We’ve always assumed that habitable planets would need to be like Earth; a terrestrial planet orbiting a sunlike star. But now astronomers have been discovering planets in the habitable zone around very much non-sunlike stars. What strange places could be habitable?
A recent image from the South African MeerKAT Telescope blew our minds. It was a high resolution image of the center of the Milky Way showing delicate filaments and other structures. Today we’re gonna talk about why this was such an accomplishment and what the future holds for radio astronomy.
Pulsars are the rapidly spinning degenerate husks of dead stars, turning hundreds of times a second. But they’re also handy clocks, spinning with such certainty and accuracy that astronomers can use them for all kinds of stuff. We might even use them to navigate the cosmos.
In a rare moment of weakness, Pamela has decided she’s open to the possibility that a future exists. That missions, telescopes and spacecraft are going to be built and they’re going to do science. Today we’ll talk about what we’re looking forward to before she changes her mind and my naive optimism for the future.
With all the success of James Webb so far, it’s looking like science’s huge gamble is going to pay off, but there were years of delays and budget overruns. What impacts did these delays have on science, careers, and the future of space exploration?
Once again, it’s time to take a look at the Sun. You know, ongoing thermonuclear explosion of fusing hydrogen that’s right over there. Fortunately, there’s a fleet of spacecraft and ground observatories ready to give our best ever view of the Sun, so we can watch it.
When you think of the Moon, you think of craters. So this week, we pick an old show to talk about crater. more at #365DaysOfAstro
It’s been about a thousand years since since we last looked at Mercury. So we figured it’s time for an update. What new things have we learned about Mercury?
Podcaster: Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Title: Astronomy Cast Ep. 626: Terrestrial Planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars Organization: Astronomy Cast Link: http://www.astronomycast.com Description: We continue our refreshed tour of the solar system, checking in on the inner terrestrial planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. What have we learned about the formation, evolution […]
Join us today and listen to @AstronomyCast end of the year review for 2021 and what we’re looking forward to in 2022. #365DaysOfAstro