Universe Today Podcast

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[Interview] How Space-Based Reflectors Can Change Solar Energy Jan 31, 2024

Show notes

Solar energy is simple the best energy source we have access to. But how can we make it even better? With space tech, of course! In this interview I'm talking about a project that suggests putting giant solar reflectors in orbit to extend daytime for solar farms on Earth with my guest, Dr Onur Celik.

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00:00 Intro
01:19 Space reflectors
14:59 Reflectors vs more traditional ideas
20:21 How it will look from the ground
30:25 Applications outside of Earth
37:40 Current obsessions
38:30 Final thoughts and more interviews

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/5r2nxkhOqic

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[Q&A] Lunar Starship VS Saturn V, Max Size of Black Holes, ISS Replacement Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

Why can't Starship reach the Moon without refuelling? How big can black holes get? What space station will replace the ISS? How big do Lagrange points get? Answering all these questions and more in this week's Q&A show.

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00:00 Start
00:26 [Andoria] What are my thoughts on panspermia?
06:02 [Vulcan] Which upcoming Earth-based telescopes are most exciting?
09:54 [Risa] What would it take to send a telescope to the SGL focus?
12:36 [Aeturen] Do supermassive black holes have a max size limit?
12:58 [Vendikar] Should money spent on habitable planets be spent elsewhere?
16:07 [Remus] What are my thoughts on China vs ESA and NASA?
21:07 [Janus] How did science communication change over last 30 years?
26:16 [Cait] How big is a Lagrange point?
30:00 [Betazed] How to communicate with Proxima Centauri probes?
31:24 [Cheleb] How will we replace the ISS?
33:33 [Nimbus] Can we achieve interstellar travel if we really want to?
34:55 [Belos] How accurate is the habitable zone around stars?
37:32 [Lyar] Starship vs Saturn V
41:31 [Zalcon] Does international rivalry produce real space progress?

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

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[Interview] Nobel Prize Winner Explains JWST vs The Crisis in Cosmology Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

The Hubble Tension is one of the most exciting mysteries in modern day science. Different methods give different results for the expansion of the Universe. So, how can we solve this and can James Webb help us with that? Or will it make things even worse? Finding out with Physics Nobel Prize laureate, Dr Adam Riess.

🏅 Nobel Prize Winner John Mather Explains JWST
https://youtube.com/live/S1dOwht6D30

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00:00:00 Intro
00:01:40 Cepheid variables
00:10:47 Hubble Tension
00:18:14 Calibrating the results
00:22:19 James Webb
00:33:34 Plank results
00:38:27 Potential solutions
00:46:18 Back to familiar objects
00:50:36 Most effective kinds of searches
01:01:08 Current obsessions
01:03:19 Final thoughts and more interviews

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/hmJOz9qCk0M

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[Space Bites] Ingenuity Is OVER // Destructive Test by Sierra Space // Why Starship Exploded Jan 26, 2024

Show notes

Ingenuity is over. SLIM landed on the Moon, but it’s upside-down. Webb sees planets orbiting white dwarf stars. And we finally know why Starship exploded.

🎈 Sierra Space inflatable habitat interview:
https://youtu.be/C3bd4fdY3DY

🚀 Starship IFT-2 discussion with Marcus House and Scott Manley:
https://youtu.be/ReXZvXPak4U

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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📚 Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club

00:00 Intro
00:14 Ingenuity is OVER
- https://www.universetoday.com/165382/nasa-lost-contact-with-its-ingenuity-helicopter-briefly-but-its-back/
01:48 SLIM landed upside down
- https://www.universetoday.com/165340/japans-moon-lander-touches-down-power-problem/
04:32 Explosive Sierra Space LIFE test
- https://www.sierraspace.com/newsroom/press-releases/sierra-space-advances-its-revolutionary-commercial-space-station-technology/
06:44 Dangers of Space Salad
- https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2024/january/harsh-bais-kali-kniel-noah-totsline-spacegrown-plants-foodborne-infections/
08:23 JWST sees planets around white dwarf stars
- https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.13153
10:12 Mystery of the ancient light
- https://www.universetoday.com/165310/the-jwst-solves-the-mystery-of-ancient-light/
12:23 Vote results
- https://youtu.be/F12KfPkrjuk
12:57 Planets around Proxima Centauri
- https://www.universetoday.com/165383/what-could-the-extremely-large-telescope-see-at-proxima-centauris-planet/
15:10 Patreon Club Exclusives
15:58 Why Starship Exploded
- https://www.universetoday.com/165353/now-we-know-why-starships-second-flight-test-failed/
17:17 China's reusable booster test
- https://www.universetoday.com/165401/chinese-firm-successfully-tests-a-new-reusable-booster/
18:47 Inflatable space habitats

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/3vRpI80sbv8

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⚖️ LICENSE
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[Q&A] Is Mars Worth Exploring, Imaging Our Galaxy, Rogue Planets Jan 24, 2024

Show notes

How can we possibly know how does the Milky Way look like? Is Marth worth further exploration after not finding any life there for years? How can we realistically settle on the Moon? All this and more in the week's Q&A show.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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📚 Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club

