Universe Today Podcast

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Episode 787: Q&A 171: Could James Webb Detect Type 2 or 3 Civilizations? And More... Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

In this week's episode, I explain why James Webb is actually the perfect telescope for detecting advanced civilizations, could we hide the Earth from snooping aliens, could spacecraft go into polar orbit around the Sun? And more...

00:00 Start
00:39 Could James Webb Detect a Type 2/3 Civilization?
05:31 How can Earth hide from aliens?
07:10 Polar orbit around the Sun?
09:41 Could dark matter be alien robots?
11:25 Could iterative design work for JWST?
14:28 Could Betelgeuse have planets?
16:01 Could we replenish Mars atmosphere?
17:34 Are exomoons more habitable?
19:05 Could anything go wrong with JWST?
20:26 Does light redshift to nothing?
22:14 Are Lagrange points filled with debris?
24:12 What are the benefits of a Moon or Mars base?
28:24 How much water will protect against radiation?
29:34 Do photons travel forever?
30:48 What's the best way to refuel in space?
32:57 Are there any ways to communicate instantaneously?
34:33 What are my favorite Bortle-1 locations?
37:32 What am I most excited to see from JWST?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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Weekly Space Hangout: Weekly news roundup with Fraser, special guests, and other space journalists.

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Episode 786: Peering Into the Heart of a Blazar with Dr. Andrei Lobanov Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Andrei Lobanov, a staff astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Bonn, Germany. Dr. Lobanov was part of a team that just took the highest resolution image ever seen of a blazar, using a network of space and ground-based radio telescopes.

https://www3.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/alobanov/

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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

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Episode 785: Getting Astroquizzical with Dr. Jillian Scudder Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Jillian Scudder, a PhD astrophysicist and assistant professor at Oberlin College. In addition to her teaching and research work, Dr. Scudder also answers space and astronomy questions on her blog and in her newly updated book: Astroquizzical.

https://www.jillianscudder.com/

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Episode 784: Q&A 170: Can We See The Stars In Andromeda? And More... Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

In this week's QA, I talk about how we can see individual stars in a galaxy like Andromeda, how we know the Universe is bigger than we can observe, and whether black holes are solid objects or infinitely dense singularities.

00:00 Start
01:07 Can we see the stars in Andromeda?
03:21 How do we know the Universe is bigger than we can see?
09:24 Are black holes solid?
12:03 How did the Moon form out of debris?
13:49 Are there pieces of Earth on other worlds?
15:49 When will we see the first pictures from Webb?
17:12 Is tech in Webb obsolete?
19:10 Is dark matter black holes?
20:55 Why does Webb orbit around in empty space?
22:11 Would the Universe look different billions of years ago?
23:06 What launch would I like to see in person?
25:10 What other space missions should we get excited about?
26:38 Can Vera Rubin see JWST?
27:41 Do we live in a black hole or simulation?
28:51 Could a micro-meteorite impact JWST?
29:57 What are some cool ideas for space telescopes?
33:50 Will we have a permanent lunar base by 2050?
34:45 Can we see exo-Oort clouds?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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🚀 CONTACT FRASER:
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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

🚀 LICENSE:
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You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.

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Episode 783: Q&A 169: Could Plants Actually Survive on the Surface of Mars? And More... Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

In this week's episode, I talk about the possibility of a copy of the Hubble Space Telescope, if satellites could relay information like a mesh network, and if it's even possible for plants to survive on the surface of Mars.

00:00 Start
01:22 Could we launch a copy of Hubble?
03:34 Could satellites relay information like a mesh network?
06:17 Could plants survive on Mars?
08:52 Could Planet 9 be dark matter?
11:12 Do globular clusters ever collapse into disks?
12:36 Are there any new questions about Lagrange Points?
14:07 Would the Solar System change if you build a Dyson Sphere?
17:08 Could we see the Oort Cloud?
19:39 Could we genetically modify humans to survive on Mars?
22:32 Are we the center of the Big Bang?
24:32 Could a warp drive escape a black hole?
25:58 Could we fix Mars by crashing Phobos into it?
27:11 Will there be a servicing mission for James Webb?
28:41 Will humans visit anywhere other than Mars?
31:13 Could life have formed shortly after the Big Bang?
32:50 Could a moon be bigger than its planet?
34:43 How could the Universe be infinite if it's expanding for a finite time?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

🚀 LICENSE:
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You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.

