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Universe Today Podcast
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Episodes
Universe Today Podcast811: Mission to Uranus, More SLS Problems, Ban for Anti-Satellite Tests | Space Bites e2
Planetary Science Decadal Survey recommends a mission to Uranus, SLS is set for another delay, Perseverance sees a Phobos solar eclipse, all Hubble's images in…
Universe Today Podcast808: SOFIA the Flying Telescope with Dr. Margaret Meixner
My guest today is Dr. Margaret Meixner, the Director of Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Science Mission Operations. Previous to this…
Universe Today Podcast809: Turning the Sun Into a Giant Telescope with Dr. Slava Turyshev
My guest today is Dr. Slava Turyshev, a physicist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He helped to solve the Pioneer Anomaly, and is developing a mission…
Universe Today Podcast810: Detecting Primordial Black Holes with Celeste Keith
My guest today is Celeste Keith, a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Celeste and her team are searching for ways to detect the presence of…
Universe Today Podcast807: True Shape of the Universe, Asteroid Mining, Alien Astronomers | Q&A 180
In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I provide the exact number of alien worlds that could detect the Earth, are we made of heavier elements made in…
Universe Today Podcast806: $500 000 for Moon Dust, Boson Breaking Physics, New Approach to Space Tourism | News Digest e1
Perseverance found its parachute, JWST cooling down its experiments, Standard Model once again in danger, Space Force releasing data to scientists, yet another…
Universe Today Podcast805: W Boson Breaking the Standard Model with Dr. Paul Sutter
Particle physicists have announced an exciting discovery about the W Boson particle that challenges the Standard Model of Physics. To help me understand what…
Universe Today Podcast804: What Is Dark Matter Made Of with Dr. Surjeet Rajendran
My guest today is Dr. Surjeet Rajendran, a physics professor at Johns Hopkins University. In addition to his teaching, Dr. Rajendran's research is in…
Universe Today Podcast803: ILLEGAL Moon Residents, Space Power Plants, Center of the Universe | Q&A 179
In this week's questions show, I explain how other planets can have geostationary orbits, if sending tardigrades to the Moon is a violation of the Outerspace…
Universe Today Podcast802: Directly Imaging Exoplanets with Dr. Thayne Currie
My guest today is Dr. Thayne Currie, an astrophysicist at NASA-Ames Research Center and the Subaru Telescope. Dr. Currie was part of a team that directly…
Universe Today Podcast800: Why the Universe Is Silent with Dr. Robin Hanson
My guest today is Dr. Robin Hanson, an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute…
Universe Today Podcast801: Starship Updates and Mars City Perspectives with Chris Prophet
My guest today is Chris Prophet, a freelance writer who has been covering the rise of SpaceX. He has written several books, including SpaceX from the Ground…
Universe Today Podcast799: Navigation in Space, Sizes of Black Holes and Planet 9 | Q&A 178
In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I explain how big black holes are, what coordinate system astronomers use to map objects in the sky, and what…
Universe Today Podcast798: Limits of Kardashev Scale, Artificial Stars, Can We Touch Jupiter | Q&A 177
In this week's questions and answers show, I answer the question: could we build a star? How far will humans realistically explore within the Solar System? Is…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 797: Fusion Rockets, Ditching Heat Shields, Looking Beyond the Edge of the Universe | Q&A 176
In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I explain how a more powerful rocket could reduce the need of a heat shield, if we could detect objects beyond…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 796: Exploring the mysteries of Triton with Dr. Jason Hofgartner
My guest today is Dr. Jason Hofgartner, a planetary scientist specializing in icy worlds of the Solar System. Jason wrote a recent paper about the nature of…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 795: Q&A 175: How Do Astronomers Measure Redshift? And More...
In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how astronomers use the Doppler Effect to know if objects are moving towards or away from us, I give my…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 791: Laser Sailing with Matthew Campbell
My guest today is Matthew Campbell, a Mechanical Engineer, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 792: Preparing for James Webb with John Mather
My guest today is Dr. John Mather, Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Mather received a…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 793: Building an Artificial Magnetosphere with Elena D'Onghia
My guest today is Dr. Elena D'Onghia, an associate professor at the University of Wisconson--Madison's Department of Astronomy. Her research is focused on the…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 794: Q&A 174: Could We Mine Jupiter for Hydrogen? And More...
