Universe Today Podcast

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[Q&A] Extending JWST's Life, Views from Dragonfly, Roadblock to Mars May 27, 2025

Show notes

Can we refuel James Webb at L2 when it runs out of propellant? What will the Dragonfly octocopter see on the surface of Titan? Will discovering life on Mars stop us from going there? And in our extended Q&A+ on Patreon, what are space things I'm hoping to see in my lifetime? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

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00:00 Start
00:30 [Monty Skeetch] Will Dragonfly see rains or rivers on Titan?
01:35 [Ιwanna_kiIImyself] Why does JWST do figure of 8 movements at its Lagrange L2 point?
03:35 [SantiagoMK] Can JWST be refuelled?
04:35 [beau danner] Which moon is best for Venus?
05:25 [Billy Griffith] Will finding life on Mars stop us from going there?
07:11 [veerendra kumar] Do double and triple black hole systems exist?
08:29 [kLONDIKE69 NONE] Can we see asteroid belts around other stars?
09:04 [Tim G] My position on Planet 9/X
10:07 [Kasie Ream] Can Betelgeuse explosion be just a flop?
11:51 [Mufasa Putasa] What have we learned from gravitational waves so far?
13:54 [Eric D. Wade] What happened to the BEAM module?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
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[Interview] 3 Key Technologies to Start Terraforming Mars in Our Lifetime May 26, 2025

Show notes

Terraforming Mars is usually considered in the realm of science fiction. But actually we have technology to start doing it in our lifetime and achieve some meaningful results it a timescale of tens of years, not thousands. What are they? Finding out in this interview.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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🟣 Guest: Dr. Erika Alden DeBenedictis
https://www.erikadebenedictis.com/

📜 The Case for Mars Terraforming Research
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02548-0

00:00 Intro
01:34 Why Mars sucks
02:23 Old ideas to terraform Mars
11:00 New technologies
31:52 Timescales
37:00 Ethical consequences
46:39 Current obsessions
53:39 Final thoughts

📺 VIDEO VERSION
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[Space Bites] Dangers of A Super Solar Storm // Jupiter Twice The Size // Crazy Moon Landing System May 23, 2025

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Jupiter could have been twice as big in the past, the challenges of landing on the Moon, the record for the farthest galaxy has been broken. And in our Patreon edition, how the location of gas plays a role in star formation.

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00:00 Intro
00:19 Jupiter was 2 times bigger
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-study-suggests-that-jupiter-was-once-twice-as-big-as-it-is-today
02:05 Moon landing pads
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/lunar-landing-pads-will-need-to-be-tough
03:41 Moon catching device
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/building-a-giant-catchers-mitt-on-the-moon
05:59 The world isn't ready for a big solar storm
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/is-the-world-ready-for-a-catastrophic-solar-storm
08:45 New record for JWST
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-new-farthest-galaxy-has-been-found-by-webb-only-280-million-years-after-the-big-bang
10:54 The mystery of little red dots deepens
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-deepening-mystery-around-the-jwsts-early-galaxies
12:42 Vote results
13:17 Habitable moons of Jupiter
- https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/staf794/8137882?rss=1
14:57 Terraforming Mars
- https://www.universetoday.com/articles/terraforming-mars-could-be-within-reach
17:34 Guide to Space
18:21 [Space Bites+] bonus story
18:31 Dangers from space

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[Q&A] My Favourite Space Image, Shape of Oort Cloud, The Concept of Aliens May 22, 2025

Show notes

When did humans first think of aliens? Why is Oort cloud a sphere when the Solar System is a disk? Which space image is my favourite? And in our Q&A+ on patreon, is search for life only limited to looking for water? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

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🚀 [Overtime] Even more Q&As
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00:00 Start
00:30 [Paige Potter] When did humans first think of aliens?
03:24 [Paul_in_Tucson] Why is Oort cloud a sphere while Solar System is a disk?
06:51 [Walter Hartman] Are dark matter and dark energy 100% real?
11:33 [Scotty-Too-Hottie] How long before our Sun turns into a red giant?
13:34 [Heya Sasha] My favourite space image

📺 VIDEO VERSION
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[Q&A] Lasers VS Space Junk, Missions Overdelivering, Asteroids Already Mined May 20, 2025

Show notes

Which space mission would I save from cancellation if I could? Is fighting space junk with lasers a good idea or not? What if we find asteroids that have already been mined? And in our Q&A+ on patreon, how do we measure masses of black holes ? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

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🚀 [Overtime] Even more Q&As
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00:00 Start
00:28 [AshStar] Which mission would I save from cancellation?
05:54 [Fearthelettuce] Why missions last longer than their projected lifespan?
09:38 [Briar Patch] Lasers vs space junk. Good or bad?
12:55 [Marie la Misérable] Adblocks with our videos?
13:31 [MikeD] What if asteroids have already been mined?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/hxe3XDefWeA

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[Interview] How Liquid Water Can Hide on Mars May 19, 2025

