Featured Podcast Episodes
The Planetary Society Radio Podcast
15 Apr 2014, 05:00 UTC
Join the party as we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of humanity’s transition to spacefaring species with Yuri’s Night Executive Director Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, Virgin Galactic CEO and Yuri’s Night co-founder George Whitesides, and astronaut Ron Garan, who heads Fragile Oasis.
Planetary Radio Live at Yuri’s Night—Under Space Shuttle Endeavour
15 Apr 2014, 05:00 UTC
Join the party as we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of humanity’s transition to spacefaring species with Yuri’s Night Executive Director Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, Virgin Galactic CEO and Yuri’s Night co-founder George Whitesides, and astronaut Ron Garan, who heads Fragile Oasis.
StarDate Online
13 Apr 2014, 05:00 UTC
If the Moon’s orbit around Earth were aligned just a little differently, human history might have played out a little differently, too. That’s because eclipses of the Sun and Moon have played pivotal roles in some historical events. Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow, while solar eclipses occur when the Moon crosses in front of the Sun, blocking it from view. But the Moon’s orbit is tilted with respect to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. So most months, the Moon, Sun, and Earth don’t line up properly to cause an eclipse. The geometry is right only a few times per year, so any given location on Earth sees a total lunar eclipse every year or so, and a total solar eclipse every few decades. Because eclipses are rare, they were hard to predict — and that made them scary. In 413 BC, for example, the army of Athens suffered a major defeat when it delayed retreating after a lunar eclipse. And two millennia later, Christopher Columbus and his men avoided starvation when Columbus accurately predicted another eclipse, causing hostile natives in the New World to bring them food. If the Moon’s orbit were perfectly aligned with ...
Lunar Eclipse
13 Apr 2014, 05:00 UTC
If the Moon’s orbit around Earth were aligned just a little differently, human history might have played out a little differently, too. That’s because eclipses of the Sun and Moon have played pivotal roles in some historical events. Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow, while solar eclipses occur when the Moon crosses in front of the Sun, blocking it from view. But the Moon’s orbit is tilted with respect to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. So most months, the Moon, Sun, and Earth don’t line up properly to cause an eclipse. The geometry is right only a few times per year, so any given location on Earth sees a total lunar eclipse every year or so, and a total solar eclipse every few decades. Because eclipses are rare, they were hard to predict — and that made them scary. In 413 BC, for example, the army of Athens suffered a major defeat when it delayed retreating after a lunar eclipse. And two millennia later, Christopher Columbus and his men avoided starvation when Columbus accurately predicted another eclipse, causing hostile natives in the New World to bring them food. If the Moon’s orbit were perfectly aligned with ...
The Space Show
10 Apr 2014, 16:33 UTC
Guests: John Batchelor, Marcia Smith Dr. David Livingston. Topics: NASA implementing sanctions against Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. Remember, your Amazon Purchases Can Help Support The Space Show/OGLF (www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm). ...
John Batchelor Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 4-9-14
10 Apr 2014, 16:33 UTC
Guests: John Batchelor, Marcia Smith Dr. David Livingston. Topics: NASA implementing sanctions against Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. Remember, your Amazon Purchases Can Help Support The Space Show/OGLF (www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm). ...
365 Days of Astronomy
10 Apr 2014, 11:00 UTC
Our hosts are Ralph Wilkins & Paul Hill. Summary of content: The Discussion: This month we briefly discuss the big astronomy discoveries from this month, we look back to National Astronomy Week. The Audio Journal: Ralph & Paul headed out to the busy streets of London to show Jupiter and the craters of the moon to the public. The News: In the news, we have a discussion with Jeni Millard and Sebastian Khan from Cardiff University about the discovery of gravitational waves; we discuss the auroral display that headed south and the ensuing scandals caused by the Daily Mail; we have a possible way of detecting dark matter and a theory that dark matter may have killed the dinosaurs; a new minor planet emerges beyond the orbit of Pluto and yet another minor planet is found to have its own ring system. The 5 Minute Concept: In the 5 Minute Concept, Paul poetically explains the history and science behind that false dawn that plagued observers for centuries, the zodiacal light. The Interview: This month, Ralph speaks with Dr Chris North, astrophysicist at Cardiff University and presenter of the BBC's Sky at Night programme, about the detection of gravitational waves and ...
