Astronomy Cast
Astronomy Cast is a weekly podcast that takes a fact-based journey through the cosmos. Hosted by Fraser Cain of Universe Today and Dr. Pamela L. Gay of the Planetary Science Institute, the show explores astronomical topics ranging from planets to cosmology. Each episode brings the questions of an avid astronomy lover directly to an astronomer, discussing what is known and being discovered about the universe.
Episodes
Ep. 799: Heavy Lift Rockets
Astronomy Cast Ep. 799: Heavy Lift Rockets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 22, 2026. The Saturn 5 was a monster, capable of sending humans and a lander to the Moon and bringing them back again. But the number of heavy lift rockets since then has gotten pretty sparse. Now, with tens if not hundreds of thousands of satellites in the works, giant new space telescopes and multi-ton
Ep. 798: Our Summer Media List
Astronomy Cast Ep. 798: Our Summer Media List By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 15, 2026. Well, we're just a couple of weeks away from summer hiatus and so it's time to give you some homework. Here's our list of stuff we've been reading watching and playing. This should fill the Astronomy-Cast-shaped hole in your media landscape. On the plane, on the beach, from the passenger se
Ep. 797: Summer in Space
Astronomy Cast Ep. 797: Summer in Space By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 10, 2026. We're about to take a much needed 2 month hiatus. But just because we're not here doesn't mean space stops existing and doing things. Today, let's give a preview of the big events due to happen in space this summer so you can prepare yourself and make sure you don't miss a thing! From meteors to mo
Ep. 796: Oceans & Organics on Mars
Astronomy Cast Ep. 796: Oceans & Organics on Mars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 1, 2026. Mars is cold & dry today, but the evidence is growing that it used to be warmer & wetter. with seas & oceans that covered large parts of its surface. With the additional findings of the chemicals for life, the search for life on Mars is getting pretty interesting! New results from Persev
Ep. 795: Expanse Science
Astronomy Cast Ep. 795: Expanse Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 10, 2026. This is the final episode of our series on sci-fi universes. And this week we will tackle "The Expanse". Now we've got fusion drives, Proto-matter, g-forces! Listen up, belta lawda! Let's look at the science of our own possible (with a side of aliens) future. This show is supported through people
Ep. 794: Stargate Science
Astronomy Cast Ep. 794: Stargate Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 10, 2026. We continue our ad-hoc miniseries through sci-fi franchises. This week we'll talk about Stargate, worm holes, mind parasites and self-replicating bots. There's a lot to talk about! This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast In this episode, we'd like to thank: An
Ep. 793: Star Trek Science
Astronomy Cast Ep. 793: Star Trek Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live May 4, 2026. Today we continue our mini-series; evaluating the science of various sci-fi franchises. We did Star Wars last week, this week tackle Star Trek. From transporters to warp drives, from phasers to photon torpedos. Let's tackle what Star Trek gets right and wrong about science. Let's look at the scienc
Ep. 792: Star Wars Science
Astronomy Cast Ep. 792: Star Wars Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live April 29, 2026. May the fourth be with you! Isn't that what people say on the international holiday known as Star Wars Day? Today we're gonna talk about the science in everyone's favorite sci-fi fantasy stories. Which of it is real, and which is essentially magic? Let's find out! Let's look at the science of a
Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return
Astronomy Cast Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 20, 2026. Last week we talked about samples from other worlds delivered to Earth by meteorites. But sometimes you've gotta do the job yourself. Visit the far off place and bring the samples home. And today we're gonna talk about China's Chang'e sample return program. How they've delivered rocks from
Ep. 790: Meteorites From Other Worlds
Astronomy Cast Ep. 790: Meteorites From Other Worlds By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live April 17, 2026. Even though humanity has returned samples from a fraction of the worlds in the solar system, the cosmos has delivered many more without us having to lift a finger. Meteorites. We have meteorites from the Moon, Vesta and even Mars! What have we learned about these rocks from other worl
Ep. 789: What Happens When a Planet's Star Dies
Astronomy Cast Ep. 789: What Happens When a Planet's Star Dies By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 30, 2026. A star like the Sun only lasts about 10 billion years and it becomes a red giant and finally a white dwarf. This is catastrophic for some of the planets, consumed by the expanding red giant star. But most survive. What happens next in the long, slow cooling to the backgroun
Ep. 788: Life's Molecules Form in Space
Astronomy Cast Ep. 788: Life's Molecules Form in Space By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 23, 2026. The theory of evolution how life takes on its wildly different forms. But how did life get started in the first place? It appears the Universe has been making life's molecules in space for billions of years, setting up the conditions for life… everywhere? One of humanity's fundamen
Ep. 787: Evolved Stars (They're not dead yet!)
