Universe Today Podcast

Latest Episodes:

NASA Selected Blue Origin // Galaxies Getting More Impossible // First (Exo)Radiation Belt May 26, 2023

Show notes

NASA chooses another lander for Artemis V. The first radiation belt ever seen outside the Solar System. And those impossible galaxies might be even more massive than we thought.

🦄 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
00:15 Blue Origin wins NASA Moon Landing Contract
- https://www.universetoday.com/161484/artemis-v-is-going-to-the-moon-with-blue-origin/
03:12 Hakuto-R Landing Site
- https://www.universetoday.com/161554/nasa-may-have-found-hakuto-rs-crash-site/
04:26 First Ever Radiation Belt Outside Our Solar System
- https://www.universetoday.com/161403/an-astronomical-first-a-radiation-belt-seen-outside-the-solar-system/
06:19 How ESO Allocates Telescope Time
- https://www.universetoday.com/161486/eso-is-using-a-new-system-to-allocate-telescope-time-its-working-well/
08:03 “Impossible” Galaxies May Be Even Impossiblier
- https://www.universetoday.com/161457/remember-those-impossibly-massive-galaxies-they-may-be-even-more-massive/
11:56 Last Week's Best Space Bite
- https://youtu.be/kGDXuP4bvqQ
12:33 FRB That Went Through A Star
- https://www.universetoday.com/161507/astronomers-watched-a-fast-radio-burst-go-right-through-a-stars-atmosphere/
14:16 Q&As with Fraser Cain
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmm6b_fexWT6vSK9J_c4zgep
15:25 Strange Matter Cores for Neutron Stars
- https://www.universetoday.com/161514/the-heaviest-neutron-stars-could-have-strange-matter-cores/
16:54 Polar Cyclone on Uranus
- https://www.universetoday.com/161541/theres-a-polar-cyclone-on-uranus-north-pole/
18:26 Outro

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

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⚖️ LICENSE
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[Interview] What Did NASA Discover With TESS' First Complete Mission May 25, 2023

Show notes

It's already been five years since NASA's TESS mission was launched. Now it completed its first full mission observing the sky and hunting for exoplanets. In this interview, I'm talking with Nicole Colon from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center about the results from TESS and what can come next for the mission.

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https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club

00:00 Intro
01:12 How's TESS doing
06:52 Results from TESS
10:30 TESS VS Kepler
20:16 Most exciting planets
30:42 TESS and Earth-like worlds
39:53 Super TESS
48:46 What's next

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/YB7imAuEZco

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[Q&A] Did The Universe Come From Nothing? Can Stars Be Alive? What's The Best Nebula? May 23, 2023

Show notes

Could stars and planets be living organisms? Is LHC dangerous for the Earth? How do neutrino detectors work? Does the Big Bang suggest that everything around us came from nothing? What will happen if we create a black hole on Earth? Answering all these questions and more in this week's Q&A.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday

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

👉 Ultimate Solar System
https://planetplanet.net/2018/05/30/the-black-hole-ultimate-solar-system/

00:00 Start
01:03 [Tatooine] How does something come from nothing?
07:07 [Coruscant] Could stars be alive and conscious?
12:18 [Hoth] Is the LHC dangerous for the Earth?
15:26 [Naboo] What if we create a black hole on Earth?
18:57 [Kamino] How neutrino detectors work?
22:15 [Bespin] What's the maximum number of planets a star can have?
26:47 [Mustafar] How Universe Today changed over the years?
30:29 [Alderaan] Favourite nebula?
30:50 [Dagobah] What's the largest milestone we can live to see?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/lLcvFFpK-MI

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[Interview] Aliens' Perspective of Technosignatures from Earth May 23, 2023

Show notes

If an extra-terrestrial civilisation saw the Earth, what technosignatures could they pick up? What could they learn about life on our planet and human civilisation in particular? I'm discussing that with Dr Michael Garrett who is the Director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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👉 Simulation of the Earth’s radio-leakage from mobile towers as seen from selected nearby stellar systems:
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/522/2/2393/7028804

00:00 Intro
02:11 Biosignatures in modern Astronomy
06:46 Technosignatures VS biosignatures
13:07 Loudest technosignatures of Earth
18:27 Earth from the perspective of aliens
32:31 Satellite constellations
38:00 Going into wires
42:49 Leaked transmissions
46:09 Becoming an alien hunter

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/rkZM9yHY8z0

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frasercain@gmail.com

⚖️ LICENSE
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[Space Bites] Can We Fix The Hubble Tension, JUICE's Happy End, NASA's Snake Robot May 19, 2023

Show notes

NASA tests out a snake bot that could explore difficult terrain. An independent way to measure the expansion rate of the Universe. JUICE successfully deploys its radar antenna.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday

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

00:00 Intro
00:14 Happy End for JUICE
- https://www.universetoday.com/161383/hurray-juice-deploys-its-stuck-antenna/
02:09 A Warning Before A Solar Storm Disaster
- https://www.universetoday.com/161355/nasa-thinks-they-can-give-us-30-minutes-of-warning-before-a-killer-solar-storm-hits-earth/
04:42 Limit-Breaking Ultra-Luminous Bursts
- https://www.universetoday.com/161364/confirmed-ultra-luminous-x-ray-sources-are-really-that-bright/
06:44 NASA's Snake Robot Explorer
- https://www.universetoday.com/161387/nasa-tests-a-robotic-snake-that-could-explore-other-worlds/
09:12 Raptor V3
10:58 Support us on Patreon
11:53 Epic Photos from Mars
- https://www.universetoday.com/161353/new-photos-show-collapsed-chains-of-craters-on-a-martian-volcano/
13:35 New Way to Measure the Expansion of the Universe
- https://www.universetoday.com/161419/astronomers-have-a-new-way-to-measure-the-expansion-of-the-universe/
16:06 Is Building Things In Space The Future
- https://www.universetoday.com/161375/nasa-is-getting-serious-about-building-and-assembling-future-missions-in-space/
18:37 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/kGDXuP4bvqQ

