Spacepod

Dr. Driss Takir stops by the show. He explains how he looks for water that’s molecularly bound up in the rocks on asteroids. He also tells us about the Hayabusa-2 mission, which will put rovers on th…

Dr Jennifer Scully talks about the geology of Ceres and Vesta, two large asteroids in the main belt that have been visited by NASA’s DAWN mission. She’s talks about the experience of getting to know …

Dr. Shantanu Naidu tells us about planetary radar. Using large telescopes in California and Puerto Rico, he bounces radio waves off of asteroids and “listens” for the return signal. With this techniq…

Dr. Sona Hosseini talks about spectroscopy, a technique that allows scientists to determine what celestial bodies are made of. She’s developing new spectrometer that will allow her to look at an enti…

Dr. Dave Reitze, the  Executive Director of LIGO, talks about how each source of noise at LIGO must be meticulously accounted for— from wolves howling, to tidal flexing of the Earth’s surface, to the…

Dr. Dave Reitze, the  Executive Director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) talks about the extraordinary detection of gravitational waves earlier this year, and the in…

Dr. Varoujan Gorjian thoroughly debunks a misconception he hates— the idea that black holes suck. Find out what would happen to the Earth if our Sun was suddenly replaced with a black hole of the sam…

Dr. Marja Seidel stops by the show to talk about galaxy evolution. She also talks about a unique outreach effort she co-founded, called Cielo y Tierra, that shares science with remote communities.

Dr. Andrew Benson talks about dark matter, the mysterious stuff that makes up most of the mass of the universe. Andrew explains how we can learn about dark matter, even though we don’t yet know what …

Dr. Kevin Schlaufman tells us about exoplanets that orbit around their stars in an unusual manner. He also explains what his research says about the Earth’s fate when our sun dies, billions of years …

Dr. Betts talks about LightSail, an exciting mission to test new technology from The Planetary Society. This is a special joint episode with The Orbital Mechanics podcast.

Dr. Cynthia Hunt talks about the Carnegie Observatories’ astronomical glass plate collection. The Carnegie collection includes historic plates that recorded the moments astronomers made groundbreakin…

Director Dr. John Mulchaey stops by the show to talk about the history and future of the Carnegie Observatories; the place “where the universe was discovered”. This episode is the first of a series o…

Dr. Matt Siegler talks about ice on the Moon, and what it can tell us about the Moon’s past. He also tells us about an experiment that uses astronaut-collected lunar soil.

Project Manager Suzy Dodd tells us about the continuing missions of the Voyager spacecraft. These spacecraft are still collecting unique and valuable data, and Suzy explains how engineers hack the sp…

Master of Disaster Mika McKinnon talks about how she injected real science into the sci-fi series “Stargate”. We discuss how she balanced accuracy and entertainment, and how she influenced the way sc…

Jan Chodas stops by the show to talk about her experience working on several pioneering NASA missions, including Galileo, Cassini, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and Juno. Note: this was recorded…

Professor Rita Economos talks about her research into magma on Earth. She recounts some of the adventures she’s had searching for rocks, and explains why Earth’s volcanoes appear to be unique in the …

Dr. Rachael Beaton and I try “Grass Jelly Drink” and talk about one of the major fundamental constants of the universe; the Hubble Constant. She explains what it is and why she and her colleagues are…

Dr. Solange Ramirez visits the show to talk galaxies, supermassive black holes, and the gravity that ties them together.