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Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#79 Launched in 1972 for Venus, Kosmos 482 failed to escape Earth orbit — and finally returned in May 2025, after 53 years in spaceKosmos 482, was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus, but a technical glitch meant it never made it past Earth orbit. Designed to withstand the hellish surface of Venus, its lander remained in space for over 50 years, but this relic of Cold War space exploration has finally returned, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere decades after its failed journey. Though the mission never reached Venus, Kosmos 482’s dramatic, delayed descent closes a half-century chapter in space history.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special contentX.com/CosmicCoffTimeEm...2025-05-3111 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#78 The Andromeda Galaxy is a cosmic neighbour that’s going to collide with our Milky Way Galaxy. Should we panic?No need to panic. Yet! We’ll be fine for the next 4 or 5 billion years, but Andromeda is heading our way. The Andromeda Galaxy was the first object to be identified as being outside our own galaxy, and it introduced us to extragalactic astronomy. And that’s not all. It can teach us more about dark matter and it could be home to billions of planets.It’s a very cool neighbour, but one day - it’s kinda going to move in!Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content2025-04-3008 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#77 The stranded astronauts are finally home after 9 months in space. Let’s see how Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore got homeTheir planned 8 day visit to the International Space Station was turned on its head when NASA announced their Boeing Starliner capsule was unsafe to use. What did Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore do for those 9 months? And we check out the plan that was put together to get them home safely.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content X.com/CosmicCoffTimeEmail us!cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.comYou can request a topic for the show! Or...2025-03-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#76 The Apollo program was the high point of the space age. From test flights, to lunar landings and the moon buggiesAfter everything learned through Mercury and Gemini culminated in the seventeen Apollo missions. The first ten were all testing and rehearsals, but the whole program, and a whole era was characterised by Apollo 11, the first time humans set foot on the moon. Along with the triumph, there was tragedy and a very near miss, and one of the most underrated aspects of NASA's space program - the lunar roving vehicles that let the astronauts explore more than seven kilometres from the Lunar Module.This really was one of the most remarkable endeavours of science, engineering and teamwork...2025-02-2810 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#75 NASA's Project Gemini was a spectacular program that bridged the gap from Project Mercury to Apollo. Gemini developed the incredible technology and techniques needed for the lunar programNasa had accomplished spaceflight with Project Mercury but the gap to Apollo was still huge. How do you dock two spacecraft in flight and how do crews live in a tiny spacecraft for lunar length flights. These are just a couple of the questions that NASA needed to answer. Gemini was just the project to resolve all of these issues. It was a proving ground, for learning, testing and practicing the skills needed for lunar missions. Gemini wasn't the first program to accomplish spaceflight, and it didn't include the most well known achievements, but it was a formidable project...2025-01-3110 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#74 At the beginning of the space race, Project Mercury was NASA’s first human crewed spaceflight program, and it was a significant step on the road to the moon. Let’s dive into the vault and check it out.Back in the late 1950s, NASA was formed. Its first job was to put together a human crewed spaceflight program and put an astronaut into orbit - safely. This was Project Mercury. There were some uncrewed developmental flights and then six crewed flights between 1961 and 1963, this was an enormously significant step toward the Apollo moon landings just six years later.So who were the Mercury astronauts and what was the mission profile of these first six crewed spaceflights?Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content X.com/CosmicCoffTime2024-12-3111 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#73 NASA’s Project Mercury Monument has turned 60! It’s a tribute to America's first attempt at human space flight. The monument has a time capsule that is scheduled to stay sealed for 500 years! Let’s check out what's inside.Project Mercury was NASA’s first attempt at human crewed space flight. It sent Alan Shepard into space, and John Glenn into orbit, among four other landmark flights over 5 years. By 1963 it was done, and NASA was ready to launch Gemini, its next project. But being such a groundbreaking project, in 1964 NASA paid tribute to Mercury with a four metre high stainless steel monument with a time capsule that would remain sealed beneath it until the year 2464, five centuries later. What was so significant about Mercury? And what’s inside this time capsule? We could wait another 440 years...2024-11-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#72 The space pioneers from Earth weren’t humans, what? That’s right, long before humans launched into space, there were a whole team of dogs, monkeys, chimps, insects and more, who rode rockets to space. All in the name of research.When Yuri Gagarin blasted into orbit in 1961 to become the first human in space, he was already 14 years behind the first animals from Earth. The fruit flies that were flew to space in 1947 were just the first of many different animals in the decade and a half before Gagarin’s orbital flight that were used to test equipment and living things’ capacity to survive and work in weightlessness. There were primates, dogs, mice and rabbits that crewed orbital and suborbital test flights. And the animal parade didn’t end when humans launched themselves to space, frogs, fish, spiders, chimpanzees, a cat...2024-10-3109 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#71 Earth has a new moon! For about the next 8 weeks... Asteroid 2024 PT5 will be captured by Earth's gravity before returning to its normal solar orbit.Earth has a new moon! well, for about 8 weeks anyway. Asteroid 2024 PT5 has been captured by Earth’s gravity and will be in orbit until late November 2024. This is really unusual and there have only been a few confirmed mini moons in the past. Our new temporary neighbour is only about 11 metres across and won’t be visible to anyone who doesn’t have a professional large-scale telescope, but we’ll know it’s there! and although it will only stay for about 2 months, 2024 PT5 will be back again in 2055.