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Ask a Spaceman!

Ask a Spaceman!

Paul M. Sutter 278 episodes Nov 3, 2026

Astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter answers your questions about space and time in this educational podcast. Each episode aims to bring you closer to complete knowledge of the universe. The show covers a wide range of topics from black holes to the Big Bang.

Episodes

AaS! 283: What's Really Going on with UAPs?
AaS! 283: What's Really Going on with UAPs? Nov 3, 2026 28:48 What are UFOs? What are the chances that aliens have visited the Earth? Why should we bother talking about it? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions about space, scie
AaS! 282: What Happens When You Shine a Light on Nothing?
AaS! 282: What Happens When You Shine a Light on Nothing? Oct 20, 2026 21:19 How does the vacuum interact with light? Is it possible to use light to create something from nothing? And is "birefringence" a real word? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those
AaS! 281: What Makes the Scattered Disk So Wild?
AaS! 281: What Makes the Scattered Disk So Wild? Oct 6, 2026 27:04 How did the scattered disk of the solar system form? What kins of strange objects roam those badlands? And what does it do to the rest of the solar system? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com
AaS! 280: Wait So We Can Steal Energy from Black Holes?
AaS! 280: Wait So We Can Steal Energy from Black Holes? Sep 22, 2026 27:15 What is frame dragging? How do we measure it? And how can we turn this into a method for extracting energy from rotating black holes? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those ques
AaS! 279: What Can We Actually Find on an Exoplanet?
AaS! 279: What Can We Actually Find on an Exoplanet? Sep 8, 2026 29:17 Just how hard are exoplanets observations? What kind of telescope will it take to find life? And how much information can we get out of a single pixel of light? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutte
AaS! 278: What's A Good Story About Chandrasekhar?
AaS! 278: What's A Good Story About Chandrasekhar? Aug 18, 2026 36:19 What was the big deal about Chandrasekhar's discovery? Why did he meet so much resistance? How is his work tied to everything from supernovae to black holes? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.c
AaS! 277: What's It Like to Travel Near the Speed of Light?
AaS! 277: What's It Like to Travel Near the Speed of Light? Aug 4, 2026 23:21 What does high-speed motion through the universe do to your perspective? What is the Rindler horizon, and how does it appear? Would you get vaporized by a high-energy bath of radiation? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a
AaS! 276: What Would Happen if the Sun…Stopped?
AaS! 276: What Would Happen if the Sun…Stopped? Jul 21, 2026 26:57 What really keeps the Sun shining? How long would it stay warm if fusion stopped? How long would it take before we noticed? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions abou
AaS! 275: Why Can't the Universe Be Cyclic?
AaS! 275: Why Can't the Universe Be Cyclic? Jul 7, 2026 31:56 What are the weaknesses of inflation theory? How did the ekpyrotic theory attempt to improve it? How did it open up its own can of worms? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those
AaS! 274: Is Dust the Best Thing in the Universe?
AaS! 274: Is Dust the Best Thing in the Universe? Jun 23, 2026 26:54 Why is dust so annoying? But where does it come from, and what can it do? And is dust responsible for the creation of life? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books Keep those questions abou
AaS! 273: What if the Universe Had No Beginning?
AaS! 273: What if the Universe Had No Beginning? Jun 9, 2026 30:18 What does is mean for the universe to have a wave function? How does Hawking's "no boundary" proposal mean that the universe comes from itself? And is it really the final answer? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: h
AaS! 272: Are Neutrinos Their Own Evil Twins?
AaS! 272: Are Neutrinos Their Own Evil Twins? May 19, 2026 34:30 What does "antimatter" actually mean? Can a particle be its own opposite? What would happen to it, and what does this have to do with a missing scientist? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/

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