Proving that there’s alien life on another world is to look for biosignatures, but it looks like there are natural sources that could explain almost any chemical we could hope to search for.
Nov 18th: Planetary Migration
Tag: astronomy cast
Nov 11th: Are Comets Asteroids or Are Asteroids Comets?
Things used to be so simple. Comets were snowballs from the outer Solar System, and asteroids were rocks from the inner Solar System. But now everything’s all shades of grey. Astronomers have found asteroids that behave like comets and comets that behave like asteroids.
Nov 4th: Biosignatures
Proving, once & for all that there’s alien life on another world. It should be straightforward, look for biosignatures, but it looks like there are natural sources that could explain almost any chemical we could hope to search for.
Oct 28th: Weird Issues: The Habitable Zone
Our series on Universe weirdness marches on. This week we take a look at the habitable zone, and how things aren’t as simple as we thought.
Oct 21st: Weird Issues: The Age of the Universe
Our series on Universe weirdness continues, this time we learn how astronomers are struggling to make sense of the age of the Universe.
Oct 14th: Weird Issues: The Expansion Rate of the Universe
Astronomers have been trying to accurately measure the expansion rate of the Universe. It’s been tough to nail down, and now astronomers are starting to figure out why.
Oct 7th: Weird Issues: How Do (or Don’t) Planets Form?
Weird Issues: How Do (or Don’t) Planets Form? Hot jupiters? Pulsars with planets? We’re now decades into this planets discovery & the Universe is continuing to surprise us. #365DaysOfAstro
Sep 30th: Weird Issues: Why We Don’t Know the Age of Saturn’s Rings
How old are Saturn’s rings? They could be brand new, or they could be as ancient as the Solar System itself. more at #365DaysOfAstro
Sep 23rd: Asteroids: Rubble Piles of the Solar System
Thanks to Hayabusa 2 & OSIRIS-REx, we can learn more about this piles of rubble. A fascinating piles of rubble. Let’s talk about what we’ve learned so far. #365DaysOfAstro
Sep 16th: Reusable Rocket Revolution
We took a hiatus this summer, but SpaceX sure didn’t, with the tests of the Starhopper prototype. Today we’re going to talk about the revolution in reusable rocketry and quest to build a fully reusable two-stage rocket.