Universe Today Podcast

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Episode 778: Seeing the Clearest View of the Universe with Michael Zemcov Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Michael Zemcov, an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Zemcov has proposed putting a telescope out beyond the orbit of Saturn to capture the clearest possible view of the Universe, away from the light-polluted inner Solar System.

https://theconversation.com/a-small-telescope-past-saturn-could-solve-some-mysteries-of-the-universe-better-than-giant-telescopes-near-earth-169805

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Read by 50,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
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Weekly Space Hangout: Weekly news roundup with Fraser, special guests, and other space journalists.

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Astronomy Cast: Award-winning, long-running deep dive into space and astronomy with Fraser and Dr. Pamela Gay.
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Episode 777: Discovering Earth-Sized Planets with Andrea Lin Dec 21, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Andrea Lin, a graduate student at the Eberly College of Science at Penn State University. Andrea is working with the NEID Spectrograph, a brand new instrument that will eventually be capable of detecting Earth-sized worlds orbiting sunlike stars.

https://science.psu.edu/astro/people/apl5194

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Episode 775: Q&A 165: How Could We Explore the Oceans of Europa? And More... Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

In this week's live questions and answers show, I explain why NASA doesn't build standardized rovers, how we know the Universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old, and which are the best (and worst) entry-level telescopes to get.

Mars Magnetosphere story
https://www.universetoday.com/153368/an-absolutely-bonkers-plan-to-give-mars-an-artificial-magnetosphere/

00:00 Start
00:28 When will NASA make standard models of rovers?
04:28 Is the Universe older than 13.8 billion years?
07:06 What are the best and worst entry level telescopes?
10:29 Why isn't there more of a push to explore Europa?
13:40 could dark matter be a heavier element?
16:29 How could we drill down through Europa's ice sheet?
19:23 Will supervoids grow as the Universe expands?
21:11 What's the best technology for interstellar travel?
23:15 Could we protect Mars with a giant solenoid?
25:37 Could we build a second James Webb?
27:08 Could a longer ramp let Spinlaunch send humans to space?
29:39 What is the economic cost of contaminating Mars?
33:18 Do Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have any business strategy for colonizing space?
35:08 How do neutron stars die?
36:28 Better to live on a water world or Mars?
37:37 Any way to collect small pieces of space junk?

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

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Episode 774: Q&A 164: Could Too Much Gravity Prevent a Civilization Going to Space? And More... Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

In this week's live questions and answers show, I speculate what kind of civilization could be permanently stuck on the surface of their planet, if rival nations could shoot down each other's spacecraft, and how do I really feel about the Space Launch System?

00:00 Start
01:01 How much gravity makes spaceflight impossible?
04:40 Could a rival shoot down a rocket during launch?
07:07 Should I apologize for advocating for SLS?
11:50 Do photons experience time?
13:42 Can you see Earth's lights from the Moon?
15:28 Can we detect exoplanets with their magnetic fields?
17:27 What missions do I wish were never cut?
20:21 Does finding life mean we're doomed?
22:45 Are galaxies orbiting something bigger?
23:42 Can a star collapse directly into a black hole?
25:36 Should we move away from complex telescopes?
29:03 What does it cost to use Hubble?

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 773: Searching for Exomoons with Alex Teachey Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Alex Teachey, a Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) in Taipei, Taiwan. Alex specializes in searching for moons orbiting extrasolar planets: exomoons. Learn why these could be some of the most interesting places to search for life in the Universe.

https://alexteachey.wordpress.com/

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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

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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 772: Q&A 163: Is There No Way to Repair James Webb in Space? And More... Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

In this week's episode, I answer questions about the speed of supernovae, if a black hole can pull itself apart, is there really no way to repair James Webb, and more...

00:00 Start
00:41 What are the timescales for a supernova?
02:59 Could a black hole spin itself apart?
05:37 Will James Webb launch on time?
07:10 What do I think about Apophis?
09:24 Can a magnetar collapse into a black hole?
12:43 When will we reach the Kessler Syndrome/
16:26 Would we try to fix James Webb?
19:27 Will there be a permanent Moon base in our lifetime?
21:28 What do I think about Spin Launch?
24:06 What's the temperature on the night side of Venus?
26:01 What's the point of sending humans to Mars?
29:56 Does a supermassive black hole's gravity pull on its galaxy?
31:35 Will the Moon get a magnetic field?

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 771: QA 162: Could We Build a Particle Accelerator on the Moon? And More... Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

In this week's live Q&A, I explain what would happen if we build a particle accelerator around the entire Moon (and what would happen if it generated a black hole), if you can ice skate on Pluto, and is it better to do sample return missions or explore with rovers and landers.

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

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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 770: Using Pulsars to Detect Gravitational Waves: with Boris Goncharov Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Boris Goncharov, a researcher at the Gran Sasso Science Institute. Boris is part of the team using the precise signals from pulsars as a way to detect gravitational waves. This technique could be sensitive enough to even detect merging supermassive black holes.

http://bgoncharov.com/

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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

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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 769: NASA's Astrobiology Vision with Mary Voytek Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Mary Voytek, the director of NASA's Astrobiology Program since 2008. Dr. Voytek and others from NASA are proposing a new 7-step framework on how they could report on the discovery of life beyond Earth. We'll discuss this new framework as well as the latest challenges in the search for life across the Universe.

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/directory/voytek-mary/

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Email: frasercain@gmail.com

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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 768: Q&A 161: Could You Have a Planet Made of Water? And More... Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

In this week's questions show, I answer if you could have a planet made entirely of water, is it our duty to spread life in the Universe? Could Planet 9 be a brown dwarf? And more...

00:00 Start
01:35 Could you have a planet made only of water?
04:23 Is it our duty to spread life into the Universe?
07:43 Could a civilization harvest energy from tidal flexing?
10:01 Where could you survive without a spacesuit?
12:18 How do space stations get decommissioned?
14:41 Could Planet 9 be a brown dwarf?
15:42 Will climate change impact space exploration?
18:47 Would mold outside the space station be alien?
20:22 Do other star systems have kuiper belts and oort clouds?
22:06 Does the Milky Way have an escape velocity?
24:14 Should Earth be kept as a nature preserve?

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/

🚀 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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