5 Minutes With An Astronomer

And...we’re back, Astro Nuts! We kick off a fun-filled Season 2 with some corrections from Season 1. If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

This episode’s question is,  what is the Cosmic Distance Ladder and how does it work? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

This episode’s question comes from a listener named Todd who asks, “How do standard candles work? It seems like a really huge assumption that all of these stars are truly identical.” If you have feed…

This week, we welcome special guest and science enthusiast Ed Robertson. Ed is the frontman of Barenaked Ladies and wrote the theme song for Big Bang Theory. He asks, “Where does earth’s atmosphere e…

This episode is part 1 of 2 on the structure of the Sun, based on a question from listener Todd who asks, “How do we know what's going on inside the Sun? We can see the outside, but it's not like we …

This episode is part 2 on the structure of the Sun after listener Todd asks, “How do we know what's going on inside the Sun? We can see the outside, but it's not like we can place seismometers on it …

Building on earlier episodes about the structure of the sun, this episode tackles: what is the solar wind? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

What is Earth’s magnetosphere and what does it have to do with those amazing light shows in the sky called auroras? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

An overview of the Earth’s magnetosphere on the last episode begs the question, do other objects in our solar system have magnetospheres? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

Occasionally rather than asking a specific question, we ask Stuart why he finds something interesting. On this episode: what is so interesting about Jupiter’s moon Io? If you have feedback or a topic…

This episode we are joined by Darren McKee, host of The Reality Check. Darren asks about the end of the universe and Heat Death. If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

Having discussed the volcanically active moon Io on a previous episode, we ask Stuart: where else are there volcanoes in the solar system? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

Not your typical episode! Special guest Ed Robertson talks with the crew about conspiracy theories and a recent run-in with a flat earther. Ed is the frontman of Barenaked Ladies and wrote the theme …

One of the most important numbers in Cosmology makes up this episode’s question: what is the Hubble Constant? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

NASA missions seem to often be looking for water elsewhere in the solar system. Why does NASA follow the water? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, email us.

Occasionally rather than asking a specific question, we ask Stuart why he finds something interesting.  This episode’s question is: what is interesting about comets? If you have feedback or a topic s…

Pat asked a question last season about whether our moon improves the Earth’s habitability. Stuart said it would have to wait for another episode. That time has come! If you have feedback or a topic s…

Many people know that Albert Einstein won a Nobel prize. But do you know why? It was for something called the photoelectric effect.  Well, what’s that? If you have feedback or a topic suggestion, ema…

Cristina has been waiting to ask this one since season one after pondering Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. What is a gravitational assist and how does it work? If you have feedback or a topic sugg…

This episode we are joined by Darren McKee, host of The Reality Check. We previously discussed that the universe is expanding but Darren asks, “What exactly is expanding and what is it expanding into…