Astronomy Cast Ep. 787: Evolved Stars (They're not dead yet!) By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 16, 2026. Main sequence stars spend most of their time being… normal. Fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. Producing radiation. But as their stockpiles of hydrogen run out they switch to other fuels, starting to climb the ladder of the periodic table of elements. And this is wh
Ep. 786: Wolf-Rayet Stars
Astronomy Cast Ep. 786: Wolf-Rayet Stars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 9, 2026. You think the Sun is a terrifying ball of fire and fury? Wait until you learn about today's topic: Wolf-Rayet stars! These are massive, dying stars hurling their outer layers out into space before detonating as supernovae. Big stars live brief lives, and Wolf-Rayet stars are the punctuation mark
Ep. 785: Magnetars
Astronomy Cast Ep. 785: Magnetars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live March 6, 2026. Magnetars are a special type of neutron star with physics that defy comprehension. Magnetic fields so powerful they could strip you apart at an atomic level. But, where do they come from? So many mysteries to uncover about magnetars. Back in December 2004, a gamma rays washed out cameras and zotted satel
Ep. 784: Pulsar-Powered Science
Astronomy Cast Ep. 784: Pulsar-Powered Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 16, 2026. Pulsars are dead stars and fascinating in their own right, but astronomers can use their predictable rotation for exploring the cosmos in a series of amazing ways. We can detect gravitational waves, navigate the solar system, test general relativity and find exoplanets. Pulsars are the tim
Ep. 783: Cataclysmic Variable Stars
Astronomy Cast Ep. 783: Cataclysmic Variable Stars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 16, 2026. There are many types of variable stars. Today we're gonna talk about cataclysmic variable stars, which are the result of a white dwarf stealing material from a companion star. And this whole process makes supervillain Pamela happy. Gravity is the weakest force, but on the scales of sta
Ep. 782: Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients
Astronomy Cast Ep. 782: Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 13, 2026. Modern astronomy has found that the Universe can surprise us. Here's one which astronomers have called Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients. They're kinda like supernovas, they're kind of like gamma ray bursts, but they're not like them. So what are they? In the distant Uni
Ep. 781: Awakening Black Holes
Astronomy Cast Ep. 781: Awakening Black Holes By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 2, 2026. One long standing mystery in astronomy were the quasars. Incomprehensible energy blasting out of a point-like source, billions of light years away. We now know these are actively feeding supermassive black holes, which can turn off and on in a startlingly short period of time. Today: When bl
Ep. 780: When Asteroids & Comets Attack!
