Universe Today Podcast

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[Interview+] This Crazy Pizza Slice Shaped Telescope Obliterates JWST Resolution Sep 29, 2025

Show notes

James Webb can't resolve Earth-size planets around Sun-like stars. Not just because of the contrast but also because of the diffraction limit. To do that you need a mirror of 20+ meters. But what if you increase the size in just one direction? You get the required resolution but keep the mirror relatively small and easy to transport. This is the idea behind the Rectangular Mirror Telescope.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/w3QXTW6DaIg

[Space Bites+] Destroying Asteroid YR4 // Bummer for Hycean Worlds // Water on Ryugu Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Should we destroy asteroid 2024 YR4 instead of letting it hit the moon? Why Hycean worlds probably don't exist. Liquid water once flowed on asteroid Ryugu. Space bytes+ a supermassive black hole that is breaking the Eddington limit.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BdGH9jgSjkU

[Q&A] Landing on Venus, Neutron Stars Going Boom, Shape of the Oort Cloud Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Can neutron stars create an equivalent of Type 1a supernovae? Can you land on Venus without a parachute? How do we know the shape of the Oort cloud? And in Q&A+, what's going on with 3I/ATLAS' weird tail situation?

[Q&A] Huge Problem with YouTube, Inter-Species Communication, Earth to Jupiter Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

Could we turn Earth into Jupiter by just adding more atmosphere? Can we train to communicate with aliens by talking to animals? How's YouTube destroying itself and it's getting really dangerous? And in Q&A+ will Vera Rubin find an asteroid on a collision course with Earth?

🔴 [Q&A+] No YT ads. Bonus Question. For FREE
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00:00 Start
00:28 [Schnatz Grummelt] Can we turn the Earth into a Jupiter?
04:13 [InXs] Should we invest time into inter-species communication to prepare to talk to aliens?
08:52 [Aaron T] The big problem with YouTube

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/Of5v9Mr-5wU

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⚖️ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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[Interview] Fighting Moon and Mars Dust with An Electric Shield Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

Dust is a big problem for Moon and Mars. It sticks to everything, breaks things, covers solar panels. So, how do you solve this problem? One possible solution is an electric shield that uses charged surfaces to repel the dust.

👉 [Interview+] No YT ads
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🟣 Guest: Luca Scifoni
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luca-Scifoni

📜 Performance of electrodynamic dust shields with functional surface coatings for lunar dust mitigation
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/395286032_Performance_of_electrodynamic_dust_shields_with_functional_surface_coatings_for_lunar_dust_mitigation

00:00 Intro
02:24 Lunar dust
07:12 Mitigation strategies
10:46 Electrostatic shield
20:49 Not just the Moon
26:07 Potential tests
28:33 Current obsessions
33:11 Final thoughts

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/KPzd40hj3gQ

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🎧 PODCASTS
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⚖️ LICENSE
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[Space Bites] Moon Infrastructure // End of Breakthrough Starshot // Moon Lava Tube Robots Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

Building infrastructure on the Moon, Earth gets a new quasi-satellite, a black hole has wandered away from the center of its galaxy, and a tour through star forming nebulae thanks to Gaia. And on Space Bites+, China’s new neutrino detector comes online.

🔴 [Space Bites+] No ADS. BONUS Story. For FREE:
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00:00 Intro
00:18 Another Step Towards A Working Moon Infrastructure
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/blue-alchemist-is-one-step-closer-to-creating-sustainable-infrastructure-on-the-moon
02:13 Earth has another mini-moon
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/earth-has-another-quasi-satellite-the-asteroid-arjuna-2025-pn7
03:50 JWST Finds An Exoplanet Around A Pulsar Whose Atmosphere Is All Carbon
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jwst-finds-an-exoplanet-around-a-pulsar-whose-atmosphere-is-all-carbon
06:29 Wandering Black Hole
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-wandering-black-hole-has-left-its-galactic-center
09:05 Trio of Robots to Explore Moon Caves
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-trio-of-robots-could-explore-lunar-caves
11:25 Vote results
12:00 Black Hole Stars and Little Red Dots
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/black-hole-stars-could-solve-the-mystery-of-little-red-dots
13:38 GAIA’s Legacy in 3D
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/make-like-a-spacecraft-and-fly-through-gaias-3d-map-of-stellar-nurseries
00:00 More space news
00:00 What happened to Breakthrough Starshot
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-quiet-demise-of-breakthrough-starshot-a-billionaires-interstellar/

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/MkOPvzXKipM

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter
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🎧 PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
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📩 CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com

⚖️ LICENSE
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[Q&A] 3I/ATLAS Comet Special Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

How can we realistically tell if 3I/ATLAS is an alien spaceship or not? Can we turn an interstellar comet into a transmitter? Would the government suppress information about a dangerous asteroid? And in Q&A+, why aren't there more asteroids outside the solar system?

