Astronomy Cast Ep. 173: Herschel Space Observatory - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From January 18, 2009. Last week we talked about Herschel the people – William Herschel, his sister Caroline, and his son John. This week we look at the Herschel Space Observatory, a mission launched in 2009 to reveal the coldest and dustiest regions in the Universe.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 172: William Herschel - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From January 11, 2010. Ancient astronomers knew of 5 planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – 6 if you count Earth. And then in 1781, William Herschel discovered an entirely new planet, Uranus, boosting the number of planets to 7. Let’s learn about Herschel, his equipment, his discoveries, and his sister Caroline – an accomplished astronomer all on her own!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 722: Weather on Exoplanets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 3, 2024. Here’s a familiar question: How’s the weather? We’re familiar with the weather on Earth and telescopes and missions are watching the weather on other planets in the Solar System. But for the first time in history, astronomers can now answer that question for exoplanets, located light-years away from us.   This Episode is made possible thanks to our Patrons on Patreon. Join at the Galaxy Group level or higher to be listed in our YouTube videos.    This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: - BogieNet - Stephen Veit - Jeanette Wink - Siggi Kemmler - Andrew Poelstra - Brian Cagle - David Truog - Ed - David - Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 632: Building Images: Optical vs Radio by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay A recent image from the South African MeerKAT Telescope blew our minds. It was a high resolution image of the center of the Milky Way showing delicate filaments and other structures. What was so mind blowing is that this was an image from a radio telescope. Today we’re gonna talk about why this was such an accomplishment and what the future holds for radio astronomy.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 631: All The Uses Of Pulsars (Including Murder) by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pulsars are the rapidly spinning degenerate husks of dead stars, turning hundreds of times a second. But they're also handy clocks, spinning with such certainty and accuracy that astronomers can use them for all kinds of stuff. We might even use them to navigate the cosmos.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 630: Things We Can Look Forward To by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay In a rare moment of weakness, Pamela has decided she's open to the possibility that a future exists. That missions, telescopes and spacecraft are going to be built and they're going to do science. Today we'll talk about what we're looking forward to before she changes her mind and my naive optimism for the future.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 629: The Cost of Delays by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay With all the success of James Webb so far, it's looking like science's huge gamble is going to pay off, but there were years of delays and budget overruns. What impacts did these delays have on science, careers, and the future of space exploration?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 628: The Sun Revisited by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Once again, it's time to take a look at the Sun. You know, the ongoing thermonuclear explosion of fusing hydrogen that's right over there. Fortunately, there's a fleet of spacecraft and ground observatories ready to give our best ever view of the Sun, so we can watch it. Always watching…

Astronomy Cast Ep. 627: Mercury Revisited by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It’s been about a thousand years since since we last looked at Mercury. So we figured it’s time for an update. What new things have we learned about Mercury? Or even new questions! Fortunately there’s a mission on the way to help us get some answers.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 626: Terrestrial Planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We continue our refreshed tour of the solar system, checking in on the inner terrestrial planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. What have we learned about the formation, evolution and what they might tell us about planets across the Universe.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 625: End of the Year Review by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 624: Small Rocky Bodies (Including Phobos & Deimos) by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 about the history and formation of the planets, moons and other rocky bodies.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 623: NEOs: Concern or Nah by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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’s one with our name on it. Should we be worried? Or are the risks so minimal to be irrelevant.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 721: Rogue Planets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 20, 2024. Most of the exoplanets we’ve found are around stars, where they belong. But a few have been found free-floating in interstellar space. The evidence is growing that there are a lot of them out there, maybe even more than planets with stars. How do they form and how can we learn more about them?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 622: Rockier Moons & Giant Asteroids by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 they come from?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 621: Gas Giants by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 almost as many star systems. What new discoveries have been made about gas giants, both here in the solar system and across the Milky Way?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 620: Why Getting to the Outer Worlds is So Difficult by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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? It turns out those places are far away. Today let’s talk about the challenges of exploring the outer, outer solar system.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 619: Icy Moons & Dwarf Planets by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 the icy outer moons and dwarf planets.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 618: Ice Giants by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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’s inside these worlds and what can we expect to find across the Milky Way as we find more?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 617: Hangout-A-Thon Episode 2 - Crowdfunding Science by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 made because of a lack of funding. And we now live in an era where regular people can come together to fund scientific discoveries.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 616: Hangout-A-Thon Episode 1 - The Great Observatories by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 not true… The first one was the greatest.) But together they would fill in almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 615: Planet 9 by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 there even be a Planet 10?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 614: Centaurs, Comets & Asteroids by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 asteroid, but 100% interesting!

Astronomy Cast - Ep. 613: Pluto’s Demotion: 15 Years Later by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 Pluto have a chance of regaining planethood again?