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some s...2024-09-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#70 The Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight has left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station. What went wrong, and how are they going to get home?Boeing’s Starliner space capsule blasted off for its first crewed test flight in early June. Great news right? Turns out, no. After arriving at the International Space Station, some technical problems meant that it couldn’t be used to take its crew of Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth. The two astronauts were left with no way to get home. The two capsules already docked at the space station couldn’t be used, so the astronauts were stranded. Let’s find out what happened to Starliner, why couldn’t the other capsules be used...2024-08-3107 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#69 NASA's Curiosity rover has just made the most incredible discovery of its 12 years on Mars. By running over a rock!NASA's Curiosity rover touched down on Mars in August 2012, and it's been exploring the Red Planet all that time. There have been some amazing discoveries and it's travelled over 30km but it has just made the most scientifically significant discovery of its 12 year career, and did it simply by running over a rock! One of Curiosity's wheels crushed a rock. It had looked just like any other orange martian rock, but when it shattered under Curiosity's wheels, it revealed breathtaking yellowish green crystals inside, that turned out to pure sulphur. Unheard of on the Red Planet. Let's check it...2024-07-3107 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#68 A piece of space history was written this month, a sample from the far side of the moon! Let's check out the Chang'e 6 lunar lander and it's history-making mission.As I write this, just a couple of days have passed since the Chang'e 6 sample return capsule touched down with its historic payload. The first sample of rock and soil from the far side of the moon touched down on Earth. This has the potential to unlock some of the secrets from the side of the moon that we never see from Earth, why is the lunar crust thicker? Why are there fewer 'seas' on the far side? And what lies beneath the lunar crust?All of this against the background of a surface operation out of direct...2024-06-3007 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#67 OSIRIS-REx NASA mission scientist Greg Brennecka brings us up to date on the incredible early findings from the Bennu asteroid sample.In September 2023, Greg Brennecka stopped by to preview the return to Earth of the OSIRI-REx asteroid Bennu sample return capsule. The sample landed safely and the mission scientists like Greg Brennecka have started their analysis. Some of our toughest questions are being answered by the data already. How old is Bennu? Is there organic material? Where was the asteroid formed? Is Bennu different from what we expected? But hasn't been all smooth sailing. The mission team had to go into full innovation mode to overcome some early difficulties.And we've only just begun!Listen in to...2024-05-3118 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#66 Saturn’s largest moon Titan is an incredible place, but could anything live there? Canadian Astrobiologist Dr Catherine Neish led a study on Titan’s habitability. She joins us for a fascinating chat about what she found.Titan. The largest moon in the Saturnian system has been a candidate as a habitable world ever since NASA’s Cassini mission sent back the first radar images of its surface in 2004. Astrobiologist Dr. Catherine Neish of Western University in Canada has spent years studying Titan, and has just published a study on the habitability of Titan. Catherine joins us to step through the findings, what is needed for life? Is there enough of it on Titan? And does it all come together?Read Ralph Lorez's paper Titan Under a Red Giant Sun: Anew Kind of...2024-04-3023 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#65 Spaghettification? This really is a thing. It happens if you get too close to a black hole, but what is it? And how did it get that name?Space and cosmology throws up some strange effects sometimes, none stranger than spaghettification. Stephen Hawking coined the term for the stretching out that happens when you get close to a black hole. Let's take a look at what it really is, how it works, and if we should have anything to fear from spaghettification...Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content X.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you...2024-03-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#64 The Odysseus Moon Lander. The first private moon lander has touched down, but is it still ok?Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines produced the first private mission to land on the moon. The Odysseus lander is just 300 km from the lunar south pole, investigating water ice and demonstrating the capabilities of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS).But space is difficult and not many projects go perfectly first time. Is Odysseus ok? Let’s find out!Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content X.