Space Radio – Details, episodes & analysis

This week we gave Space Radio its final send off. This project, started four years ago at an Ohio radio station, turned into so much more than I could have imagined. I’d like to thank the Space Cadets for tuning in and supporting my outreach. Thank you all for tuning in each week and have no fear. There’s plenty more laughter and learning in the works!!

Our final cheese was Van Tricht Drunk Monk, a fudgy Trappist-style cheese made with Belgian beer. Find info here: https://dibruno.com/van-tricht-drunk-monk/

This week I had a blast chatting with Launch Pad Astronomy host Christian Ready. Christian surprised me by bringing a slab of HIS favorite cheese to the show and we had an impromptu cheese tasting! (Can you guess what cheese Christian brought?)

This week's Dom's Cheese of the week was Gjetost, a traditional Norwegian cheese made with caramelized goat's milk. It has a fudge-like texture with salted caramel flavors: https://domscheese.com/product/gjetost/

Christian is an astronomer at Towson University where he also serves as planetarium director. He has spent much of his life in awe of the universe. In fact, he first worked professionally in the field of Astronomy at the tender age of 13 when he started working at the Sproul Observatory at Swarthmore College near his home. Initially, Christian measured the positions of stars on hundreds of photographic plates, but he later moved on to taking observations with the 24-inch refractor.

During his time at Sproul Observatory, Christian developed a passion for showing the public celestial objects through their telescopes during monthly open houses. On those inevitable cloudy nights, he would present slideshows when people would show up anyway.

Christian went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Villanova University where his passion for public outreach was reinforced as a teacher’s assistant and presenter on weekly public viewing nights.

While working at Space Telescope Science Institute, and later at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, Christian gave talks about the Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomy topics at venues ranging from schools, to community groups, to science fiction conventions. He continues to give talks to this day and has been known to make a video or two.

Christian is now an instructor at the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop, where he helps teach writers, editors, filmmakers, and other creative professionals about astronomy. He views this as an opportunity to combine his loves of astronomy, teaching, and science fiction into one.

You can learn more about Christian by visiting his website (https://christianready.com/) and you can subscribe to Launch Pad Astronomy on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/christianready)

Don't forget to follow Christian on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christianready/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/christianready/), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/christianready/).

To learn more about Launch Pad Astronomy, go to https://www.launchpadworkshop.org/ . You can also follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LaunchPadAstronomy), Twitter (https://twitter.com/LaunchPadAstro), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/launchpadastro/).

This week on Space Radio I try to shed some light on the Dark Energy Survey and what, if anything, we have learned about the Universe.

And of course I answer questions from the Space Cadets, including:

► What the purpose of the DES REALLY was;

► Why space doesn't have air (thanks for the voice mail Cordelia!);

► How finite mass and density can result in black holes (thanks Christopher S!);

► Why Mars no longer has a magnetic field (thanks Don!);

► … and much more!

This week's Dom's cheese was Tres Leches: https://domscheese.com/product/tres-leches/

Special thanks to stiffcornsocks for this week's Superchat!

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, Lowell, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53 , COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, Katelyn, Thomas H, and Farshad A.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

This week I was delighted to chat with Dr. Jessie Christiansen about the search for exoplanets and her work on NASA's TESS mission. We chatted about a wide ranging list of topics, including:

► How exoplanets are named;

► How far away the most distant detected exoplanet is;

► The prospects for detecting exomoons;

► The oddball nature of many exoplanet systems that have been detected;

► And much more.

Image Credit: MIT, NASA

Special shoutout to Launch Pad Astronomy for his SuperChat during the stream!

Our Dom's cheese of the week was Red Witch, a Swiss cheese with a paprika-rubbed peppery red rind.

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, Lowell, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53 , COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, Katelyn, Thomas H, and Farshad A.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

This week on Space Radio Live I rant… errrr, talk… about the Pro (yes, singular,) and Cons of having thousands of small communication satellites orbiting the Earth. I also answer some viewer questions, including:

► Why are scientists so surprised to find galaxies at the edge of the observable Universe?

► How the inherent nature of Space-Time impacts Earth-based observations using light that has just arrived here;

► … and much more.

Cover Image: Starlink Satellite Composite, Mike Lewinski, Flickr

Tonight's Dom's Cheese of the Week was Tête de Moine, a raw milk cheese from Switzerland.

Special shout out to Russell Neitzke for his Super Chat!

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53 , COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, and Katelyn.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

This week I had a fascinating chat about all things SETI with Dr. Jason Wright, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State University.

As a member of the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds and director of the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center, Jason works on a variety of problems related to stars, their planets, and life in the universe. His work in SETI includes searches for signs of extraterrestrial industry via waste heat (e.g., Dyson Spheres,) and the development of curricula in the field. He also studies stars, their atmospheres, their activity, and their planets. Jason is an Instrument Team Project Scientist for NEID, a PI of NExSS, a co-PI of MINERVA, and a member of the Habitable Zone Planet Finder.

Jason teach at the University Park campus, and has an active research group of students and postdocs.

You can learn more about Jason and his research on his blog, his research page, and by following him on Twitter (@Astro_Wright). And don’t forget to follow the Twitter feed for the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center!