Astronomy Cast - Ep. 720: Galaxy Series - Elliptical Galaxies by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 30, 2024. Our galaxy series continues with elliptical galaxies. Unlike other types, these are large, smooth with very few distinguishing features. They’re filled with red and dead stars, a clue to their evolution.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: Hiatus Message by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Fraser & Pamela will return in early September with more episodes of Astronomy Cast. We hope you all have a safe, relaxing and prosperous summer!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: The SETI Renaissance by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 the search for extraterrestrials. This field has gone from a collection of pariahs to a completely legitimate field of research. What's changed?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 611: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Intelligence Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 life out there in space.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 610: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Non-Sentient Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 to detect the atmospheres of exoplanets, we're closer than ever to finding out the answer.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 609: Volcanos With Benefits: Lava Tubes, Hydro Thermal Vents & More by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 608: NASA Perseverance, The First 100 Days by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 yeeting helicopters. What has the rover accomplished in its first 100 days?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 607: InSight and Earthquakes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay 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 NASA's Mars InSight lander is there to figure out.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 606 - Time Dilation: Skipping Thru Time by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Have you ever wanted to be a time traveler? Well, good news! You're time traveling right now. Into the future at one second per second. Taking too long? Don't want to wait? Good news, Einstein's got you covered. Today, let's talk about the weird world of time dilation. Also: There are monitor forts to consider… #MonitorFort

Astronomy Cast Ep. 605: Sounding Rockets by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about balloon-based astronomy. This week we're gonna talk about putting telescopes on rockets and making observations mid flight. Welcome to the wild world of sounding rockets.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 604: Balloon Astronomy by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So when you think about the world's observatories, I'm sure you're imagining huge telescopes perched atop mountain peaks or space telescopes like Hubble. But you might be surprised to learn that some telescopes are carried high into the atmosphere on board balloons. What can they accomplish?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 719: Galaxy Series - Spiral Galaxies by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 30, 2024. Our galaxy series continues, on to spiral galaxies. In fact, you’re living in one right now, but telescopes show us the various shapes and sizes these galaxies come in. Thanks to JWST, we’re learning how these spirals got big, early on in the Universe.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra David Truog Brian Cagle Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 603: New Colors of the Radio Spectrum by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about how new telescopes and techniques are allowing astronomers to explore the shortest wavelengths of light. This week we go to the other end of the electromagnetic spectrum and explore the longer radio waves which are now accessible to astronome

Astronomy Cast Ep. 602: The New Colors of Gamma Rays - Getting Shorter by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The Earth's atmosphere protects us from a Universe that is definitely trying to kill us. But it also blocks our view of the entire cosmos, like seeing X-rays and gamma radiation. Space telescopes are changing our view of the most extreme events in the Universe.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 601: Unexpected Light Pollution by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Day-by-day we're loosing our connection with the night sky. Already one third of humanity lives in so much light pollution that they can't see the Milky Way without a drive. And now satellite constellations are adding additional light pollution, even in the darkest skies on Earth.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 600: Looking Ahead by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Today we are gonna gaze into the future of space and astronomy. What upcoming missions & events are we excited about?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 599: Zodiacal Light by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pamela has told us in the most flowery terms about the diffuse dust across the inner solar system left over from the formation of the inner planets. well, it turns out she was wrong. Super wrong. Time to update!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 598: How You Could Overturn Cosmology by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay You've probably heard of dark matter and dark energy, but maybe you don't fully understand what they are. Or maybe the idea itself just rubs you the wrong way and you'd like to know why scientists think they can just make stuff up like this. So you'd like to overturn cosmology? Here's all you need to do.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 597: The Expansion of the Universe by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It's been a while since we checked to make sure the Universe was still expanding. Yeah, apparently, that's still a thing. But in the last few years powerful new telescopes and expansive surveys have given us much more knowledge about what's happening. Especially at the earliest times.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 596: The Universe’s Background Noise by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay You might be familiar with the cosmic microwave background, but that's just one of the background radiations that astronomers look at. Some are well known and cataloged. While others are just starting to be possible to see at all. All of them tell us more about our Universe.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 595: Planet Hunting - Revisited by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay This is gonna be another one of those evergreen topics where we come back again and again. Finding planets. Every time we talk about this now it seems like we've gained thousands of new planets. Well, buckle up! New techniques will grow that by tens of thousands and even millions!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 594: Juno - Primary Mission Highlights by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Pamela is always loath to talk about spacecraft until the mission's in space and the science is rolling. NASA's Juno Mission just received a mission extension, adding Jupiter's moons to the menu. Now, finally, we can talk about Juno! [Ed. Juno what I mean?]

Astronomy Cast Ep. 718: Galaxy Series - Dwarf Galaxies by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 30, 2024. It’s time to begin a new mini-series, where we’ll look at different classes of galaxies. Today, we’ll start with the dwarf galaxies, which flock around larger galaxies like the Milky Way. Are they the building blocks for modern structures?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 593: Stellar Parasites by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Stars often come in groups of 2 or more. And if they're orbiting close enough to each other one star can feast on the other and when that happens, well, mayhem ensues!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 592: Gamma-Ray Bursts - Updated by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe are gamma-ray bursts, capable of blasting a beam of death half way across the galaxy. In just the last few years astronomers have discovered a tremendous amount about these blasts and what's actually causing them. The answer, of course, is that it's more complicated than we originally thought. The old Gamma-Ray bursts show:

Astronomy Cast Ep. 591: What Are We Gonna Do With All That Space Junk? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Remember the good old days when there were only a few thousand living and dead satellites? Well, those days are long over. We're now entering an era where there will be tens of thousands of satellites. Not to mention the spent rocket boosters and other space junk. What kind of risk do we face and what can be done about it?