Universe Today Podcast

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Episode 656: Searching For Ice In The Moon’s Shadowed Craters May 20, 2020

Show notes

When you’re out in space, water is the most precious resource you can get your hands on. It can be used for air, water, to grow food, radiation shielding, and most importantly, as the propellant for your spacecraft.

Exploration of the Moon has revealed that there’s a tremendous amount of water ice locked into the regolith, but it’s probably very difficult to access. But there are also permanently shadowed craters at the Moon’s poles that could have more than enough water to support a permanently inhabitable station on the Moon.

But it’s going to be tricky to get at, considering the fact that temperatures in the shadows plunge to -240 degrees Celsius, just 30 degrees above absolute zero.

Our Book is out!
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Audio Podcast version:
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Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday
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Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

References:
https://theprint.in/science/discovery-of-water-on-moon-what-indias-first-chandrayaan-mission-achieved-a-decade-ago/317591/
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/ice-confirmed-at-the-moon-s-poles
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/c-missions/chang-e-4
https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/01/06/china-publishes-change-4-data-one-year-after-first-landing-on-far-side-of-the-moon/
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-cubesat-will-shine-a-laser-light-on-the-moons-darkest-craters
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/lunar-flashlight/
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9076196
http://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Laser-powered_rover_to_explore_Moon_s_dark_shadows
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Rovers_drive_through_Tenerife_darkness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eney3cJBtow

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Episode 654: Open Space 78: Astronomer Royal Martin Rees on the Future of Humanity May 20, 2020

Show notes

On a special time, we've got a special guest, Professor Martin Rees, a British cosmologist and astrophysicist. He's the Astronomer Royal and helped develop many of the modern theories of astronomy and cosmology.

His latest book is On the Future: Prospects for Humanity, published in October, 2018.

https://royalsociety.org/people/martin-rees-12156/

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
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Support us at: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday
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Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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Episode 655: Open Space 79: How Can Black Holes Have Infinite Density But Not Infinite Gravity? And More... May 20, 2020

Show notes

In this week's live QA, I explain why a black hole can have infinite density but not infinite gravity. Does your perception of time change due to your mass, and am I ever intimidated by the people I get to interview?

03:00 How can a singularity have infinite density and not infinite gravity?
06:02 Does your perception of time change due to your mass?
08:10 How do I feel about String Theory?
10:20 Am I intimidated by people I interview?
12:47 Is intelligent design a scientific theory?
15:21 Why don't we see practical applications on quantum mechanics?
16:34 Anyone on my wishlist of guests?
19:00 Are there alien bodies at Area-51?
20:25 Would you feel it falling into a supermassive black hole
22:00 Will we get a Grand Unified Theory in our lifetimes?
27:21 Is Blue Origin for real?
30:35 Should the US have built the super collider?
34:17 Does time go backwards if you exceed the speed of light?
35:20 What's happening with Perseverance?
37:03 Could we jumpstart a rocket planet to get a magnetosphere?
40:35 How far are we from a nuclear rocket?
42:50 Could they make a bigger particle accelerator?
45:00 Would I get neurolink?
46:42 Humans on the Moon or a 30M telescope?
48:02 Have I watched Upload yet?
48:25 Why don't we explore the deep ocean first?
51:45 Wouldn't a solar sail be stopped by photons from another star?
53:49 Could we use Ceres or Vesta to warm up Mars?
54:52 Why is the Hubble Constant increasing?

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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Episode 653: Catching Interstellar Objects. What If We Could Explore Oumuamua Or 2I/Borisov? May 14, 2020

Show notes

The distances to other stars are depressingly enormous. Sure, it’s incredibly far to get to Mars, Jupiter, and even Pluto, but at least you can design a robotic spacecraft to make the journey and see the science results in your own lifetime.

But in the case of other stars, interstellar flight times will take thousands and even tens of thousands of years to send just a robotic mission.

Fortunately, the Milky Way has got our back. Other star systems have been hurling comets and asteroids towards the Solar System. All we’ve got to do… is catch them.