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[NIAC 2023] Radioactive Flashlight for Moon Rovers May 18, 2023

Show notes

In the second part of my conversation with Dr Christopher Morrison we discuss his second NIAC award. It suggests creating a power source that can also be a science instrument.

🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday

👉 Interstellar Sample Return with Dr Chris Morrison:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsON8yF5Rjo

👉 Part I with Dr Chris Morrison:
https://youtu.be/FIZHGDyN-7E

👉 More about the NIAC grant:
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2023/EmberCore_Flashlight/

00:00 Intro
00:36 What is the EmberCore Flashlight
12:39 Perspectives for deep space missions
17:33 Who will buy such Flashlights

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/jfyRp3GjUXc

📰 EMAIL NEWSLETTER
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[Q&A] How to Find The Voyagers, Deorbiting the ISS, Non-Rotational Artificial Gravity May 16, 2023

Show notes

How can we get artificial gravity in space without rotating a spacecraft? Will there be bigger Mars helicopters in future? How exactly will they deorbit the ISS? Who will be selecting the crew for the Mars mission? Where are the Voyagers today and how can we find them? Answering all that and more in this week's Q&A episode.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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📕 Book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club

00:00 Start
00:49 Book Club: Accelerando by Charles Stross
03:15 [Tatooine] Which way to look to see the Voyagers today?
05:47 [Coruscant] How to turn Moon craters into telescopes?
08:25 [Hoth] Can we pull of artificial gravity on space stations?
12:44 [Naboo] Do we need to stop for the gravitational lens focal point?
15:11 [Kamino] Will there be bigger Mars helicopters?
19:13 [Bespin] Are smart telescopes worth it?
23:03 [Mustafar] How will they deorbit the ISS?
25:18 [Alderaan] Are there non-rotational artificial gravity options?
27:34 [Dagobah] Why do we need a sample return from Mars? Why not study everything there?
30:42 [Yavin] How will the crew selection go for Mars missions?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/M7xy6LYyH6k

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[Interview] Battling Moon Dust With Liquid Nitrogen Spray May 13, 2023

Show notes

Moon Dust will be a major problem once people will return and settle there. We need to find ways to clean it from space suits, equipment, etc. In this interview I'm talking with Ian Wells, who is a cryogenics researcher suggesting a way to battle Moon dust with liquid nitrogen.

🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday

👉 Interview with Dr Christine Hartzell:
https://youtu.be/LfigUsu7V2Q

00:00 Intro
01:13 How bad is lunar dust
09:34 Liquid nitrogen spray
13:31 How can it be used
19:09 Mars dust
24:55 Risks for humans

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

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[Space Bites] First Artificial Gravity Test in 2025, Uranus Moons' Oceans, Webb's Eye of Sauron May 12, 2023

Show notes

There could be liquid oceans in the moons of Uranus. Saturn takes the lead for the most moons in the Solar System. James Webb gazes into the Eye of Sauron aka Fomalhaut.

🦄 Support us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday

👉 Interviews:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmnK1xmCRad_8bn0uOcmLiIE

⚫️ Universe-Breaking Galaxies Interview:
https://youtu.be/xPK9kF2tqfk

00:00 Intro
00:14 Uranus' moons might have oceans under the ice
- https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/new-study-of-uranus-large-moons-shows-4-may-hold-water/
02:21 Even more moons for Saturn
- https://phas.ubc.ca/saturn-re-takes-moon-crown
03:34 Webb stares into the Eye of Sauron
- https://www.universetoday.com/161280/webb-examined-an-asteroid-belt-and-found-more-than-it-bargained-for/
06:07 JWST Fails to disprove the Big Bang
- https://www.universetoday.com/161265/jwst-fails-to-disprove-the-big-bang/
08:49 Space Station with artificial gravity
- https://www.vastspace.com/updates/vast-announces-the-haven-1-and-vast-1-human-spaceflight-mission-launched-by-spacex-on-a-dragon-spacecraft
11:40 Water-powered engine raises its orbit
13:14 Interviews
14:55 China's secret space plane
- https://spacenews.com/chinas-mystery-reusable-spaceplane-lands-after-276-days-in-orbit/
16:24 Beautiful space videos
- https://www.universetoday.com/161236/watch-a-spacex-fairings-fiery-re-entry-through-the-atmosphere/
17:49 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/NMmi78YsiQ8

📰 EMAIL NEWSLETTER
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[NIAC 2023] Observe the Universe from Deep Space May 11, 2023

Show notes

This is the first part of my interview with Dr Cristopher Morrison. In this one, we're discussing the concept of a propulsion system that should allow things like catching up with an interstellar visitor or delivering a telescope to the outer part of the Solar System.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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Previous Interview with Dr Chris Morrison:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsON8yF5Rjo

👉 More about the NIAC grant:
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2023/RadioisotopeElectric_Propulsion_System/