Astronomy Cast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 644: Is Earth… Normal? May 30, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 644: Is Earth… Normal? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We've now discovered thousands of exoplanets, we're learning more and more about the kinds of planetary systems there are out there across the Universe. But are planets like Earth unique or totally rare?

Ep. 643: Sagittarius A* May 17, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 643: Sagittarius A* by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay All the waiting is over, we've finally seen the image of the event horizon from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. Different shaped blobs! And a black circle in the middle. What are we looking at? Today we're going to explain the picture, and what's next for the Event Horizon Telescope.

Ep. 642: Is the Sun... Normal? May 16, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 642: Is the Sun... Normal? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We've always assumed that we lived in a perfectly normal star system with a normal star and normal planets. It's all... normal. But with our modern understanding of billions of stars, just how normal is our Sun, anyway?

Ep. 641: Can Planets Be Alive? May 09, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 641: Can Planets Be Alive? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The Earth is teeming with life, but the upper atmosphere to kilometers underground. There's no question that our planet has life. But is our planet itself alive? This is a question posed back in the 1970s as the Gaia hypothesis, and it got its share of criticism. Some new ideas have been proposed to bring this hypothesis to the modern era as we search for exoplanets.

Ep. 640: Survey Science: Newest Projects & Results May 02, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 640: Survey Science: Newest Projects & Results by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay There are general-purpose telescopes and missions that astronomers can use to study specific objects. And there are the survey missions that look at the entire sky, which astronomers can use to answer questions about the Universe. We've talked about surveys in the past, but the landscape is changing quickly so it's time for an update.

Ep. 639: Big Qs Update: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Etc. Apr 18, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 639: Big Qs Update: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Etc. by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Knowledge moves forward, and so, we must move with it. Today we'll give you an update on some of the most fascinating, fast-changing topics in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology.

Ep. 638: Simulating Space Missions Apr 11, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 638: Simulating Space Missions by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Although humans have never actually been to Mars, explorers have simulated many aspects of Mars missions here on Earth. There are missions under the ocean, on the tops of volcanoes, in the harsh Canadian north, and even in bed that simulate the limitations of spaceflight, and teach us many of the lessons to prepare us for the real thing

Ep. 637: Machine Learning in Astronomy Apr 04, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 637: Machine Learning in Astronomy by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Computers are a big part of astronomy, but mostly they've been relegated to doing calculations. But recent developments in machine learning have changed everything, giving computers the ability to do jobs that humans could only do in the past.

Ep. 636: Blowing Bubbles Mar 28, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 636: Blowing Bubbles by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We think of space as a vacuum, but there are regions of different density. There are winds blowing from stars and other objects that clear out vast bubbles in space, and look absolutely fantastic in pictures. And they might have been critical for Earth to even exist in the first place.

Ep. 635: Jets: When Magnetic Fields Fling Things Mar 21, 2022

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 635: Jets: When Magnetic Fields Fling Things by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay As astronomers look out across the Universe. They see various objects spewing jets of material light years into space. What causes these jets? And what impact do they have on the Universe?

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