🔴 [Q&A+] No YT ads. Bonus Question. For FREE
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🟣 [Overtime] Even more Q&A
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1720060

00:00 Start
00:30 [Visto Tutti] How could we tell 3i-Atlas as comet, from Avi-Loeb-style alien space junk?
04:25 [Jera King] What’s going to happen when 3I/ATLAS goes through the asteroid belt?
06:33 [Buzz Uka] Can we turn a comet into a transmitter?
10:10 [Todd Szafranski] Will MRO get good images of 3I/ATLAS?
11:57 [Scott S] Would the government suppress information about a dangerous asteroid?
15:12 [Sid vicious] Small channel recommendations

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/3yed1iFQ9Aw

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter
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🎧 PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
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📩 CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com

⚖️ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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[Q&A] Naming Planet X, Cats in Space, Stars Blocking Galaxies Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

Who will name Planet X if/when it is discovered? How will cats deal with the toilet situation if they go to space? Can a star block an entire galaxy? And in Q&A+ what happens if we find proof that there's no life elsewhere?

🔴 [Q&A+] No YT ads. Bonus Question. For FREE
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🟣 [Overtime] Even more Q&A
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1720060

00:00 Start
00:28 [Aaron Brinkerhoff] How sure are we that planet 9 exists?
01:25 [Dem Pilafian] Who will name the Planet X?
03:40 [Steven Kolins] When does Vera Rubin go live live and not just testing?
06:47 [Eric Rouleau] Why study what is outside of out galaxy since we will never go there?
10:24 [churchdiscography] How could my cats use a cat pan in space?
11:18 [Ayush Agarwal] Can stars block entire galaxies?
13:02 [Christopher Kirby] Gravity in space
16:31 [laladieladada] Gravity from the Pillars of Creation
17:06 [Edward] What happens if somebody dies in space?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/wYN5kIKVS58

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter
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🎧 PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/

📩 CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com

⚖️ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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[Q&A] Hiding Earth from Aliens, Truth About Pyramids, Crashing Into a Black Hole Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

Can we make Earth invisible for possible alien invaders? What's the deal with the pyramids and their alignment to stars? Can an interstellar ship casually crash into a black hole? And what's the difference between cosmology and astronomy after all?

🔴 [Q&A+] No ads. Bonus question. For FREE
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00:00 Start
00:27 [Rod Tolosa] Possible life on Venus
03:16 [abstractedaway] Heium-rich dwarf stars as techosignatures
04:00 [kenji] The truth about pyramids
06:25 [Jakub Polášek] Most interesting citizen science projects in astronomy/space field right now
07:21 [Osiris Mpg] Could an interstellar ship crash into a black hole?
08:34 [FunkyCritter] Will Earth's spin stop eventually?
09:12 [Keiichi S] Naked-eye nebula
11:03 [Nolan Mosley] LEO satellites and the ozone layer
13:11 [Nanp90] Making the Earth invisible for alienes

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/cuXXPrp3_PU

📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter
No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter

🎧 PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
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📩 CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com

⚖️ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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[Space Bites] HUGE “Life on Mars” Announcement // 3I ATLAS Grows a Tail // JWST Looks at TRAPPIST-1e Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

Has Perseverance found signs of life on Mars? Webb scans TRAPPIST-1e for signs of an atmosphere. 3I/ATLAS grows a tail, and could get a mission. And on Space Bites+, Webb sees a cloud of methane around the dwarf planet Makemake.

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00:00 Intro
00:21 NASA Says Perseverance Discovered Signs of Life on Mars
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-says-mars-rover-discovered-potential-biosignature-last-year/
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-exoplanet-trappist-1-e-takes-its-turn-in-the-jwsts-spotlight
09:18 3I/ATLAS Grows a Tail
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-gemini-south-telescope-takes-a-turn-imaging-the-interstellar-comet-3iatlas
11:18 Mission Concept to Catch 3I/ATLAS
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/researchers-at-swri-produced-a-mission-concept-for-exploring-interstellar-objects-like-3iatlas
13:34 Calisto’s Footprints in Jupiter Aurora
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/juno-detects-callistos-footprints-in-jupiters-aurorae
14:53 Vote results
https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
15:35 A Giant Burst of Energy In Need Of An Explanation
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-giant-burst-of-energy-in-need-of-an-explanation
17:34 Titan Dragonfly Continues Development
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/dragonfly/2025/09/08/nasas-dragonfly-soaring-through-key-development-test-activities/
18:59 Amazing JWST Image
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-glittering-stellar-nursery-shines-in-new-jwst-image
20:14 More space news to your inbox
20:58 Bonus story: Methane on Makemake
21:25 State of science journalism