In this week's episode, I explain how we could use Jupiter as a source of fuel for our fusion reactors, what it means to say there's a scientific consensus…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 789: Searching for Technosignatures with Dr. Chenoa Tremblay
My guest today is Dr. Chenoa Tremblay, a Post Doctoral Researcher at the SETI Institute. Dr. Tremblay and her team used the Murchison Widefield Array to scan…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 790: Q&A 173: What If We Didn't Have Space Telescopes? And More...
In this week's questions show, I explain how astronomy would be different if we didn't have space telescopes, what was the Universe like shortly after the Big…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 788: Q&A 172: Why Do We Assume Extraterrestrials Will Be Hostile? And More...
In this week's questions and answers show, I explain why people might see extraterrestrials as a threat. What could we learn about astronomy if we lived at the…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 787: Q&A 171: Could James Webb Detect Type 2 or 3 Civilizations? And More...
In this week's episode, I explain why James Webb is actually the perfect telescope for detecting advanced civilizations, could we hide the Earth from snooping…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 786: Peering Into the Heart of a Blazar with Dr. Andrei Lobanov
My guest today is Dr. Andrei Lobanov, a staff astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Bonn, Germany. Dr. Lobanov was part of a team that…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 785: Getting Astroquizzical with Dr. Jillian Scudder
My guest today is Dr. Jillian Scudder, a PhD astrophysicist and assistant professor at Oberlin College. In addition to her teaching and research work, Dr…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 784: Q&A 170: Can We See The Stars In Andromeda? And More...
In this week's QA, I talk about how we can see individual stars in a galaxy like Andromeda, how we know the Universe is bigger than we can observe, and whether…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 783: Q&A 169: Could Plants Actually Survive on the Surface of Mars? And More...
In this week's episode, I talk about the possibility of a copy of the Hubble Space Telescope, if satellites could relay information like a mesh network, and if…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 780: Q&A 168: Why Aren't There Cameras On James Webb? And More...
In this week's Questions Show I explain why James Webb doesn't have any cameras on board, what the Universe is expanding into, and what is the point of…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 781: Exoplanet Atmospheres with Dr. Joanna Barstow
My guest today is Dr. Joanna Barstow, a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at University College London. Dr. Barstow specializes in planetary science…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 782: Going Interstellar with Andreas Hein
My guest today is Andreas Hein, Executive Director, Chairman Technical Research Committee of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies. Andreas is part of a team…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 779: Q&A 167: Will James Webb redo the Hubble Deep Field? And More...
In this week's final 2021 QA, I explain why landing on the Moon could make it difficult for other spacecraft to land, if binary planets could exist, and if…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 776: Q&A 166: Does an Infinite Universe Solve the Fermi Paradox? And More...
In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how an infinite Universe could be the ultimate answer to the Fermi Paradox, where the energy for tidal…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 777: Discovering Earth-Sized Planets with Andrea Lin
My guest today is Andrea Lin, a graduate student at the Eberly College of Science at Penn State University. Andrea is working with the NEID Spectrograph, a…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 778: Seeing the Clearest View of the Universe with Michael Zemcov
My guest today is Dr. Michael Zemcov, an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Zemcov has proposed putting a telescope out beyond…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 775: Q&A 165: How Could We Explore the Oceans of Europa? And More...
In this week's live questions and answers show, I explain why NASA doesn't build standardized rovers, how we know the Universe is approximately 13.8 billion…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 774: Q&A 164: Could Too Much Gravity Prevent a Civilization Going to Space? And More...
In this week's live questions and answers show, I speculate what kind of civilization could be permanently stuck on the surface of their planet, if rival…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 773: Searching for Exomoons with Alex Teachey
My guest today is Dr. Alex Teachey, a Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taipei, Taiwan…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 772: Q&A 163: Is There No Way to Repair James Webb in Space? And More...
In this week's episode, I answer questions about the speed of supernovae, if a black hole can pull itself apart, is there really no way to repair James Webb…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 771: QA 162: Could We Build a Particle Accelerator on the Moon? And More...