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the sho...2024-02-2906 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#63 Space Ethics. How do we navigate the ethical challenges of our journey beyond Earth?So we pollute the upper atmosphere with rocket exhaust, is it worth the benefits of communications satellites and GPS? What about space junk? the garbage of earth orbit. Or mining asteroids? who owns the asteroids, can should they be able to sell the minerals asteroids provide?These are questions that would never have been asked before space travel became as regular as it has today. Let's take a look at this new way of thinking about our responsibilities in space.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content x.com/Cosm...2024-01-3105 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#62 The iconic Earthrise photograph. Is this the most influential picture from the Apollo era?Apollo 8 orbited the Moon in December 1968, seven months before the first moon landing. Even though Apollo 8 never landed on the Moon, it did produce one of the most iconic photographs of the Apollo program, the Earthrise photograph. Astronaut Bill Anders snapped a colour picture of the Earth rising over the lunar horizon as the capsule orbited the Moon.But what makes this picture so iconic? And why did we nearly miss out on it. Let's dive in!Check out the Earthrise photographFollow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special...2023-12-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#61 Will Saturn’s rings really disappear from view in 2025? What’s going on with that?In the news lately, you might have seen reports that the rings of Saturn are going to disappear from view. What could make that happen? And will they come back? Let’s check out what’s going on with the most spectacular feature in our solar system. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content x.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email us!cosmiccof...2023-11-3005 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#60 Astrophotography. It's photography with a completely different technique. How do the pros do it, and what can I do with my smartphone?Photographing the night sky is a completely different technique to photographing almost anything else. There's hardly any light, the objects are tiny and they move! It's really difficult. We've all given it a go and been disappointed, but how do they get the incredible pictures we see on the internet and on TV, and how can normal spacefans like us take a night sky picture?Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on X for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to h...2023-10-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#59 India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to land in the south polar region of the moon. Let's see why the this incredible spacecraft and rover could be instrumental for the future of human spaceflight.India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, with the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover have landed in the south polar region of the moon. Some craters in this region are permanently shaded from the blazing sun and can have water ice at the base of these lunar craters. India became only the fourth nation to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the moon, and the first to successfully land a spacecraft in the moon’s south pole region. It’s an incredible story!Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can re...2023-09-3006 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#58 Resident space rock expert Greg Brennecka is back to preview the return to Earth of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft with a sample of asteroid Bennu.Cosmic Coffee Time’s resident space rock expert and NASA mission scientist Greg Brennecka is back again to preview the return to Earth of NASA’s incredible OSIRIS-REx mission. OSIRIS-REx is coming to the end of an epic seven year journey to collect a rock and soil sample from asteroid Bennu. Greg is a mission scientist on OSIRIS-REx and will be doing analysis on the Bennu sample in his own lab. It’s breathtakingly rare to get a pristine sample from an asteroid in another part of the solar system, and Greg shares with us the plans for this sample...2023-08-3118 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#57 Space junk! Most of the human made objects orbiting Earth aren’t functional. Some of them are incredible objects that have outlasted their mission durations by years. How will these fascinating relics affect future spaceflight?Around 80% of the human made objects in orbit are mission left overs. Some of it is real junk, but some of it has an incredible story to tell. What relics from the early space age are held in safe storage in orbit? How does the accumulation of space junk affect mission planning, and how are we going to keep space safer from impacts in the future? You’ll never guess how we rediscovered some space hardware from an early moon mission! Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You...2023-07-3108 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#56 The June solstice, it defines the Arctic circle, the Tropic of Cancer and the Antarctic circle. It has the longest daylight hours in the northern hemisphere, shortest in the southern. But why do those things happen on one day every year?Around the 21st of June every year is the June solstice. We might know that it’s the longest or shortest day of the year – depending on which hemisphere you’re in, but why does that happen? And we know of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, but how does the solstice define them? Same with the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Does it fall on the same date each year? Well almost, but it does take some clever human manipulation of the calendar to keep it that way. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitte...2023-06-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#55 The spectacular Aurora Borealis and its southern partner Aurora Australis. The astronomical light show is such a cool thing to see, but its science was a mystery until the 20th century.Ask an eastern Australian about the Southern Aurora, and they might think you’re talking about the old overnight express train between Sydney and Melbourne. But! The train was named after the spectacular light show in the southern sky. The Aurora Australis to use the phenomenon’s correct name, and its northern equivalent the Aurora Borealis or Northern lights have a fascinating astronomical cause. And the nature of the Aurora remained a mystery until the 20th century, despite being documented for thousands of years. Let’s take a look! Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special c...2023-05-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#54 NASA’s VERITAS mission to Venus. There’s some good news, there’s some bad news and there’s one incredible discovery hidden for thirty years.In 2021, NASA announced the VERITAS mission to Venus, NASA’s first voyage to Earth’s twin planet since the early 90’s. Things haven’t gone completely to plan for this project, but one thing VERITAS has already accomplished, it got scientists reviewing data from previous missions, and what they found was truly incredible. And all without leaving the ground. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi! We'd love to hear from you. Email us!2023-04-3006 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#53 The Hayabusa2 Asteroid Ryugu sample return mission. Space rock expert Greg Brennecka joins us for an incredible up-close look at real life asteroid material.Our favourite space rock expert Greg Brennecka joins us to talk about the amazing Hayabusa2 mission, the sample return mission to asteroid Ryugu by Japanese space agency JAXA. Greg and his colleagues have been analysing the sample and some of the findings are incredible.What does Ryugu tell us about the early solar system? What do we learn about water on bodies like asteroids? and could Ryugu be carrying enough of the building blocks of life to potentially populate another habitable planet?It's a fascinating chat. If you want to learn more about r...2023-03-3116 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#52 Hundreds of years before GPS there was celestial navigation. Let's see how astronomy and some basic equipment kept old time mariners on course.Recently, we took a look at GPS and the space science that makes it work. This time, we're going back to an era when navigators had nothing but their equipment and the stars to tell them where they were, even on the open ocean.Celestial navigation combined the sextant, almanac and chronometer to make a reliable navigation system that just needed one other thing, the sun and the stars... And some handy astronomical knowledge! Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the...2023-02-2806 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#51 NASA's astronaut class of 1978. We have a compelling chat with Meredith Bagby about this ground breaking group of space shuttle astronauts, and her fascinating book The New GuysIn 1978, NASA changed the rules around who could be selected as an astronaut. Civilian engineers, doctors and scientists could be selected to fly on the then brand new space shuttle. Meredith Bagby joins us to talk about this group, whose social backgrounds were as diverse as their professions. For the first time, the group included women and people of colour. There were triumphs with astronauts like Sally Ride and Greg Bluford, and tragedy when four of this talented group were lost in the Challenger disaster.This is a compelling insight from Meredith, who had access to...2023-02-0651 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#50 We all love GPS, but what space science makes it work?We all love GPS. The Global Positioning System helps us navigate across country and across town, and it also shows us where our rideshare car is, or how far away our food delivery driver is. Take a look at what space science makes it work, and why it can still provide your coordinates even if you're miles away from any phone or data signal or Wi-Fi. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd lov...2022-12-3107 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#49 The new Mars meteorite impact. NASA Insight has detected a new meteorite impact on Mars! Meteorite expert Greg Brennecka returns to talk about this breathtaking new discovery.Friend of Cosmic Coffee Time and expert meteoriticist Greg Brennecka returns to talk about the breathtaking detection of a new meteorite impact on Mars. Greg tells us how the impact was detected, and then confirmed with detailed imagery from Mars orbit. What does this tell us about the subsurface geology of Mars, and what does it mean for astrobiology and the future exploration of Mars and beyond?It's a fascinating chat.Find Greg's book 'Impact' at Harper Collins hereFollow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some...2022-11-3010 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#48 Caroline Herschel - So much more than just the sister of the guy who discovered UranusCaroline Herschel is probably best known as the sister of William Herschel, the person credited with the discovery of planet Uranus, but there's a lot more to her than this. Caroline was a great astronomer in her own right, having made numerous discoveries using telescopes she helped make herself. She was also an outstanding musician and was the first female professional astronomer in the world, and was recognised with the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. Caroline Herschel achieved all this despite the life long effects of a significant childhood illness.Quite an incredible person. 2022-10-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#47 Have you ever heard of moonquakes? Let's take a look at how different they are from earthquakes.For a long time we speculated that there might have been earthquakes on the moon, we call them moonquakes. How did we eventually detect them, and what makes them so different from earthquakes?Let's take a look and figure out what's going on there.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email us!cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2022-09-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#46 Meteorite expert Greg Brennecka returns to the podcast to talk about the Nadir crater. An exciting new discovery that could be a 66 million year old meteorite impact.Expert meteoriticist and friend of Cosmic Coffee Time Greg Brennecka returns to talk about an exciting development in the meteorite impact scene, the Nadir crater. This newly discovered undersea structure off the coast of Guinea in western Africa is a proposed meteorite impact site. How was this discovered? when did the impact happen and how do we know if the impactor hit land or sea.It's a fascinating chat.Find Greg's book 'Impact' at Harper Collins here Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou...2022-08-3107 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#45 NASA's Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon, Titan. A drone is going to fly in the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon. Incredible!NASA is planning to fly a drone in the atmosphere of the second largest natural satellite in the solar system, Saturn's Titan. What is that drone going to look like, how is it going to get there and what sort of science is it going to do when it gets there?It's an audacious project, and we take a look here.