00:00 Start
00:43 [Andoria] Multiple rogue planets discovered by JWST
04:58 [Vulcan] How did we take a photo of our own galaxy?
08:10 [Risa] Why did The Big Bang not collapse under gravity?
10:13 [Aeturen] Why waste money on Mars?
17:23 [Vendikar] Realistic ways to settle on the Moon?
20:58 [Remus] How to interest kids in space?
23:59 [Janus] Any updated on Artemis?
27:25 [Cait] How can galaxies move away faster than light?
28:30 [Betazed] Black hole naming problem
31:22 [Cheleb] Is Moon better than the ISS?
34:38 [Nimbus] The Zoo hypothesis VS dinosaurs
37:28 [Belos] Will we ever see a proper Neptune mission?

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

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[NIAC 2024] Swarming Proxima Centauri and Getting Data Back Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

When we'll be sending probes to other stars, getting there will be only one part of the challenge. How do we get the data back? So, NASA just funded a research that will be aiming to solve this problem through the NIAC program.

👉 NIAC Award "Swarming Proxima Centauri: Coherent Picospacecraft Swarms Over Interstellar Distances"
https://www.nasa.gov/general/swarming-proxima-centauri/

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00:00 Intro
00:56 Applying for NIAC
02:54 The Idea
25:43 Imaging planets
30:06 Using tech in the Solar System
38:24 Laser technology
45:30 The reality of NIAC
51:19 Final thoughts

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/M-qhm04XoBM

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[Space Bites] Hycean VS Lava Worlds //Japan's Moon Landing // NASA's Supersonic Breakthrough Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

News about two lunar landers, Webb helps rule out one explanation for the Hubble Tension, NASA’s new quiet supersonic plane, and lots of exoplanet news.

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00:00 Intro
00:14 Two Lunar Landers
02:20 Hycean or Lava
- https://www.universetoday.com/165263/is-k2-18b-covered-in-oceans-of-water-or-oceans-of-lava/
04:19 Two-face world
- https://www.universetoday.com/165216/half-of-this-exoplanet-is-covered-in-lava/
05:31 Plomet? Conet?
- https://www.universetoday.com/165251/a-hot-jupiter-with-a-comet-like-tail/
06:50 Vote results
07:31 Two giant structures
- https://www.universetoday.com/165223/two-giant-structures-have-been-found-billions-of-light-years-away/
09:41 One fewer explanation for Hubble tension
- https://www.universetoday.com/165266/astronomers-rule-out-one-explanation-for-the-hubble-tension/
12:41 Support us
14:03 NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic plane
- https://www.universetoday.com/165239/shhh-nasa-reveals-its-new-quiet-supersonic-aircraft/
15:30 Milky Way's magnetic fields
- https://www.universetoday.com/165297/astronomers-have-mapped-the-milky-ways-magnetic-fields-in-3d/
16:30 Exoplanet discovery chaos

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/F12KfPkrjuk

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[Q&A] TRAPPIST-1 vs Alpha Cen, Catching The Voyagers, Lunar Space Elevator Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

Why it's easier for James Webb to observe TRAPPIST-1 than Alpha Centauri? Is a lunar space elevator possible at all? What would my ideal space mission look like? Can we build a telescope the size of a solar system? Answering all these questions and more in this week's Q&A show.

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📚 Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club

00:00 Start
00:47 [Andoria] Why it's easier for JWST to see Trappist-1 rather than Alpha Centauri systems?
07:16 [Vulcan] Is lunar space elevator possible?
12:09 [Risa] What would my dream space mission be?
16:28 [Aeturen] Any update on JWST's TRAPPIST-1 observations?
20:54 [Vendikar] Are we building a solar system sized telescope any time soon?
23:06 [Remus] Can we catch up to Voyagers if we need to?
27:03 [Janus] What will Artemis-2 be doing at the Moon?
29:38 [Cait] Can sub-surface oceans be a source for life on planets around red dwarfs?
32:55 [Betazed] How can we predict Betelgeuse exploding?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/lF2wihXk58o

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[Bonus] Modern Day Skeptics Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

This is an episode I did with Brian Dunning, host of The Skeptoid podcast and Richard Saunders, host of The Skeptic Zone podcast. Enjoy!

👉 The Skeptic Zone: https://skepticzone.tv
👉 Skeptoid: https://skeptoid.com
🛸 THE UFO MOVIE THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE: https://www.briandunning.com/ufo/

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[Bonus] Where are all the aliens? Jan 14, 2024

Show notes

This is an episode I did with Brian Dunning, host of Skeptoid and producer and director of THE UFO MOVIE THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE and Richard Saunders, host of The Skeptic Zone. Enjoy!

🛸 THE UFO MOVIE THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE
https://www.briandunning.com/ufo/

📺 YouTube version:
https://youtu.be/iz3NowaMuPU?si=ljrDYFmKh9-VdwKP

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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📚 Suggest books in the book club:
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📰 EMAIL NEWSLETTER
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⚖️ LICENSE
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