Universe Today Podcast

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[Q&A] Dark Curvature, Navigating the Oort Cloud, Future of Space Toilets Jan 17, 2023

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Should we change "Dark Matter" to "Dark Curvature"? How do you navigate through dense asteroid fields? What's the future of space toilets? Do aliens block their outgoing signals? All these and more in this week's Q&A with Fraser Cain.

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00:00 Start
00:58 [Tatooine] How do you navigate through dense asteroid fields?
04:02 [Coruscant] Should we change "Dark Matter" to "Dark Curvature"?
07:57 [Hoth] How far can we communicate?
10:49 [Naboo] How can we solve the Fermi paradox?
17:35 [Kamino] What's the future of space toilets?
19:51 [Bespin] Can we avoid the great filter?
22:53 [Mustafar] Why the CMB doesn't go away?
25:35 [Alderaan] Do aliens block their outgoing signals?
27:33 [Dagobah] Can we create a magnetic shield for our spaceships?
30:39 [Yavin] Can aliens detect Earth as a habitable world?
31:44 [Mandalore] Does gravity extend forever?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/5RIXRVr3Dg8

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[Space Bites] Another Rover's Dead, Green Comet Incoming, JWST’s First Exoplanet Jan 13, 2023

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Keep your eyes on the sky for a comet, another Mars rover has died, the leaky Soyuz is going to be replaced, JWST dominates the American Astronomical Society meeting, and is Starship just around the corner?

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

00:00 Intro
00:17 A Good Comet is Coming
- https://www.universetoday.com/159454/comet-e3-ztf-brightens-as-the-first-good-comet-of-2023/
02:47 Another One Bites The Martian Dust
- https://www.universetoday.com/159553/china-unable-to-reestablish-contact-with-its-zhurong-mars-rover/
06:36 The Leaky Soyuz Needs to Be Replaced
08:36 James Webb Finds Its First Exoplanet
- https://www.universetoday.com/159581/the-webb-has-confirmed-its-first-exoplanet-and-its-the-same-size-as-earth/
10:57 Star Disk from JWST
12:49 Early Galaxies from James Webb
- https://www.universetoday.com/159567/the-james-webb-links-modern-oddball-galaxies-to-ancient-galaxies-in-the-cosmic-dawn/
14:55 Support us on Patreon
15:55 NIAC Awards
18:03 Starship Gets Closer to First Orbital Test
19:29 Build your own ELT
- https://universetoday.com/159565/need-a-project-you-can-build-a-paper-model-of-the-extremely-large-telescope/
20:41 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/Ca6FHZDu5v0

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[Interview] Avoiding Kessler Syndrome Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

Mapping out all the space objects and understanding their orbits is the key to avoiding problems in orbit. What are the technical challenges and what's the current state of affairs? We're discussing it with Dr. Moriba Jah.

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00:00 Intro
01:28 Current state of the orbit
07:04 Kessler Syndrome
14:57 Risks on Different Altitudes
17:41 Access to the Night Skies
22:33 An Ideal Solution
31:57 Future of Humanity
34:30 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/dft7-yNSabc

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[Q&A] Rings Around Stars, Laser Space Propulsion, Life on Cold Moons Jan 11, 2023

Show notes

How do we determine the velocities of objects in distant space? Can we use a laser a space engine on a spaceship? Can we find stars with rings? Is it possible to see the same star at different stages of its life? All this and more in this week's Q&A.

🦄 Support us on Patreon:
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00:00 Start
02:21 [Tatooine] Can stars have rings?
07:59 [Coruscant] Can we see stars at different life stages with gravitational lensing?
11:29 [Hoth] Why not launch payloads from orbit?
14:30 [Naboo] What would happen if time stopped?
16:20 [Kamino] Does Elon/Twitter impact spaceflight confidence?
18:28 [Bespin] How can there be life on cold moons?
22:49 [Mustafar] What if a meteor hits the Moon while astronauts are there?
25:58 [Alderaan] Shouldn't ETs be benevolent like Vulcans and not malevolent like Klingons?
27:51 [Dagobah] How do we determine the speeds of objects in space?
30:06 [Yavin] Why go back to the Moon?
32:08 [Mandalore] Do you ever get tired of speculating and not lending your intellect to progress?
34:14 [Geonosis] Wen JWST Deep Field?
35:20 [Corellia] Why is Sag A disk not aligned with the galaxy?
37:23 [Crait] Will there be a Mars colony this century?
39:43 [Endor] Could we use a laser as an engine on a spaceship?

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/DM4pfPHS_R0

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[Space Bites] Eruption on Io, Moon Navigation, Space-Based Power Test Jan 06, 2023

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NASA is looking for dangerous asteroids, Io is blasting lava into space, the solar wind could be creating water on the Moon, space power is finally getting a test.

