16, 2019•33 min•Ep. 102
What is “information” in physics? Why do we think it’s preserved, and what happens to information when it falls into a black hole? Why is this a problem? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.p...
Apr 02, 2019•27 min•Ep. 101
How do cosmic voids form? What do they teach us about dark energy? What did the early universe look like? What does all this have to do with cupcakes? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PaulMattSutter Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulMattSutter Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: http://www.pmsu...
Mar 19, 2019•31 min•Ep. 100