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

References:
https://news.ucsc.edu/2020/04/oumuamua.html
https://public.nrao.edu/news/alma-reveals-unusual-composition-of-interstellar-comet-2i-borisov/
http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_s_new_mission_to_intercept_a_comet
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2020_Phase_I_Phase_II/Dynamic_Orbital_Slingshot/
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/plutofact.html
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1711/1711.03155.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0SMNucXwgo

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Episode 652: Open Space 77: Moiya McTier May 14, 2020

Show notes

This week's guest is Moiya McTier. You might know Moiya as one of the regular co-hosts on the Weekly Space Hangout. She's an astrophysicist and science communicator, working with Columbia's Cool Worlds Lab.

Find out more:
https://www.moiyamctier.com/

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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Episode 651: Open Space 76: What Do I Think About Those UFO Videos? And More... May 11, 2020

Show notes

In this week's live QA, I explain what's happening with Universe Today during the megavirus, what I think about the recently released UFO videos, how aliens could hide their existence, and if Starship will cause a Kessler Syndrome.

05:05 What about those UFO videos?
08:38 How could aliens hide their existence?
13:20 How does the Decadal Survey work?
14:12 Will Starship cause a Kessler Syndrome?
16:06 Starship SN4 update
17:21 Why would aliens bother using old tech to communicate?
19:34 Could regolith be paved so it doesn't kick up dust?
21:04 Could WFIRST replace Hubble?
23:06 Did an asteroid just miss us?
27:11 How much damage will the pandemic cause to space exploration?
30:25 Our show helped someone get an A on their science report.
30:46 How is the curvature of space determined?
32:57 What of the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope got built?
35:10 When will we see boots on Mars?
36:48 What about the Middle East for space exploration?
38:30 Will Elon die on Mars?
43:34 Can a golf ball travel at the speed of light?
44:16 What value will we see from Starlink?
48:52 When will we see an exomoon?
52:25 Was I born too early or late?
54:42 What will Mars Internet be like?
56:40 What will the next century focus on?

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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Episode 650: Dancing, Flaring Supermassive Black Holes Prove Stephen Hawking's Theory May 11, 2020

Show notes

The Moon orbits around the Earth. The Earth orbits around the Sun. And out in the distant Universe, astronomers have found a system that takes this logical progression to its most extreme. There’s a system where a supermassive black hole with millions of times the mass of the Sun orbits another black hole with billions of times the mass of the Sun.

How astronomers discovered this incredible interaction took careful observations, imagination, and the hard work of the Spitzer Space Telescope, taken during its final years of operation.

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

References:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2020-080&fbclid=IwAR2MTTay3H5hxWWjwGFeL5PrdojNdKAI70HqSgFdzOBNlPP1UcjLRWQimFg
https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/active_galaxies1.html
https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.09309
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/spitzer/
https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/1075/spitzer-exoplanet-observation-of-hd-80606b/
http://legacy.spitzer.caltech.edu/features/articles/20051220.shtml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZHRjrhziWw

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Episode 649: Open Space 75: DasValdez from Kerbal Space Academy May 07, 2020

Show notes

This week's guest is DasValdez, a popular Twitch stream who covers all things Kerbal Space Space. Das has carried this love of space exploration and astronomy into the real world, with absolutely fascinating coverage of rocket launches and virtual tours of museums.

Follow DasValdez on Twitch
https://www.twitch.tv/dasvaldez

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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Episode 647: Open Space 73: Dr. Ryan Watkins, Planetary Science Institute Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

This week I'll be joined by Dr. Ryan Watkins, a planetary scientist who focuses on exploration of the Moon. She's a member of the Science Advisory Board for the Blue Origin Blue Moon landing program.

Learn more about her work here:
https://www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/rclegg-watkins

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

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Episode 646: Open Space 72: Electric Sails with Dr. Pekka Janhunen Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Pekka Janhunen is a researcher with the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the inventor of the Electric Solar Wind Sail concept, using the solar wind as a propulsion system for spacecraft.

These could allow spacecraft to explore many regions of the Solar System without any onboard propellant at all.

More information about Dr. Janhunen:
https://space.fmi.fi/~pjanhune/

Learn more about the concept in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pIl_cv3OkA

Our Book is out!
https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/

Audio Podcast version:
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2
RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G

Weekly email newsletter:
https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter

Weekly Space Hangout:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/

Astronomy Cast:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg

Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com
Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw
Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com

Support Universe Today Podcast

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