Astronomy Cast Ep. 780: When Asteroids & Comets Attack! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 26, 2026. We live in a cosmic shooting gallery. It's not a matter of "if" but "when"! Dinosaurs, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. But seriously, folks, it's raining rocks & ice out there! How seriously should we take it? What happens when a variety of different objects hit the Earth? D
Ep. 779: Milankovitch Cycles
Astronomy Cast Ep. 779: Milankovitch Cycles By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 12, 2026. Humans live short lives, and from our perspective the seasons are something that come and go with perfect regularity. But astronomers know the terrible truth! And that there are cycles that slowly shift over tens of thousands of years, shifting the cycles and the Earth's climate. Today we'll
Ep. 778: Dyson Swarms
Astronomy Cast Ep. 778: Dyson Swarms By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 5, 2026. Freeman Dyson asked a fascinating question. What would it look like if a civilization was using all the energy coming from their star? And what form would this take? This introduced the concept of a Dyson Sphere, or more realistically, a Dyson Swarm surrounding a star. But if you're skeptical about t
Ep. 777: The Eddington Limit
Astronomy Cast Ep. 777: The Eddington Limit By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 29, 2025. How big can a star get? This is a calculation made by one of the original pioneers of modern astronomy, Sir Arthur Eddington. And it's named after him, the Eddington Limit. Now, astronomers are finding examples of giant black holes early in the Universe, calling into question some of Eddingto
Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomy
Astronomy Cast Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomy By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 22, 2025. Shortly after the big bang there were almost exactly the same amounts of matter and antimatter in the Universe, but there was just enough of a difference that we live in a matter-dominated Universe. But it didn't have to be that way! Explaining this mystery has been one of the g
Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line
Astronomy Cast Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 15, 2025. Atomic hydrogen is the raw material for stars, but there's a problem. It's cold & dark, but it can do a very rare trick, releasing a photon in a very specific wavelength, known as the 21 centimeter line. And thanks to this wavelength astronomers have mapped out star forming regions across
Ep. 774: How Does Bad Science Happen?
Astronomy Cast Ep. 774: How Does Bad Science Happen? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 8, 2025. Scientific expertise is under attack on all fronts with concerns coming from politicians and the public. While most of this is unwarranted and politically motivated, there can be germ of truth. Bad science does happen, but how? How is it that papers that very few believe still make it
Ep. 773: What Would You Do With $1 Billion For Astronomy?
Astronomy Cast Ep. 773: What Would You Do With $1 Billion For Astronomy? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 9, 2025. We are powerless fans of space exploration. But what if some fool gave us the authority and funding to make our space dreams a reality? Someone asked us what we'd do with a billion dollars. What missions? Which telescopes? But what if we had more? 100 Billion! A tr
Ep. 772: 2025 Gift Guide
Astronomy Cast Ep. 772: 2025 Gift Guide By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 9, 2025. It's time once again for our annual gift-giving guide. We've got recommendations for books, movies, TV shows, games, and of course astronomy gear to satisfy the space nerds in your family. The Christmas season is almost upon us, and with it comes excuses to inject science into the lives of those y
Ep. 771: Comet Tails
Astronomy Cast Ep. 771: Comet Tails By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 8, 2025. With the arrival of the comet 3I/Atlas (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System), the world is getting a crash course in comets, their behavior, and of course their tails. Today we're going to talk about comets and their tails, why they exist, how they grow, why they can be different colors and
Ep. 770: The Ethics of Mars Exploration
Astronomy Cast Ep. 770: The Ethics of Mars Exploration By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 3, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. It is arguable that humanity now has the technological ability to live on Mars. It would be done at enormous expense and sacrifice, and there are some tricky problems that we haven't solved yet. Although we could live on Mars, should we?
Ep. 769: Little Red Dots
Astronomy Cast Ep. 769: Little Red Dots By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 20, 2025. New instruments bring new mysteries, and when James Webb came on line it uncovered a collection of strange, compact, bright objects shifted deeply into the red end of the spectrum. These were dubbed "Little red dots" or LRDs. And the astronomical community continues to puzzle over what they are.
