In this week's questions show, Fraser is excited to see the southern hemisphere night sky, considers how the next generation of telescopes will change our understanding of the Big Bang, and suggests what you should look at with a new telescope. Support Universe Today Podcast
When astronomers scan the atmospheres of other worlds, they’ll be looking for gases to confirm that yes, indeed, there’s life there. It turns out, this is actually pretty tough. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week's questions show, Fraser wonders where you'd have to go in the Universe to minimize your time dilation, how to see Iridium Flares, how interferometry works, and more. Support Universe Today Podcast
When we see images of space, it’s hard to know which are real images and which are artist illustrations. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week's questions show, Fraser wonders how we're ever going to clear all that space junk orbiting Earth, whether it's better to colonize Mars or Mercury, and can water worlds explain the Fermi Paradox? Support Universe Today Podcast
Forget rocky worlds like Earth and Mars. New discoveries about icy worlds like Europa and Enceladus make them the ideal candidates for the search for life in the Universe. In fact there could be hundreds, or even thousands of times more worlds out there with ability to support life. Support Universe Today Podcast
We try to avoid thinking about it, but spacecraft are machines that break down and eventually fail. Some can last for years, others decades, but in the end they’ll be gone forever. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this QA episode, Fraser wonders when the Big Rip might happen, could there be binary galaxies, what it would be like to live in higher gravity. Support Universe Today Podcast
Mars is in the spotlight now, as both SpaceX and NASA are preparing their long range plans to send humans to the Red Planet. But Mars is an inhospitable environment, especially because of its tenuous and poisonous atmosphere of carbon dioxide. Support Universe Today Podcast
On October 25, 2017, astronomers from NASA’s Minor Planet Center sent out an announcement that they needed help confirming the trajectory of an interesting object. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser explains why almost everything in the Solar System is spinning in the same direction, is there a limit to how massive black holes can get, and do galaxies have an escape velocity? Support Universe Today Podcast
Space is our future, but space is also a deadly place, with poisonous radiation and an increased risk of cancer. We’re protected here on Earth thanks to our planet’s magnetosphere, but is there a way to create an artificial magnetosphere and shield astronauts? Support Universe Today Podcast
We once thought our Solar System was normal, average. How wrong we were, how varied the planetary systems are out there. It turns out, the migration of planets played a huge role in the Solar System we see today. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser explains how astronomers measure the spin rate of black holes, other uses of gravitational slingshots, and why everyone is talking about Patreon. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser explains his thoughts on SpaceX, what he does for his regular job, and wonders if you could use a black hole to perform gravitational slingshots, whether planets could hide in Lagrange points, and growing trees on Mars. Support Universe Today Podcast
In order to get the large scale structure of the Universe we see today, cosmologists have proposed the idea of inflation, that the Universe expanded an enormous amount in the earliest moments. But if inflation really happened, then it has even stranger implications for the nature of the Universe and the search for multiverses. Support Universe Today Podcast
On October 5th, 2017, US Vice President Mike Pence announced that NASA is going back to the Moon. He didn’t provide any other details, just some kind of moonward directed space exploration. And it turns out they won’t be the only ones. The Moon is going to be a busy busy place. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser wonders if we’ll be able to grow crops in lunar soil, if the Moon has been changing over time, and what title does Elon Musk get when he colonizes Mars. Support Universe Today Podcast
We’re all familiar with the idea of solar sails to explore the Solar System, using the light pressure from the Sun. But there’s another propulsion system that could harness the power of the Sun, electric sails, and it’s a pretty exciting idea. Support Universe Today Podcast
Astronomers have made the groundbreaking detection of two neutron stars colliding in a galaxy 130 million light years away. They detected the gravitational waves AND the blast of radiation released from the collision, observing a kilonova for the first time. Support Universe Today Podcast
Some comets orbit the Sun on a regular basis, but others come in from deep space, a region known as the Oort Cloud. What causes them to make this journey, and will we ever be able to explore the Oort Cloud? Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser wonders where would be the best place to put a really powerful telescope, why a kilonova is important, and what happens when brown dwarfs die. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser wonders if the Earth will get new moons, if dark energy is getting more diluted over time, and if the ice on Jupiter’s moons will protect us from its deadly radiation. Support Universe Today Podcast
Elon Musk gave us an update on SpaceX’s plans to send humans to Mars, going all in on their new launch vehicle: the BFR. Support Universe Today Podcast
NASA is working on developing a space station in a cis-lunar orbit that will serve as the jumping off point to exploring the Solar System; it’s known as the Deep Space Gateway. Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser searches for the most energetic collisions in the Universe, whether we should vacuum up dust on the Moon, and are there supernovae that don’t create black holes. Support Universe Today Podcast
One of the most beautiful and scientifically interesting objects in space are the globular clusters, containing hundreds of thousands of stars. What are they and where did they come from? Support Universe Today Podcast
In this week’s question show, Fraser explains why James Webb can’t be repaired if anything goes wrong, why we even need space telescopes in the first place, and his favorite methods of zipping around the Solar System. Support Universe Today Podcast
Astronomers have been searching for mid-weight black holes, and now they’ve found one, right here in the Milky Way. Support Universe Today Podcast
Over the past decades, many missions have been canceled. What alternative history could we have had if these projects had gone through? Support Universe Today Podcast
