Universe Today Podcast

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Episode 766: Q&A 160: Could We Transmit DNA to Another Civilization? And More... Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

In this week's questions show, I answer questions about ice on rockets, the maximum gravitational slingshot, could black holes pull you out of black holes, and more...

00:00 Start
00:30 Why is iron the heaviest element produced in stars?
04:31 Why does ice fall off the outside of rockets?
06:02 What is the maximum gravitational slingshot?
09:36 Could a black hole pull you out of another black hole?
10:21 What is the deadliest distant object?
11:59 Could NASA rent space from Orbital Reef?
13:49 Could we communicate with another civilization?
17:31 Are you squished or torn apart by a black hole?
19:16 Could Starship return ISS to the Earth?
21:45 Could we transmit DNA to another civilization?
24:41 Could a solar flare kill life on Earth?
26:12 Could space telescopes work as interferometers?

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 767: Collecting Samples with Perseverance: Justin Simon, NASA Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Justin Simon, a planetary scientist within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the Johnson Space Center. He specializes in measuring meteorites and samples collected by spacecraft. We'll be talking about what it takes to sample the surface of Mars and other worlds:

https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/people/bios/justin-i-simon/

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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 765: Q&A 159: How Long Can Life Survive? And More... Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

In this week's questions show, I theorize how long life can survive in the Universe, could we detect a wormhole in the Solar System, what's happening with the Chinese Space Agency? And more...

00:00 Start
00:53 How long can life survive?
04:11 Will a black hole leave a remnant after it evaporates?
06:01 Will we detect biosignatures or technosignatures first?
09:35 Will Lucy make it?
11:29 Could red dwarf stars could become less hectic with time?
14:42 Where does energy go if the Universe becomes static?
16:45 Will James Webb see brown dwarfs?
19:32 Could we detect a wormhole?
21:26 Anything interesting with the Chinese space program lately?
23:23 What happens if a gas giant melts?
25:37 What are the challenges to filming on the ISS?
28:07 Should we be afraid of a meteorite crashing into our roofs?
31:34 When we look up, what class of stars are we seeing?

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 764: Habitable Hycean Worlds: An interview with Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, a PhD astronomer at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Madhusudhan is one of the researchers who investigated the habitability of "hycean worlds"; ocean worlds with a thick hydrogen ocean. These worlds are completely alien to anything we have in the Solar System, and yet, could have a much wider region that remains habitable than terrestrial planets.

https://people.ast.cam.ac.uk/~nmadhu/Nikku_Madhusudhan/Home.html

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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 763: The Enceladus Vent Explorer: An interview with Dr. Hiro Ono Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Dr. Hiro Ono, the Group Leader of the Robotic Surface Mobility Group for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Dr. Ono is been awarded a NIAC prize to develop a rover that could crawl into the fascinating vents on Enceladus, to search for evidence of life on this icy world.

https://www-robotics.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Masahiro_Ono/

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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 762: Q&A 158: Does a Titan Sample Return Mission Make Sense? And More... Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

In this week's live questions and answer show, I explain how astronomers measure the distance to gravitational wave events, how clean are spacecraft sent to Mars, and would it be possible to have a sample return mission from Titan?

https://www.universetoday.com/150507/a-titan-mission-could-refuel-on-site-and-return-a-sample-to-earth/

00:00 Start
00:25 How do we calculate the distance of gravitational waves?
03:36 Have Mars spacecraft been sterilized?
05:54 Is a sample return mission possible from Titan?
09:11 How fast would time go if there was no gravity?
11:01 Could a tiny vehicle fly autonomously around the ISS?
12:18 Is NASA planning to impact an asteroid?
14:06 Could space missions be build cheaper?
16:26 What science experiments could be done on a Moon base?
18:50 Will there still be time at the end of the Universe?
20:25 Would a rogue planet catch us off guard?
22:15 Could landers build their own rovers?
24:23 How do launch platforms deal with the rocket exhaust.
25:23 Which solution to the Fermi Paradox is my favorite?

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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Episode 761: Q&A 157: Where Will We Get the Stuff to Build in Space? And More... Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how we'll get the matter to build stuff out in space, what about the matter for a Dyson Sphere? How long will the International Space Station survive? And More...

00:00 Start
00:45 Could we create matter from photons?
03:57 Where are we going to get the matter for a Dyson Sphere?
07:56 What do I think about GPT-3?
11:32 How long will ISS survive?
14:32 What do I think of Foundation?
16:56 Am I a big ripper or big cruncher?
20:37 When will James Webb be online?
23:09 Are the Perseids getting worse?
25:51 Is it dangerous to use a telescope to look at the Sun?
28:00 Why is it hard to get close to the Sun?
29:51 How do we get stuff back from Mars?

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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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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

Support Universe Today Podcast

Episode 760: Q&A 156: Are We Seeing the Same Galaxy Many Times? And More... Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

In this week's questions show, I explain why we don't see the same thing multiple times as we look out into the Universe, could a planet orbit in the Lagrange Points of two stars, and why haven't there been any missions to Io?

00:00 Start
00:36 Could we see the same galaxy multiple times?
05:16 Could a planet orbit in an L4/L5 point?
08:31 Why no missions to Io?
10:42 How can we drive space exploration?
13:31 Did Inspiration4 have problems with their toilet?
14:33 Self sufficient colony on Titan?
15:54 Will Webb be able to image nearby planets?
18:02 Will the entire Universe be black holes eventually?
19:29 How far could we reach?
21:25 Will Starship enable more planetary science?
23:32 Would metallic hydrogen be a big deal?
25:25 Will interferometers work well in space?

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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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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

Support Universe Today Podcast

Episode 759: Q&A 155: Could We Build a Base on Mercury? And More... Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

In this week's questions show, I jump into the controversy between Blue Origin and SpaceX, explain why bigger telescopes are better, and talk about how Mercury has eternally shadowed craters and could serve as a place for a base.

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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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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

Support Universe Today Podcast

Episode 756: Q&A 154: How Big are Meteors? And More... Sep 20, 2021

Show notes

The new season has begun! We're back with an all-new series of question shows. In this week's episode, I provide a quick guide to seeing fireballs (bolides), which are the brightest meteors you can see (and sometimes hear). I explain the philosophy behind Dyson Spheres, and explain why dark matter can't be made out of antimatter.

00:00 Start
00:43 How big are really bright meteors?
04:15 Are Dyson Spheres just pure fantasy?
08:19 What would it take to resolve features on Proxima B?
11:32 Could anti-matter be dark matter?
12:23 Is Jupiter a failed star?
13:15 Would the transmit method let us detect planets in Andromeda?
14:55 Disappearing stars?
17:38 No more Ewok Forest?
18:50 Could a collider create a dangerous black hole?
20:57 Should we find Oumuamua?
23:21 Could we detect techno signatures in Andromeda?
24:45 What's happening on Mars?
27:43 Could we detect an extraterrestrial war?
28:54 Will space-based power work?
30:43 Will Mars be a knowledge-based economy?
32:53 Will we ever live on Venus?
33:21 Is the Moon moving away?
34:09 Does NASA have new space suits for Artemis?

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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