Ep. 768: Comets' Unpredictability
Astronomy Cast Ep. 768: Comets' Unpredictability By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 13, 2025. So it's been decades since we've seen a bright comet in the sky. And actually there was a pair — Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake. And then, silence! And unmet promises by the Universe to give us a bright comet. Comets are unpredictable, and they arrive precisely when they intend to. Is it time a
Ep. 767: Black Holes in Extreme Circumstances
Astronomy Cast Ep. 767: Black Holes in Extreme Circumstances By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay Streamed live on Oct 6, 2025. You can only describe a black hole by its mass and its spin. And maybe it's charge. But allow us to propose a new criteria: the personal experience. Some black holes have seen things… Experienced the laws of physics at their most ex
Ep. 766: How Spacecraft End
Astronomy Cast Ep. 766: How Spacecraft End By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay End-of-Life Planning for Your Spacecraft! Streamed live October 1, 2025. Your spacecraft has reached the end of its mission. You've done everything you can to keep it operational, but now it's time to say goodbye. How do space agencies deal with spacecraft to shut them down gracefully, protect future missions and life on ot
Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment
Astronomy Cast Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 22, 2025. We don't launch a lot of rockets every year, so their impact on the environment is minimal compared to other forms of transportation. But that number is steadily increasing with rates that we'll have to take seriously. What's the current and future impact of rockets on the environment
Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch!
Astronomy Cast Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live September 17, 2025. This week, we look at the process behind rockets getting licensed to launch, and everyone around the pad getting notified to stay away as T-0 approaches. (Can you say "errant boat"?) We have a saying around here: "One does not simply book a return trip from a rocket launch." That's because
Ep. 763: Interstellar Comets
Astronomy Cast Ep. 763: Interstellar Comets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Sep 8, 2025. Welcome to the first episode of our 19th season! This week we look at objects coming from other solar systems that come passing on by our Sun. During the summer hiatus the 3rd interstellar object was discovered: Comet 3I/ATLAS! So now we have 3 different interstellar interlopers to compare & cont
Ep. 762: Science in Crisis - NASA's New Budget
Astronomy Cast Ep. 762: Science in Crisis - NASA's New Budget By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 30, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay Normally we try to end the season on a high note. But there's unfolding news that we just HAVE to cover before we leave you for the summer. NASA's new budget is here, and it's 25% smaller. We'll cover what the changes are and try
Ep. 761: It's Here! The Vera Rubin Observatory
Astronomy Cast Ep. 761: It's Here! The Vera Rubin Observatory By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 25, 2025. The time has come. The mighty Vera Rubin Observatory has finally come on line and delivered its "first light" images. And by Pamela's rules that means we get to talk about it! So let's do that! After decades of waiting, we have images from Vera Rubin Observatory! SUPPORTED BY
Ep. 760: What to Look For This Summer
Astronomy Cast Ep. 760: What to Look For This Summer By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 16, 2025. It's almost time for our annual summer hiatus, but before we go, we wanted to direct you towards all the fun and space stuff we'll be enjoying this summer. We've got meteor showers, planets, rocket launches, TV shows, movies! Here's what's good. In a couple of weeks, we'll go on hiat
Ep. 759: The Commercial Space Program
Astronomy Cast Ep. 759: The Commercial Space Program By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 9, 2025. Humanity has turned its focus back to the Moon, sending a fleet of spacecraft to the lunar surface. Some are run by the government, but there's a whole new group of commercial landers bearing instruments to the lunar surface. Is this the future of lunar exploration? Space used to be a
Ep. 758: Non-Roving Rovers
Astronomy Cast Ep. 758: Non-Roving Rovers By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 26, 2025. Some of our favorite robots are rovers currently roving around the surface of the Moon & Mars. But there's some pretty tricky terrain out there and engineers are scheming up clever ways to explore other worlds inspired by life that crawls, slithers, hops and flies. As we explore more surfaces a
Ep. 757: CubeSats
Astronomy Cast Ep. 757: CubeSats By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 19, 2025. Computers are getting smaller, faster and more capable, which has enabled an entirely mew class of satellites: CubeSats. A mission small enough that you can hold it in your hands, and yet powerful enough to even travel to other planets and send messages home. Every year, our electronics seem to get smal
Ep. 756: SphereX
Astronomy Cast Ep. 756: SphereX By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 12, 2025. NASA's newly launched SphereX mission is up & operational and has completed its initial checkout and "first light". Everything looks good! And now it's starting its science operations. And that's good enough for Pamela! And THAT means we can talk about it. So let's do that! There's a new space telescope
Ep. 755: Intermediate Mass Black Holes
Astronomy Cast Ep. 755: Intermediate Mass Black Holes By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 5, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. There are stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. But very little evidence of anything in between. Where are all the intermediate-mass black holes that should be the building blocks of the biggest ones? Actually, the science has been a
Ep. 754: K2-18b
Astronomy Cast Ep. 754: K2-18b By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 28, 2025. You've heard the news! Astronomers are reporting the discovery of biosignatures at K2-18b. Is this proof of life or should we all be more skeptical? It's in the news and people are claiming aliens... but is it aliens? Let's see what the data actually says. SUPPORTED BY YOU This Episode is made possible th
Ep. 753: Why is the Moon's South Pole So Interesting?