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from...2022-07-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#44 About that black hole at the centre of our galaxy... Now we've got a picture! Sagittarius A*Scientists have long held a theory that there was a black hole in the centre of our milky way galaxy. This was proved some years ago but we've finally got an image of it from real observational data. It's a fascinating story.Let's take a closer look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email us!cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2022-06-3007 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#43 Let's take a look at Sunspots. What are those darker spots on the surface of the sun?Sunspots are darker and cooler areas on the surface of the sun. What causes them? How long do they last? And how do they fit into the 11 year cycle of solar activity?Let's take a look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email us!cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2022-05-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#42 Pulsars. What are these incredible objects and what makes them pulse?You might have heard of pulsars. They're objects that emit regular pulses of radiation. But what are they, how do they form, and what makes them pulse?Let's take a look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email us!cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2022-04-3007 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#41 Galileo. His observations in 1610 changed a lot of what we knew about astronomy. Let's see what he found.Galileo Galilei Made some incredible observations of the moon and was a real pioneer in calculating the height of some of the moon's geological features. In 1610 he turned the world of planetary astronomy on its head. He described the phases of Venus, came agonisingly close to discovering the true nature of Saturn's rings, and studied what became to be his namesake system, the four Galilean moons of Jupiter.Let's take a look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twittertwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just...2022-03-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#40 Binary stars. Would you believe that most of the stars we see aren't just single stars? Incredible I know!As many as 80% of the stars we see in the night sky could be part of a binary system, two or more stars orbiting each other.So what it a binary system and how can we observe them? We know single stars like our own sun can have a system of planets, but what does that look like for stars in a binary system.Let's take a look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even...2022-02-2806 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#39 Meteorites! We meet with noted meteoriticist Greg Brennecka to talk meteorites, the origins of life on Earth, and his new book 'Impact'Until the Apollo moon landings, our only samples of material from space were in the form of meteorites. These meteorites gave us an insight into the origins of our solar system, and might even have provided the complex organic molecules that allowed life to develop on our planet. In this episode we have an awesome chat with noted meteoriticist Greg Brennecka. We explore some of the history of meteorite research, the origins of life on Earth and the free samples of Mars rock that arrived on Earth in the form of meteorites. Greg also gives us a h...2022-01-3130 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#38 The amazing Mars Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter. Let's take a look at the Mars 2020 projectFrom Mars rovers that were the size of a microwave oven back in the 90s, we now have the Perseverance rover that's the size of a car. And a helicopter. We take a look at the amazing Mars 2020 project that is taking Mars exploration to the next level. It's collecting samples for future return to Earth and the Ingenuity helicopter is flying through the Martian atmosphere - carrying a small piece of cloth from the Wright brothers' plane.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can r...2021-12-3107 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#37 What's in that unexpected gap between Mars and Jupiter? Let's take a look at the asteroid belt - a fascinating element of our solar systemThere's a strange gap between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, a gap where Bode's law says we would expect the fifth planet to be. There's no planet there, but there's something else that's just as amazing, it's the asteroid belt. Let's take a look at the four main asteroids and see what makes up the other million identified objects. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special contenttwitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.2021-11-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#36 The Voyager spacecraft. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the furthest travelled objects ever made by humans. What did they find on the grand tour of the solar system? And where are they now?Voyager 1 took the famous photograph the Pale Blue Dot. It's the furthest travelled machine ever made by people. At 23 billion km, it takes nearly a full day for its radio signals to reach us. Voyager 2 toured all of the gas planets in our solar system and remains the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune.But it gets even better. Both of these 1970s tech spacecraft are still operating in interstellar space and sending data back to earth.