Universe Today Podcast

In this week's questions show I explain how we'll ever study 100 million planets, what's the business case for space exploration, and how I pull the questions together for these shows.

00:42 Can we …

Over the last weekend, astronomy Twitter started noting that the red giant Betelgeuse, the prominent shoulder of Orion was looking visibly dimmer in the sky, and I had a few people reach out to me an…

As I’m recording this video near the end of 2019, the total number of confirmed exoplanets stands at 4,104. We’ve come a long way since the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a sunlike star ba…

This week I'm joined by Andrew Rader, a game designer and mission manager at SpaceX. Andrew's new book is called Beyond the Known and it's all about the history and future of space exploration.

Lear…

How old is the Universe? In order to figure that out, all you have to do is figure out how quickly it’s expanding, and then the clock backward until everything is crunched together.

And astronomers …

In this week's questions show, I explain why I don't think we always need to be realistic, if galaxies in the local group are bound together gravitationally, and what we should call Earth-moving equi…

Extending humanity to other worlds in the Solar System is at the very limits of our modern technology. And unless there are dramatic discoveries in new propulsion systems or we learn how to build eve…

In this week's questions show, I explain why you could have a steam-powered rocket, how often spacecraft have crashed into asteroids and comets, and why a red supergiant star actually has a very low …

The exploration of Venus has been mainly about getting down to the surface of the planet. The Soviet Union sacrificed lander after lander to discover just how extreme the conditions are down there on…

This week I'm joined by Jason Derleth from NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (or NIAC). This is a special part of NASA that funds innovative ideas for new telescopes, propulsion systems and rovers.…

In this week's questions show, I explain why we can see meteor showers every year, why we're not 3D printing telescopes in space, why there aren't any plans to launch telescopes with SpaceX Starship.…

Today I was joined by Dr. Casey Handmer, an accomplished theoretical physicist who currently works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Casey has a fascinating blog where he considers current trends in spac…

When it comes to telescopes, bigger is better. That’s true down here on Earth, and it’s especially true out in space. As astronomers and engineers design the next generation of giant space telescopes…

In this week's questions show, I tackle all the questions about James Webb generated by the videos we did this week. Can it be refueled? How can it see the entire sky? Is the delay a blessing? And mo…

Today I'll be joined by Paul Geithner, the Deputy Project Manager for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. You've had questions about this mission. Well... now's your chance to get them answered direc…

On March 30, 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will blast off from the European Space Agency’s European spaceport in Kourou, French Giana on board an Ariane 5 rocket.

It’ll fly to the Sun-Ear…

Today's guest is Dustin Gibson from Oceanside Photo and Telescope (OPT). Dustin will talk about his journey to becoming an astrophotographer and eventually running one of the most successful telescop…

In this week's questions show, I answer what will bring geostationary satellites back to Earth, if you could use the heat on Venus to power a rover, why are we so arrogant to believe that life formed…

It was another solo live QA this week and I did my best to answer as many audience questions as I could do, closing in on 60 questions during the hour. Needless to say it was a wide-ranging conversat…