Astronomy Cast
Astronomy Cast offers you a fact based journey through the cosmos. Each week Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela Gay (SIUE / Slacker Astronomy) take on topics ranging from the nearby planets to ubiquitous dark matter.
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Ep. 334: Chelyabinsk
Around this time last year a space rock crashed into ...
Around this time last year a space rock crashed into the Earth above Chelyabinsk, Russia. It brightened the skies for hundreds of kilometers, broke windows and injured many people. Let’s look back at the event. What happened, and what did we learn?
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Ep. 333: When Worlds Collide
Just take a look at the surface of the Moon ...
Just take a look at the surface of the Moon and you can see it experienced a savage beating in the past. Turns out, the whole Solar System is a cosmic shooting gallery, with stuff crashing into other stuff. It sure sounds violent, but then, we wouldn't be
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Ep. 332: Stellar Collisions
Out here in the Milky Way’s suburbs, stellar collisions are ...
Out here in the Milky Way’s suburbs, stellar collisions are unheard of. But there are places in the galaxy where stars whiz past each other, and collisions can happen. When stars collide, it’s a catastrophic event, and the stellar wreckage is visible half
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Ep. 331: Arthur C. Clarke’s Technologies
In our previous episode, we introduced Arthur C. Clarke, the ...
In our previous episode, we introduced Arthur C. Clarke, the amazing man and science fiction writer. Today we’ll be discussing his legacy and ideas on space exploration. You’ll be amazed to hear how many of the ideas we take for granted were invented or j
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Ep. 330: Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke was one of the greatest science fiction ...
Arthur C. Clarke was one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. He defined the genre, and revolutionized our ideas about what it will take to become a true space faring civilization. In the first of our two part series on Arthur C. Clarke, w
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Ep. 329: Telescope Making, Part 3: Space Telescopes
As we’ve said before, all telescopes really want to be ...
As we’ve said before, all telescopes really want to be in space. In part 3 of our series on amateur telescope making, we bring you up to speed on the final frontier: amateurs building space telescopes. The hardware and software is available off the shelf,
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Ep. 328: Telescope Making, Part 2: Serious Gear
Some astronomers are control freaks. It’s not enough to buy ...
Some astronomers are control freaks. It’s not enough to buy a telescope, they want to craft every part of the experience with their own hands. If you’re ready, and willing to get your hands dirty (and covered in glass dust), you can join thousands of amat
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Ep. 327: Telescope Making, Part 1: Toys and Kits
Why pick up a low quality, wobbly telescope from the ...
Why pick up a low quality, wobbly telescope from the department store when you can craft your own - just like Galileo, and all the great astronomers from history. For a minor investment, you can build a worthy telescope out of spare parts and high quality
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Ep. 326: Atmospheric Dust
When you consider the hazards of spaceflight, it’s hard to ...
When you consider the hazards of spaceflight, it’s hard to get worked up about dust bunnies. And yet, atmospheric dust is going to be one of the biggest problems astronauts will face when they reach the surface of other worlds. Where does this dust come f
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Ep. 325: Cold Fusion
The Universe is filled with hot fusion, in the cores ...
The Universe is filled with hot fusion, in the cores of stars. And scientists have even been able to replicate this stellar process in expensive experiments. But wouldn’t it be amazing if you could produce energy from fusion without all that equipment, an