In this week's live Q&A, I explain what would happen if we build a particle accelerator around the entire Moon (and what would happen if it generated a black…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 768: Q&A 161: Could You Have a Planet Made of Water? And More...
In this week's questions show, I answer if you could have a planet made entirely of water, is it our duty to spread life in the Universe? Could Planet 9 be a…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 769: NASA's Astrobiology Vision with Mary Voytek
My guest today is Dr. Mary Voytek, the director of NASA's Astrobiology Program since 2008. Dr. Voytek and others from NASA are proposing a new 7-step framework…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 770: Using Pulsars to Detect Gravitational Waves: with Boris Goncharov
My guest today is Dr. Boris Goncharov, a researcher at the Gran Sasso Science Institute. Boris is part of the team using the precise signals from pulsars as a…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 766: Q&A 160: Could We Transmit DNA to Another Civilization? And More...
In this week's questions show, I answer questions about ice on rockets, the maximum gravitational slingshot, could black holes pull you out of black holes, and…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 767: Collecting Samples with Perseverance: Justin Simon, NASA
My guest today is Dr. Justin Simon, a planetary scientist within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the Johnson Space…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 765: Q&A 159: How Long Can Life Survive? And More...
In this week's questions show, I theorize how long life can survive in the Universe, could we detect a wormhole in the Solar System, what's happening with the…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 764: Habitable Hycean Worlds: An interview with Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan
My guest today is Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, a PhD astronomer at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Madhusudhan is one of the researchers who investigated the…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 763: The Enceladus Vent Explorer: An interview with Dr. Hiro Ono
My guest today is Dr. Hiro Ono, the Group Leader of the Robotic Surface Mobility Group for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Dr. Ono is been awarded a NIAC prize to…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 762: Q&A 158: Does a Titan Sample Return Mission Make Sense? And More...
In this week's live questions and answer show, I explain how astronomers measure the distance to gravitational wave events, how clean are spacecraft sent to…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 761: Q&A 157: Where Will We Get the Stuff to Build in Space? And More...
In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how we'll get the matter to build stuff out in space, what about the matter for a Dyson Sphere? How long…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 760: Q&A 156: Are We Seeing the Same Galaxy Many Times? And More...
In this week's questions show, I explain why we don't see the same thing multiple times as we look out into the Universe, could a planet orbit in the Lagrange…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 759: Q&A 155: Could We Build a Base on Mercury? And More...
In this week's questions show, I jump into the controversy between Blue Origin and SpaceX, explain why bigger telescopes are better, and talk about how Mercury…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 756: Q&A 154: How Big are Meteors? And More...
The new season has begun! We're back with an all-new series of question shows. In this week's episode, I provide a quick guide to seeing fireballs (bolides)…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 757: Interview: Dr. Markus Janson, Starshades for Ground Telescopes
My guest today is Dr. Markus Janson, an astronomy professor at Stockholm University. Dr. Janson and his co-authors have recently published a study…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 758: Interview: Dr. Hamsa Padmanabhan, Peering into the Cosmic Dawn
My guest today is Dr. Hamsa Padmanabhan, a cosmologist at the University of Geneva. Dr. Padmanabhan's work involves the investigation of Cosmic Dawn, the…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 755: Q&A 153: How High Can Bacteria Survive? And More...
In the season finale of my questions show, I talk about high-altitude bacteria, traveling into the future, does it make sense to go back to University, and…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 754: Q&A 152: Could We Detect Dyson Swarms? And More...
In this week's questions show, I explain why Dyson Spheres (and Swarms) should actually be pretty easy to detect across the Universe. If it's possible to…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 752: Q&A 151: Would They Warn Us About the End of the World? And More...
In this week's questions show, I explain what would happen if scientists discovered an existential threat to humanity. Would they let us know, or keep it…
Universe Today PodcastEpisode 753: Interview: Prof. Lee Cronin - Detecting the Chemistry of Life
My guest today is Professor Lee Cronin from the University of Glasgow. Dr. Cronin investigates the chemistry of life and has developed methods that could help…