Finding Earth-sized planets around other stars is a very exciting area of astronomical research. Recently a team lead by Dr. Katie Lester followed up data from the TESS satellite using the International Gemini Observatory and the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope at Kitt Peak. They found that we may be missing many Earth-sized worlds orbiting binary stars. This podcast explores how they reached this interesting conclusion and how we may go about finding these worlds in the future.
Jun 12th: The Earliest Supermassive Black Hole and Quasar
Xiaohui Fan discusses the discovery of the most distant supermassive black hole and quasar discovery and what we can learn from these objects about the early history of the universe.
May 8th: May’s Total Lunar Eclipse
The first total lunar eclipse in over 2 years will take place on May 26th. This total lunar eclipse will be visible from all three of NOIRLab’s sites with different viewing conditions. In this podcast, learn about how and when you can observe this exciting celestial event!
Apr 10th: NOIRLab Education Programs Go Virtual
Two of NOIRLabAstro program: Journey Through the Universe and AstroDay Chile had to adapt and become virtual events. Learn about this programs and hear what the future may hold!
Mar 13th: The First Results From MAROON-X
Extrasolar planet research is a hot topic in astronomy. Astronomers are continually trying to build new instruments to measure the properties of planets orbiting other stars. One new instrument is called MAROON-X on the Gemini North Telescope in Hawai’i.
Feb 13th: The Dark Energy Survey Data Release #2
The Dark Energy Survey has released a massive, public collection of astronomical data and calibrated images from six years of work, containing data on nearly 700 million astronomical objects.
Jan 9th: The 2021 Globe At Night Kickoff
Globe at Night is a citizen science program to raise awareness of and collect data about light pollution levels from around the world. Today, @Halfastro will describes how you can participate in Globe at Night and help us collect even more data than our record breaking 2020 campaign!
Dec 12th: The Mystery of CK Vulpeculae
CK Vulpeculae was first observed hundreds of years ago and thought to be a nova. Modern observations have called this into question. In this podcast, Tom Geballe tells us about recent observations with the Gemini International Observatory which deepen the mystery of CK Vulpeculae.
Nov 14th: Big Astronomy
Modern astronomy takes a wide variety of people to run observatories and make new scientific discoveries. Big Astronomy is a new planetarium show that highlight the people that make these discoveries possible. In this podcast, we discuss the process of filming scenes for Big Astronomy at NOIRLab facilities in Chile.
Oct 10th: A White Dwarf’s Surprise Planetary Companion
White dwarfs are the final state of stars like our Sun at the end of their lives. Recently a Jupiter sized planet was discovered orbiting very close to a white dwarf. In this podcast, learn about this planet, its discovery and how it was studied using NASA and NOIRLab facilities.