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

00:00 Intro
00:15 NASA Makes Asteroid Defence a Priority
- https://www.universetoday.com/159395/nasa-makes-asteroid-defense-a-priority-moving-its-neo-surveyor-mission-into-the-development-phase/
02:49 Io Is Having a Major Vulcanic Outburst
- https://www.universetoday.com/159466/io-is-having-a-major-volcanic-outburst/
04:57 Solar Wind Might Create Water on the Moon
- https://www.universetoday.com/159420/the-solar-wind-is-creating-water-on-the-surface-of-the-moon/
07:04 Structures on the Moon Could Be Build With Microwaves
- https://www.universetoday.com/159427/want-to-build-structures-on-the-moon-just-blast-the-regolith-with-microwaves/
09:14 How to Navigate on the Moon
- https://www.universetoday.com/159409/navigation-could-be-done-on-the-moon-just-by-looking-at-nearby-landmarks/
11:00 South Korea’s Lunar Photos
- https://phys.org/news/2023-01-south-korea-lunar-orbiter-photos.html
11:55 Support us on Patreon
13:07 China’s Considering Where to Build Lunar Station
- https://www.universetoday.com/159429/china-is-considering-where-to-build-a-lunar-research-station/
15:07 Space-Based Power Test
16:57 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/4l7XS18pHHw

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[Bonus] Are We Alone in The Universe? John Michael Godier's Event Horizon Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

This is part 2 of an interview I did with John Michael Godier on his show called Event Horizon. We talked about the Fermi Paradox and possible solutions to it.

⚫ Event Horizon Show
https://www.youtube.com/@EventHorizonShow

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/_Cr9TSRe71E

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[Interview] A Realistic Way to Make Space Habitats From Asteroids Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

We can build space habitats from asteroids by spinning them fast enough. That's what Professor Adam Frank suggests in a recent paper he co-wrote. In this interview, we discussed the idea, how realistic it is and what technology will be needed to achieve it, what applications it can have and when we can expect something like that.

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

00:00 Intro
01:35 Meet Professor Adam Frank
02:27 Building space habitats from asteroids
13:16 Materials required to achieve that
18:00 Generation ships
24:52 Asteroid mining
27:29 Exponential technological progress
34:45 Great Realistic SciFi
35:56 Outro

Professor Adam Frank on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamFrank4

Habitat Bennu: Design Concepts for Spinning Habitats Constructed From Rubble Pile Near-Earth Asteroids
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2021.645363/full

The Fermi Paradox and the Aurora Effect: Exo-civilization Settlement, Expansion, and Steady States
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ab31a3/meta

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/Z-hH3-z56cg

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[Space Bites] 2022. Best Space Year Ever? Dec 30, 2022

Show notes

2022 has definitely been one of the best space years ever. James Webb, SLS, DART and many other major successes. So, let's turn around and remember what did 2022 bring us.

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

00:00 Intro
00:52 James Webb
04:27 Artemis 1
07:15 Milky Way's black hole by EHT
08:39 DART
10:53 Decadal Survey
12:43 China's progress
14:58 InSight mission ended
16:47 SOFIA telescope discontinued
18:30 Things that didn't happen
19:16 ExoMars delay
20:00 Universe owes us
20:43 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/N-KZicegrh0

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[Q&A] Milky Way From Space, Terraforming the Moon, Visiting Mars Rovers Dec 28, 2022

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How can we know whether the Universe is infinite or not? Can something hide behind the Sun in Earth's L3 Lagrange point? Should we start with terraforming the Moon before Mars? Will humans ever visit a lander on Mars?

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

00:00 Start
00:47 [Tatooine] Can we terraform the Moon
05:36 [Coruscant] How long current science will stand?
09:01 [Hoth] How can we know if the Universe is infinite or finite?
12:54 [Naboo] Can something hide in Earth's L3 Lagrange point?
14:24 [Kamino] What if Jupiter falls into the Sun?
18:34 [Bespin] Does Milky Way look different from space?
20:37 [Mustafar] How long is a Universe year?
21:23 [Alderaan] Why doesn't Mercury fall into the Sun?
23:40 [Dagobah] Will we ever visit a Mars lander?
25:23 [Yavin] How will Mars colonization happen?
27:30 [Mandalore] Why there are no ups and downs in space?
30:16 Outro

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/uoMA5_3bNNU

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[Interview] Interstellar Travel Without Breaking Physics with Andrew Higgins Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

Interstellar travel can be real. And you don't need to break the laws of Physics to do it. In this interview, I discuss a realistic way we can send missions to nearby stars in our lifetimes.

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

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:06 How hard is interstellar travel
00:13:19 Ride solar wind like a bird
00:23:15 How a realistic mission can look like
00:40:20 Exploring the Solar System
00:46:50 Fastest gun in the world
00:55:39 Best way to get off planet Earth
01:01:08 Interstellar Symposium
01:04:00 First interstellar mission. When?
01:13:53 How to become an interstellar engineer
01:19:17 Outro

Interstellar Symposium
https://irg.space/irg-2023/

Andrew Higgins' group web page:
https://interstellarflight.space/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/McGill_AdAstra

Jeff Greason’s idea for a “Reaction Drive powered by External Pressure” (the so-called q-drive).
https://tauzero.aero/wp-content/uploads/JBIS-May-2019-Greason.pdf

New paper on Dynamic Soaring
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frspt.2022.1017442/full

RC gliders reaching nearly 900 km/hour by performing dynamic soaring on wind shear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nyYaL0dGAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eFD_Wj6dhk&t=0s

📺 VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/SkGRVvA23qI

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