Astronomy Cast Ep. 753: Why is the Moon's South Pole So Interesting? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 21, 2025. I'm sure you've heard that all eyes are on the Moon's southern pole. This is where various NASA and Chinese missions are targeting. What makes this region so special and what are the special challenges that explorers will face. From TV shows to real-world missions, it
Ep. 752: Should We Go to the Moon or Mars Next?
Astronomy Cast Ep. 752: Should We Go to the Moon or Mars Next? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 16, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay There is an ongoing debate on where NASA should go next with humans: to the Moon or Mars. (Or maybe an asteroid or one of Mars' moons). We are on the verge of sending humans back to the Moon. At the same time others would prefer
Ep. 751: Vacuum Energy
Astronomy Cast Ep. 751: Vacuum Energy By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 7, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. Even empty space isn't empty. It's filled with the quantum fluctuations of spacetime itself. Which can be measured with famous experiments like the Casimir Effect. There is a surprising amount of energy in space itself, which has led to some interesting
Ep. 750: Supernova Early Warning System
Astronomy Cast Ep. 750: Supernova Early Warning System By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 31, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay When enormous stars detonate as supernovae they release a burst of neutrinos that can be the first sign of a coming explosion. Now, astronomers have built a network to watch for that flash of neutrinos, and help direct their telescopes f
Ep. 749: Dark Energy Changing Over Time
Astronomy Cast Ep. 749: Dark Energy Changing Over Time By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 24, 2025. The Hubble Tension is a vexing problem, with astronomers measuring the expansion of the Universe at different points in its history and getting different results. Errors have mostly been ruled out, which leaves the potential for new physics. Has the strength of dark energy been cha
Ep. 748: Fast Radio Bursts
Astronomy Cast Ep. 748: Fast Radio Bursts By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 17, 2025. For the briefest of moments, some dead stars can flash brighter than their entire galaxy (in Radio light) and then live to do it again and again. It's time for an update on fast radio bursts, a phenomenon we've only known about for a few decades. In this time astronomers have learned a tremendo
Ep. 747: Rogue Planets
Streamed live on Mar 10, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay Most planets orbit stars. That's the rule, right? Well, maybe not. In fact the vast majority of planets could be floating freely through the Milky Way. Today we're gonna talk about rogue planets. Sometimes planets just go rogue. Let's learn about planets living free from stars. Show Notes: Earth's Dust Storms Mars' Global
Ep. 746: Dust Storms
Astronomy Cast Ep. 746: Dust Storms By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Feb 24, 2025. We have dust storms on Earth and of course the famous dust storms on Mars. There are even dust storms on Titan. What causes these storms and how do they work differently on the worlds in the solar system. But what about the exoplanets? The bane of solar panels, humans, and robots, dust storms have a way
Ep. 745: How We Know If Asteroids Will Attack
Astronomy Cast Ep. 745: How We Know If Asteroids Will Attack By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Feb 20, 2025. I'm sure you've heard the news, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a tiny chance of hitting Earth in 2032. How do astronomers discover these dangerous asteroids, measure their future impact risk and track the changes over time? When should we panic? New asteroids are found every day, and eve
Ep. 744: Lunar Time
Astronomy Cast Ep. 744: Lunar Time By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 10, 2025. What time is it? OK, fine, what time is it on the Moon? The Moon orbits the Earth, so it doesn't fall into a specific time zone. Also, there's lower gravity on the surface of the Moon, which changes the rate that clocks tick. Well… It's time to introduce Lunar Time. When are you when you are on the Mo
Ep. 741: Technosignatures
Astronomy Cast Ep. 741: Technosignatures By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 20, 2025. As humanity developed more advanced technology, we're having a larger effect on our environment. The more we do, the more we could be detectable. And this gives us ideas on how we could detect other civilizations, even if they don't realize we're watching. SUPPORTED BY YOU This Episode is made p
Ep. 740: Sneaky Stars!