Want more information about SETI research? Be sure to also check out the Berkeley SETI Research Center / Breakthrough Listen as well as the SETI Institute.

This week's cheese from Dom’s Cheese was the Germain Triple Crème!

Thank you and shout out to Russell Neitzke for his Super Chat this week!

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, Lowell, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53 , COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, Katelyn, and Thomas H!!

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

Tonight on Cheese Radio Live! I shared some of the Tastiest Arxiv stories published this week:

► Pandemic Dark Matter https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.16572

► The Existential Threat of Future Exoplanet Discoveries https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.17079

► The secret of the elixir of youth of blue straggler stars https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.16866

► Using Artificial Intelligence to Shed Light on the Star of Biscuits: The Jaffa Cake

https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.16575

► The Swampland Conjecture Bound Conjecture https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.16583

► I Knew You Were Trouble: Emotional Trends in the Repertoire of Taylor Swift https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.16737

► The Swapland https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.17198

► … and more!

Tonight's Dom's Cheese of the Week was Drunken Goat: https://domscheese.com/product/drunken-goat/

Thank you and shout out to Russell Neitzke for his Super Chat this week!

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53, COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, and Katelyn.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking with Teasel Muir-Harmony, curator of the Project Apollo collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, about the history of the Apollo missions and the role politics has had in setting space policy.

In her new book, “OPERATION MOONGLOW: A Political History of Project Apollo,” Teasel explores how and why the moon landing became one of the most decisive geopolitical events of the 20th century. In the wake of the Soviet Union’s pioneering launch of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and a humiliating defeat at the Bay of Pigs days later, President John F. Kennedy proposed Project Apollo as a solution to restoring America’s tarnished geopolitical standing. With Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States approaching an all-time high, Kennedy argued that ramping up the space program would inspire global confidence in American excellence -- and might even persuade people in developing countries to pick American “freedom” over Soviet “tyranny.”

In addition to her duties at the Smithsonian, Teasel teaches at Georgetown University. She is the author of "Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects" and is also a contributor to the television series Apollo’s Moon Shot. She lives in Washington, DC.

To learn more about OPERATION MOONGLOW, including how to can get your copy, visit https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/teasel-muir-harmony/operation-moonglow/9781541699878/

You can follow Teasel on Twitter (https://twitter.com/teaselmuir).

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53, COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, and Katelyn.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

Astronomers are puzzled after discovering a radio-jet-emitting Quasar dating back to the early Universe [https://www.space.com/most-distant-radio-loud-quasar-jets]. This week on Space Radio Live I talk about why this is such a conundrum, as well as these other subjects:

► Why quasars and AGNs are more common in the distant past;

► Difference(s) between a black hole singularity and the Big Bang singularity;

► Black holes and frame dragging and ergospheres - OH MY!

► Do Cherenkov radiation particles experience time going backwards?

► … and much more.

Cover Image: Artistic representation of the quasar P172 + 18 (Credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser)

Tonight's Dom's Cheese of the Week was Mimolette, a cave-aged cheese from northern France.: https://domscheese.com/product/mimolette/

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53, COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, and Katelyn.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

Hey astronomers! You had ONE JOB: Keep an eye on the Black Hole! This week on Space Radio Live I talk about the time they "lost" that Black Hole, plus these other topics:

This week on Space Radio:

► Quantum Entangled Particles;

► Grand Unification Theory;

► How scientists deal with infinity;

► … and more.

Special thanks to Russell Neitzke for his two SuperChats!

Cover image credit: NASA, ESA, T. Brown, S. Casertano, and J. Anderson

Tonight's Dom's Cheese of the Week was Tomme Saint Georges: https://domscheese.com/product/tomme-saint-georges/

Join the show recording every Thursday at 8pm ET by leaving a voicemail at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.

Support the show on Patreon.

Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.

Justin G, Matthew K, Chris L, Barbara K, Duncan M, Corey D, Justin Z, Neuterdude, Nate H, Andrew F, Naila, Aaron S, Scott M, Rob H, David B, Frank T, Tim R, Alex P, Tom Van S, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Steve P, Dave L, Chuck C, Stephen M, Maureen R, Stace J, Neil P, lothian53 , COTFM, Stephen S, Ken L, Debra S, Alberto M, Matt C, Ron S, Joe R, Jeremy K, David P, Norm Z, Ulfert B, Robert B, Fr. Bruce W, Catherine R, Nicolai B, Sean M, Edward K, Callan R, Darren W, JJ_Holy, Tracy F, Tom, Sarah K, Bill H, Steven S, Jens O, Ryan L, Ella F, Richard S, Sam R, Thomas K, James C, Jorg D, R Larche, Syamkumar M, John S, Fred S, Homer V, Mark D, Brianna V, Colin B, Bruce A, Steven M, Brent B, Bill E, Jim L, Tim Z, Thomas W, Linda C, Joshua, David W, Aissa F, Tom G, Marc H, Avery P, Scott M, Michael G, and Katelyn.

Produced by Nancy Graziano.

Cheese for today’s tasting proudly provided by Dom’s Cheese Shop.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist and the one and only Agent to the Stars.