Show notes

So far we couldn't find liquid water on Mars. But there are still places where it can hide from us. One of them is pockets under the ice. How can it exist there and which possible ways do we have to detect it? Finding out in this interview.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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🟣 Guest: Dr. Aditya Khuller
https://apl.uw.edu/people/profile.php?last_name=Khuller&first_name=Aditya

00:00 Intro
01:51 Liquid water on Mars
08:16 Habitability
11:57 Where on Mars could liquid water be?
17:34 How can we detect liquid water
29:52 Current obsessions
32:49 Final thoughts and more interviews

📺 VIDEO VERSION
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[Space Bites] Eyes for Plato // Water Ice in Another Star System // Venus Tectonics May 16, 2025

Show notes

ESA’s PLATO mission gets its eyes installed, Webb finds water ice in another star system, could it be dark matter and not dark energy that’s evolving over time? And in our longer [Space Bites+] on Patreon, researchers have found that hardy bacteria are evolving to thrive in spacecraft clean rooms.

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00:00 Intro
00:20 Plato gets its eyes
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-plato-mission-just-got-dozens-of-cameras-installed
02:05 Cubesat telescope
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-cubesat-to-capture-a-supernovas-uv-spectrum
04:14 Water ice in another star system
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/water-ice-found-in-another-star-system
06:34 Evolving Dark Matter
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/could-dark-matter-be-evolving-over-time-and-not-dark-energy
09:13 Vote results
https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/community
09:55 Everything evaporates with Hawking radiation
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/everything-in-the-universe-could-decay-from-hawking-radiation
11:25 Venus tectonics
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/venus-might-have-tectonic-activity-after-all
13:25 Auroras on Jupiter
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/webb-watches-auroras-dance-in-jupiters-atmosphere
15:23 More space news in Guide to Space
16:13 [Space Bites+] bonus story
16:28 Patreon Q&A

📺 VIDEO VERSION
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[Interview] How Quantum Coronagraphs Will Help Us See Earth-Like Planets Around Sun-Like Stars May 14, 2025

Show notes

Our current tech doesn't allow us to block light from Sun-like stars to see Earth-like planets. The brightness difference is just too high. One of the ways we can achieve it is with quantum coronagraphs. What are they and how do they work? Finding out in this interview.

👉 [Interview+] Bonus Part. No YT ads. FREE
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🟣 Guest: Nico Deshler
https://github.com/NicoDeshler

📜 Experimental Demonstration of a Quantum-Optimal Coronagraph Using Spatial Mode Sorters
https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.12776

00:00 Intro
02:26 What is a quantum coronagraph
10:39 How to make one
19:20 How can a quantum coronagraph be used
22:02 Applications for ground-based telescopes
27:48 What's next?
34:14 Current obsessions
38:54 Final thoughts

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

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[Q&A] Cubesats VS Big Missions, EM Protection from Space Radiation, Discovering Exomoons May 14, 2025

Show notes

Why risk sending big space missions instead of swarms of cubesats? Can NASA protect future Mars astronauts from radiation with EM-rockets? How close are we to discovering our first exomoon? And in our Q&A+ version, which sci-fi tech is the closest to becoming a reality? Answering all that and more in this Q&A show.

🎁 [Q&A+] Same video. No YT ads. BONUS question, totally free :
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🚀 [Overtime] Even more Q&As
https://www.patreon.com/universetoday

00:00 Start
00:31 [Ramon Martinez] How will NASA protect astronauts from radiation on Mars?
02:01 [First Ninja] Why launch space missions instead of swarms of cubesats?
05:07 [J Bell] Is it normal to be not interested in life beyond Earth?
08:23 [Xander Schnoebbe] How close are we to discovering exomoons?
10:05 [Jamie Doe] Can we combine a Solar Gravitational Lens and an interferometer?
10:59 [Mandahl] Visible light interferometers on Earth
13:01 [Christopher “Fiss” Brummet] Will CSA/ASC step up after NASA budget cuts?
14:44 [Web Fiji] If we go through space, will we inevitably hit something?
15:31 [Silas Miller] Is the Sun made of the same elements as the planets?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/OOOPpw11Z1U

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[Q&A] Why Keep Voyagers Alive, Life with No DNA, Confidence in the Distant Ladder May 13, 2025

Show notes

Is keeping the Voyagers active a waste of money and time on the Deep Space Network? Could you play catch with a baseball-mass black hole? How confident are we in the distance ladder? And in our Q&A+ version, does it make sense to film a movie in space? Answering all that and more in this Q&A show.

🎁 [Q&A+] Same video. No YT ads. BONUS question, totally free :
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🚀 [Overtime] Even more Q&As
https://www.patreon.com/universetoday

00:00 Start
00:29 [Bentation Funkiloglio] Could we play catch with a really tiny black hole?
01:24 [Aturuxo] How confident are we in the "distance ladder"?
08:03 [Pelican666] Is continuing the Voyager missions just a waste of money?
09:53 [Cooper Levesque] What will finding life in the Solar System actually mean?
12:10 [Edward] Would a microbe without DNA even be alive?
13:48 [Cooper Levesque] The topic I'm bored to cover

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/6egvw2jEHVQ

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⚖️ LICENSE
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