Astronomy Cast Ep. 740: Sneaky Stars! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 13, 2025. Why stars can't be trusted! If you're an astronomer you depend on accurate observations of stars, but there's a problem. Stars are sneaky! Changing in size, brightness, color, they hide their chemistry, their age and even their companions from all but the cleverest observers. Stars explode precisel
Ep. 739: Drones!
Astronomy Cast Ep. 740: Drones! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live January 9, 2025. From little Ingenuity to the future Firefly and all our Earth Science fliers, let's look at the buzzy scientists. NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter showed us how wonderful a flying science platform can be on another world. Soon there'll be a helicopter flying on Titan, but there are many other flying robo
Ep. 736: Gift Guide 2024
Astronomy Cast Ep. 736: Gift Guide 2024 By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 2, 2024 It's time for our Holiday Gift Guide, where we suggest ideas for presents for the space fans in your life! What books are we reading? What games are we playing and what telescopes are we admiring? SUPPORTED BY YOU !!! This Episode is made possible thanks to our Patrons on Patreon. Join at the Galax
Ep. 735: Albert Einstein
Astronomy Cast Ep. 735: Albert Einstein By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 25, 2024. Last week we talked about the Einstein probe. So this week it is only natural that we talk about the man himself, Albert Einstein. He revolutionized the field of physics, played a vital role in the early 20th century and struggled to unite the forces of the Universe at the end of his career. Host
Ep. 734: The Einstein Mission
Astronomy Cast Ep. 734: The Einstein Mission By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 11, 2024. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. Another day, another space telescope! Today we're looking at the newly launched Einstein Probe. A collaboration between the Chinese Space Agency and the European Space Agency. The mission has been operating since January searching the cosmos for
Ep. 733: Euclid Of Alexandria
Astronomy Cast - Ep. 733: Euclid Of Alexandria By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 5, 2024. Last week we talked about the mission. This week we'll talk about Euclid of Alexandria, the ancient Greek mathematician who inspired the mission. Let's learn about his life and the ground breaking work that made so much of our modern mathematics possible. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pame
Ep. 732: The Euclid Telescope
Astronomy Cast Ep. 732: The Euclid Telescope By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 28, 2024. Let's look at the Euclid Space Telescope. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay The Euclid 208-Gigapixel image! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86ZCsUfgLRQ SUPPORTED BY YOU! This Episode is made possible thanks to our Patrons on Patreon. Join at the Galaxy Group level or higher to be
Ep. 731: Neil Gehrels
Astronomy Cast Ep. 731: Neil Gehrels By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 21, 2024. Last week we talked about the Neil Gerhels Swift Telescope, this week we'll be talking about the man behind the mission. Gerhels was the principle investigator behind many missions, including Swift. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. SUPPORTED BY YOU! This Episode is made possible thanks
Ep. 729: The James Webb Space Telescope
Astronomy Cast Ep. 729: The James Webb Space Telescope By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 30, 2024. Let's talk about that giant telescope that's changing everything. We have been waiting our entire careers to make this episode on the James Webb Space Telescope, AKA the JWST. This historic Observatory was launched just a couple of years ago and it's already overturning our underst
Ep. 728: Solar Scientist Eugene Parker
Astronomy Cast Ep. 728: Solar Scientist Eugene Parker By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 23, 2024. Last week, we talked about the Parker Solar Probe. As always, we like to talk about the person who inspired the mission. What makes this amazing and different is that Eugene Parker was there to watch the launch of the mission that shares his name. Why is he so influential on solar a
Ep. 727: Parker Solar Probe
Astronomy Cast Ep. 727: Parker Solar Probe By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 16, 2024. Let's look over the long life of the Parker Solar Probe as it explores the Sun and nearby worlds. The Sun! It's that ongoing thermonuclear explosion that's happening right over there! And although the Sun is necessary for life on Earth, we still have questions! So NASA has sent the Parker Sola
Ep. 726: Looking Back Over The Summer
Astronomy Cast Ep. 726: Looking Back Over The Summer By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Sep 9, 2024. We made all sorts of predictions, and some of the stuff we didn't know about last July, somehow, we still don't know about as we set up this episode on September 3! Join us for the first episode of Season 18 as we review all the crazy space science that happened during our Summer Hiatus.
