Astronomy Cast - Ep. 613: Pluto’s Demotion: 15 Years Later by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 planethood again?
Oct 04, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 613
Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: Hiatus Message by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Fraser & Pamela will return in early September with more episodes of Astronomy Cast. We hope you all have a safe, relaxing and prosperous summer!
Jul 12, 2021•3 min•Season 1Ep. 612
Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: The SETI Renaissance by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 the search for extraterrestrials. This field has gone from a collection of pariahs to a completely legitimate field of research. What's changed?
Jul 05, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 612
Astronomy Cast Ep. 611: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Intelligence Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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.
Jun 28, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 611
Astronomy Cast Ep. 610: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Non-Sentient Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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, we're closer than ever to finding out the answer.
Jun 21, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 610
Astronomy Cast Ep. 609: Volcanos With Benefits: Lava Tubes, Hydro Thermal Vents & More by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Volcanos can be some of the worst natural disasters that we can experience here on Earth. But life wouldn't even exist without them. So, what are volcanos good for anyway?
Jun 14, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 609
Astronomy Cast Ep. 608: NASA Perseverance, The First 100 Days by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 accomplished in its first 100 days?
Jun 07, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 608
Astronomy Cast Ep. 607: InSight and Earthquakes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 figure out.
May 31, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 607
Astronomy Cast Ep. 606 - Time Dilation: Skipping Thru Time by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Have you ever wanted to be a time traveler? Well, good news! You're time traveling right now. Into the future at one second per second. Taking too long? Don't want to wait? Good news, Einstein's got you covered. Today, let's talk about the weird world of time dilation. Also: There are monitor forts to consider… #MonitorFort
May 24, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 606
Astronomy Cast Ep. 605: Sounding Rockets by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about balloon-based astronomy. This week we're gonna talk about putting telescopes on rockets and making observations mid flight. Welcome to the wild world of sounding rockets.
May 17, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 605
Astronomy Cast Ep. 604: Balloon Astronomy by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So when you think about the world's observatories, I'm sure you're imagining huge telescopes perched atop mountain peaks or space telescopes like Hubble. But you might be surprised to learn that some telescopes are carried high into the atmosphere on board balloons. What can they accomplish?
May 10, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 604
Astronomy Cast Ep. 603: New Colors of the Radio Spectrum by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about how new telescopes and techniques are allowing astronomers to explore the shortest wavelengths of light. This week we go to the other end of the electromagnetic spectrum and explore the longer radio waves which are now accessible to astronome
May 03, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 603
Astronomy Cast Ep. 602: The New Colors of Gamma Rays - Getting Shorter by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The Earth's atmosphere protects us from a Universe that is definitely trying to kill us. But it also blocks our view of the entire cosmos, like seeing X-rays and gamma radiation. Space telescopes are changing our view of the most extreme events in the Universe.
Apr 26, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 602
Astronomy Cast Ep. 601: Unexpected Light Pollution by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Day-by-day we're loosing our connection with the night sky. Already one third of humanity lives in so much light pollution that they can't see the Milky Way without a drive. And now satellite constellations are adding additional light pollution, even in the darkest skies on Earth.
Apr 19, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 601
Astronomy Cast Ep. 600: Looking Ahead by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Today we are gonna gaze into the future of space and astronomy. What upcoming missions & events are we excited about?
Mar 29, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 600
Astronomy Cast Ep. 599: Zodiacal Light by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pamela has told us in the most flowery terms about the diffuse dust across the inner solar system left over from the formation of the inner planets. well, it turns out she was wrong. Super wrong. Time to update!
Mar 22, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 599
Astronomy Cast Ep. 598: How You Could Overturn Cosmology by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay You've probably heard of dark matter and dark energy, but maybe you don't fully understand what they are. Or maybe the idea itself just rubs you the wrong way and you'd like to know why scientists think they can just make stuff up like this. So you'd like to overturn cosmology? Here's all you need to do.
Mar 15, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 598
Astronomy Cast Ep. 597: The Expansion of the Universe by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It's been a while since we checked to make sure the Universe was still expanding. Yeah, apparently, that's still a thing. But in the last few years powerful new telescopes and expansive surveys have given us much more knowledge about what's happening. Especially at the earliest times.
Mar 08, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 597
Astronomy Cast Ep. 596: The Universe’s Background Noise by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay You might be familiar with the cosmic microwave background, but that's just one of the background radiations that astronomers look at. Some are well known and cataloged. While others are just starting to be possible to see at all. All of them tell us more about our Universe.
Mar 01, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 596
Astronomy Cast Ep. 595: Planet Hunting - Revisited by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay This is gonna be another one of those evergreen topics where we come back again and again. Finding planets. Every time we talk about this now it seems like we've gained thousands of new planets. Well, buckle up! New techniques will grow that by tens of thousands and even millions!
Feb 15, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 595
Astronomy Cast Ep. 594: Juno - Primary Mission Highlights by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pamela is always loath to talk about spacecraft until the mission's in space and the science is rolling. NASA's Juno Mission just received a mission extension, adding Jupiter's moons to the menu. Now, finally, we can talk about Juno! [Ed. Juno what I mean?]
Feb 08, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 594
Astronomy Cast Ep. 593: Stellar Parasites by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Stars often come in groups of 2 or more. And if they're orbiting close enough to each other one star can feast on the other and when that happens, well, mayhem ensues!
Feb 01, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 593
Astronomy Cast Ep. 592: Gamma-Ray Bursts - Updated by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe are gamma-ray bursts, capable of blasting a beam of death half way across the galaxy. In just the last few years astronomers have discovered a tremendous amount about these blasts and what's actually causing them. The answer, of course, is that it's more complicated than we originally thought. The old Gamma-Ray bursts show:
Jan 25, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 592
Astronomy Cast Ep. 591: What Are We Gonna Do With All That Space Junk? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Remember the good old days when there were only a few thousand living and dead satellites? Well, those days are long over. We're now entering an era where there will be tens of thousands of satellites. Not to mention the spent rocket boosters and other space junk. What kind of risk do we face and what can be done about it?
Jan 18, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 591
Astronomy Cast Ep. 590: Lunar Hazards: Dust, Radiation and More by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 2024 can't come soon enough. You know, that's the year when humans will set foot on the Moon again. Now don't you roll your eyes! That's the plan. Unless the plan changes. But my point is, explorers going to the Moon will need to be concerned about all kinds of hazards, like dust, radiation and gigantic Moon worms. I believe.
Jan 11, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 590
Astronomy Cast Ep. 589 - Lunar Resources: Water (Update) & Other Volatiles by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We've talked about the Moon and its water many times here on Astronomy Cast, but there've been a bunch of big updates thanks to new research from NASA and others. Today we're gonna give you an update on the state of water on the Moon and the plans to take advantage of it.
Dec 21, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 589
Astronomy Cast Ep. 588 - Lunar Resources: Lava Tubes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 criss-cross the subsurface of the Moon. These can provide protection from space, and a look at the geologic history of the Moon, and they can be enormous!
Dec 14, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 588
Astronomy Cast Ep. 587: The Artemis Accords by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So 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!
Dec 07, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 587
Astronomy Cast Ep. 586: Life As We Know It: Habitable Exoplanets & Extremophiles by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 live on other worlds.
Nov 30, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 586
Astronomy Cast 585: Super Earths, Mini-Neptunes & Gas Dwarfs by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Astronomers are finding even more new extrasolar planets and 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!
Nov 23, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 585