365 Days of Astronomy - Weekly Edition

We've reached the end of 2021 and this is the last episode of the year. Let's look back at the big space events of the last year and talk about what we're looking forward to in 2022.

We've talked about the icy objects of the Solar System, today let's talk about space rocks. There's a surprising variety of rocky material in the Solar System, and each object has a story to tell abo…

Are asteroids dangerous? Well, just ask the dinosaurs and they’ll tell you a sad story of fiery death. It turns out we’re in a shooting gallery of space rock and metal. And somewhere out there there’…

So a rock is a rock is a rock. Right? Across the solar system there are giant rocky asteroids and even “gianter” rocky moons. What is the difference between these two families of objects and where do…

For the longest time the only gas giant planets that we knew about were Jupiter and Saturn. But now, in the age of extrasolar planets, astronomers have discovered thousands of gas giants across almos…

Good News! Over the next few years we’re gonna see a flotilla of new missions headed to Jupiter and Saturn. Why aren’t we seeing more missions to the outer planets like Uranus and Neptune, even Pluto…

The outer Solar System is far enough from the Sun that water doesn't get blasted away into deep space. In this icy realm, there are many worlds with vast quantities of water ice. Today let's look at …

So we’re learning more & more about the outer planets of the solar system. Uranus & Neptune are Ice Giants, filled with water and other volatiles that we'd consider ice if it was here on Earth. What’…

Funding for basic science has always been tricky business, coming mainly from universities, government, companies or wealthy individuals. But who knows how many fascinating discoveries were never mad…

Well, you’re familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope of course, but it’s just one of NASA’s Great Observatories. After Hubble came 3 more incredible telescopes. Each greater than the last! (That’s n…

After Pluto lost its planethood we were down to 8 planets. But there’s growing evidence of another world or worlds out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Is Planet 9 out there and how will we find it? Could …

So there are asteroids, and there are comets. But there’s an entirely separate class of objects called centaurs. But instead of half human, half horse, imagine an object that’s half comet, half aster…

It's been 15 years since Pluto was kicked out of the planet club. It also happens to be the topic of our very first episode of Astronomy Cast more than 600 episodes ago. Are there any updates? Does P…

Last week we talked about the various ways that astronomers could detect the presence of intelligent civilizations by observing technosignatures. This week we'll give you an update on the state of th…

Last week we talked about what it's going to take to confirm basic biological life across the Solar System and the Milky Way. This week, we'll discuss what it's going to take to detect intelligent li…

Are we alone in the Universe? It's one of the biggest scientific questions we can possibly ask. And yet, with rovers on Mars, missions planned to visit Europa and Ganymede. Powerful telescopes able t…

Volcanos can be some of the worst natural disasters that we can experience here on Earth. But life wouldn't even exist without them. So, what are volcanos good for anyway?

As you all know, Pamela refuses to talk about any missions which aren't actually doing science. Well, Perseverance has crossed the line, from fantasy to an actual working rover, scooping regolith and…

Mars is cold and dead today, but the massive volcanoes tell us what the planet used to be like, millions and even billions of years ago. But how volcanically active is the planet today? That's what N…