Ep. 173: Herschel Space Observatory - REMASTER
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.
Ep. 172: William Herschel - REMASTER
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
Ep. 88 - The Hubble Space Telescope - REMASTER
Astronomy Cast Ep. 88 - The Hubble Space Telescope - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From May 12, 2008. Our understanding of the cosmos has been revolutionized by the Hubble Space Telescope. The breathtaking familiar photos, like the Pillars of Creation, pale in comparison to the astounding amount of science data returned to Earth. Hubble's getting old, though, serviced several times alre
Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble - REMASTER
Astronomy Cast Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From November 2, 2009. You might know the name "Hubble" because of the Hubble Space Telescope. But this phenomenal observatory was named after one of the most influential astronomers in modern history. Hubble discovered that galaxies are speeding away from us in all directions, leading to our current understanding of a
Ep. 219 - Planck Mission - REMASTER
Astronomy Cast Ep. 219 - Planck Mission - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From February 7, 2011. Another mission named after a famous physicist. This time we're looking at the Planck mission, designed to study the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation over the entire sky. Like the previous WMAP mission, this will help astronomers understand the first moments after the Big Bang. This Episo
Ep. 218 REMASTER - Max Plank
Astronomy Cast - Ep. 218 REMASTER - Max Plank By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From Jan 31, 2011. It's time for another action-packed double episode, where we meet a man and his mission. This time around its German physicist Max Planck, considered to be the father of quantum theory – he was later granted a Nobel Prize for just that discovery. Let's take a trip back just over 100 years to learn abou
Bonus Content: The week of too much news
In this bonus episode, we bring you behind the scenes audio from our June 10 pre-show discussion about the "far too much news" that occurred the week of June 3, 2024.
Ep. 725: Looking Ahead
Streamed live on Jun 24, 2024. Normally Pamela refuses to think about the future. But today, on our final episode before hiatus, she's throwing out those rules. It's like the PURGE! Here's what we're excited about for the future. Especially for the next couple of months until we return in September. This Episode is made possible thanks to our Patrons on Patreon. Join at the Galaxy Group level or h
Ep. 724: Summer (Science & Sci Fi) Reads
Astronomy Cast Ep. 724: Summer (Science & Sci Fi) ReadsFraser & Pamela list their favorite books! Take notes! It's almost time for our summer hiatus. A time to catch up on all that reading. We'll give you some book recommendations, and what we're hoping to read during the summer. Streamed live Jun 20, 2024. From Pamela: I also have a favor to ask - I'm working on a research project with my collabo
Ep. 723: Exoplanets by the Numbers
Astronomy Cast Ep. 723: Exoplanets by the Numbers By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 10, 2024. Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets, revealing entirely new types of worlds that we just don't have in the solar system. It's enough to start getting a rough sense of what kinds of planets are out there. What's the big picture? This Episode is made possible thanks to our
Ep. 722: Weather on Exoplanets
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 a
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