Awesome Astronomy for April 2014
10 Apr 2014, 11:00 UTC
Our hosts are Ralph Wilkins & Paul Hill. Summary of content: The Discussion: This month we briefly discuss the big astronomy discoveries from this month, we look back to National Astronomy Week. The Audio Journal: Ralph & Paul headed out to the busy streets of London to show Jupiter and the craters of the moon to the public. The News: In the news, we have a discussion with Jeni Millard and Sebastian Khan from Cardiff University about the discovery of gravitational waves; we discuss the auroral display that headed south and the ensuing scandals caused by the Daily Mail; we have a possible way of detecting dark matter and a theory that dark matter may have killed the dinosaurs; a new minor planet emerges beyond the orbit of Pluto and yet another minor planet is found to have its own ring system. The 5 Minute Concept: In the 5 Minute Concept, Paul poetically explains the history and science behind that false dawn that plagued observers for centuries, the zodiacal light. The Interview: This month, Ralph speaks with Dr Chris North, astrophysicist at Cardiff University and presenter of the BBC's Sky at Night programme, about the detection of gravitational waves and ...
Cheap Astronomy
10 Apr 2014, 09:39 UTC
It's not all warm porridge out there.
190. Dear Cheap Astronomy - Episode 013 - 10 April 2014
10 Apr 2014, 09:39 UTC
It's not all warm porridge out there.
StarDate Online
10 Apr 2014, 05:00 UTC
Black widows lurk among the stars. They slowly destroy their companions, ingesting part and sweeping away the remains. These nasty-sounding objects are pulsars — the spinning corpses of once-mighty stars that blasted themselves apart. All that’s left is their crushed cores, known as neutron stars. Some neutron stars spin, emitting beams of energy that sweep across the cosmos like a lighthouse. From Earth, we see such a beam as on-and-off pulses — hence the name “pulsar.” Some pulsars have companions — “normal” stars like the Sun, or perhaps the “failed” stars known as brown dwarfs. Radiation from the pulsar heats the companion, causing it to puff up and lose its grip on the hot gas at its surface. Some of the gas is pulled in by the pulsar, causing it to spin faster — up to hundreds of times per second. But pulling material off the surface of its companion is only half of the story of a black widow. In some cases, the pulsar’s radiation also erodes the surface of its companion like a blowtorch, with gas streaming away from the pulsar. Over time, the combination of accretion — pulling material into the pulsar — and erosion — blasting ...
Black Widow Pulsars
10 Apr 2014, 05:00 UTC
Black widows lurk among the stars. They slowly destroy their companions, ingesting part and sweeping away the remains. These nasty-sounding objects are pulsars — the spinning corpses of once-mighty stars that blasted themselves apart. All that’s left is their crushed cores, known as neutron stars. Some neutron stars spin, emitting beams of energy that sweep across the cosmos like a lighthouse. From Earth, we see such a beam as on-and-off pulses — hence the name “pulsar.” Some pulsars have companions — “normal” stars like the Sun, or perhaps the “failed” stars known as brown dwarfs. Radiation from the pulsar heats the companion, causing it to puff up and lose its grip on the hot gas at its surface. Some of the gas is pulled in by the pulsar, causing it to spin faster — up to hundreds of times per second. But pulling material off the surface of its companion is only half of the story of a black widow. In some cases, the pulsar’s radiation also erodes the surface of its companion like a blowtorch, with gas streaming away from the pulsar. Over time, the combination of accretion — pulling material into the pulsar — and erosion — blasting ...
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Video and Audio Podcasts
9 Apr 2014, 07:00 UTC
NASA tests a supersonic parachute under Mars-like conditions for future exploration.
LDSD: We Brake for Mars
9 Apr 2014, 07:00 UTC
NASA tests a supersonic parachute under Mars-like conditions for future exploration.
StarStuff
9 Apr 2014, 02:45 UTC
BOSS quasars give most precise data ever about the expansion of the early universe and offer clues about the nature of dark energy. Also; an ocean discovered on Saturn's moon Enceladus, and the exact age of the Earth and Moon.
Quasars measure how fast early universe expanded
9 Apr 2014, 02:45 UTC
BOSS quasars give most precise data ever about the expansion of the early universe and offer clues about the nature of dark energy. Also; an ocean discovered on Saturn's moon Enceladus, and the exact age of the Earth and Moon.
365 Days of Astronomy
8 Apr 2014, 11:00 UTC
Published on Mar 26, 2014 *Overview* A global team of scientists and engineers are all working toward constructing missions to land on, travel across, and send video back from the Moon. With this new Google Hangout on Air series we will introduce you to the men and women behind each of these planned missions and bring you all the latest developments from +Google Lunar XPRIZE . *This Week* Join guests Robert Boehme and Karsten Becker from Part-Time Scientists (@PTS) and John Thornton from Astrobotic for a 50 minute discussion hosted by Pamela L. Gay. - Part-Time Scientists will highlight their upcoming Analog Mission Simulation - Astrobotic will discuss their chosen landing site. http://ptscientists.com/ http://www.astrobotic.com/ http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is a project that is publishing one podcast per day, 5 to 10 minutes in duration, for all 365 days of the year. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people around the world. We are looking for individuals, schools, companies and clubs to provide 5 - 10 minutes of audio for the daily podcast. You can do as ...