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Episode 782: Going Interstellar with Andreas Hein Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Andreas Hein, Executive Director, Chairman Technical Research Committee of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies. Andreas is part of a team working to develop practical missions for interstellar exploration.

https://i4is.org/

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Episode 780: Q&A 168: Why Aren't There Cameras On James Webb? And More... Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

In this week's Questions Show I explain why James Webb doesn't have any cameras on board, what the Universe is expanding into, and what is the point of building big telescopes when we're trapped in the Solar System?

00:00 Start
06:35 Why build big telescopes?
00:35 Are there cameras on board James Webb?
04:17 What is the Universe expanding into?
09:01 When will we see the first image from James Webb?
10:05 Have I ever done a Messier Marathon?
12:33 Capabilities-driven exploration of the Moon?
16:02 Which version of LUVOIR will be built?
18:35 Can you see the same thing on opposite sides of the Universe?
19:39 Can James Webb take pictures of stars?
21:23 How did life arise?
23:07 Can Hubble see Webb?
23:43 Can James Webb see beyond the observable universe?
25:18 Is there no way to repair James Webb?
26:56 Building your own telescope
28:52 What will be the most surprising discovery from Webb?
30:55 What level of tech to cross 119 light-years?
32:10 Can we access astronomy data?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.

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Episode 781: Exoplanet Atmospheres with Dr. Joanna Barstow Jan 18, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Joanna Barstow, a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at University College London. Dr. Barstow specializes in planetary science, studying the atmospheres of planets both inside and beyond the Solar System. She's also a member of the ARIEL science team, an upcoming mission that will categorize the atmospheres of exoplanets.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/astrophysics/people/joanna-barstow

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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

🚀 LICENSE:
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You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.

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Episode 779: Q&A 167: Will James Webb redo the Hubble Deep Field? And More... Dec 31, 2021

Show notes

In this week's final 2021 QA, I explain why landing on the Moon could make it difficult for other spacecraft to land, if binary planets could exist, and if there are plans to do a JWST version of the Hubble Deep Field.

00:00 Start
00:29 Can spacecraft land on the Moon or Mars without a landing pad?
03:29 Could binary planets exist?
06:25 Will we ever have certainty?
09:15 Can black holes absorb dark matter?
10:48 Will James Webb redo the Hubble Deep Field?
12:54 Water in Valles Marineris?
15:12 Is Starship just a modern day Space Shuttle?
18:09 Will the Universe end in a Big Crunch?
21:27 Could a thicker atmosphere on Mars protect us from radiation?
22:49 What if dark matter doesn't exist?
25:22 How is Moon/Mars regolith different from Earth soil?
27:41 Could there be habitable moons?
28:12 What missions should we be looking forward to?
30:17 Could a solar system survive inside a black hole?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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🚀 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY:
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🚀 CONTACT FRASER:
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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

🚀 LICENSE:
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You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.

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Episode 776: Q&A 166: Does an Infinite Universe Solve the Fermi Paradox? And More... Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how an infinite Universe could be the ultimate answer to the Fermi Paradox, where the energy for tidal heating comes from, and why are there always so many asteroid scare stories in media?

00:00 Start
00:43 Can a satellite remain in one spot?
03:56 Does an infinite Universe solve the Fermi Paradox?
06:41 Where does tidal heating energy come from?
08:43 Is an asteroid going to hit us soon?
11:35 Are galaxies traveling faster than light?
13:13 Is there an anti-matter photon?
14:24 Could there be Pluto Planets?
15:51 Can we move the Earth away from the Sun?
19:20 Can we protect spacecraft with magnetic fields?
22:49 If humans vanished, would there be any evidence?
24:52 Would I like to travel into the future?
25:58 Why are rockets launched in stages?
27:53 Biggest Starship telescope?
29:36 What energy pushes the planets around the Sun?
31:52 Will Starship ruin planetary protection?
34:28 Why can't we find Planet 9?

Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here.

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https://www.universetoday.com/

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🚀 LICENSE:
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You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.

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