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime...2021-10-3108 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#35 Planet Neptune. The most distant major planet in our solar system and the first to be located by mathematical calculations. Let's take a look.Neptune. Something was perturbing Uranus' orbit, turns out it was the eighth planet, Neptune. Neptune was the first planet to have its existence and position calculated before it was discovered. Let's take a look at Neptune and its major moon Triton.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-09-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#34 Planet Uranus. Is that how you say it? The ice giant that was the first planet that needed to be 'discovered'.Uranus. Stop giggling, is the first planet to be discovered by telescope. The inner planets have always been known about, but Uranus need to wait until the telescope was invented.Let's take a closer look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-08-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#33 Planet Jupiter. It's more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined and it's a gas giant. What makes Jupiter different from the rocky terrestrial planets, and does it really have planetary rings?Jupiter is the first of the gas giant planets. Let's take a look at what makes these planets different from the inner planets. It has a fascinating set of moons that help make up the Jovian system, and we find out how it subtle set of planetary rings were discovered.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Or even just say hi!We'd love to hear from you.Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-07-3106 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#32 Kate the Chemist special. We meet with Dr. Kate Biberdorf to talk STEM, TV's Ice Road Truckers, and her new book It's ElementalHow do you keep a chemistry class's attention in the age of smart phones? Explosions, loud noises and passion! That's how Kate the Chemist does it. Dr. Kate Biberdorf is a professor of chemistry at the University of Texas and she's a science entertainer. She amazed Stephen Colbert with the elephant's toothpaste experiment on Late Night, and blasted a thousand ping pong balls into the air on the Kelly Clarkson Show.She took a break from exploding hydrogen balloons and breathing fire to have an awesome chat with us about her STEM army, firing up kids' imaginations...2021-07-1220 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#31 A conversation with Earl Swift about NASA's lunar rovers and his new book - Across the Airless WildsWe have a great chat with Earl Swift about NASA's lunar rovers and his new book Across the Airless Wilds. It's a fascinating dive into the last three moon landings and what could be regarded as the pinnacle of human exploration.Earl recounts his time with astronauts Charlie Duke and Dave Scott, and Laszlo Kestay from the United States Geological Survey, and gives us some incredible insights into the the design process of the lunar rovers and their place in the history of exploration.Earl's website is: earlswift.comWatch the lunar rover in...2021-07-0521 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#30 Planet Mars. Lets take a look at the friendliest planet beyond Earth and some of the cool spacecraft that have been thereThere's a lot about Mars that is very Earth-like, from the length of a day to the kinds of seasons it has. Being a neighbouring planet, it's no surprise that we talk about sending astronauts to Mars. While we're waiting, let's take a look at some of the super cool spacecraft that have already been to Mars.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show!Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-06-3007 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#29 Planet Earth. Let's take a look at our home - as a planet, in a solar system.Earth. It's home to every living thing we've ever known, but what if we really take a step back and study our planet the same way we study the others. What everyday events have an astronomical cause. And what about all that water, and all that life!Grab a coffee and join us for a view of our own planet, from outside.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-05-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#28 Planet Venus. It's Earth's twin - but somehow remains mysterious. Let's take a look.Planet Venus is sometimes called Earth's twin. It's the same size and in planetary terms it's close by, but why isn't it our first choice for exploration? Some of the differences make Venus super difficult to study so in a way it remains mysterious. Why is it difficult to study? And what makes the environment on Venus so harsh? Grab a coffee and join us as we unravel the mystery and take a closer look. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic f...2021-04-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#27 Planet Mercury normally keeps a low profile, but let's take a closer look at the first planet from the sun.We don't get to hear much about planet Mercury. It took us a long time to learn much about it and only two spacecraft have ever been there.Let's take a look at some of the little known but fascinating facts about Mercury's history, why it has the longest day in the solar system and what we've learned from lonely pair of spacecraft that have visited it. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-03-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#26 What's the matter? Really, what is the matter that makes up 80% of the mass of the universe but can't be observed directly. The strange story of dark matterSo back in the 1930's, astronomers noticed that there didn't seem to be enough mass in galactic clusters to hold them together, but they were held together. There mas be some additional mass and gravity to hold everything together, but where is it? It can't be seen. And this problem produced the theory of dark matter. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-02-2805 min
Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#25 A conversation with David W. Brown about his new book The Mission, and Jupiter's icy ocean moon EuropaJoin us for a discussion with David W. Brown about his new book The Mission, the true story of NASA's bold Europa Clipper mission and the search for signs of life on Jupiter's icy ocean moon Europa.David tells us about the incredibly diverse team that put this project together, why Europa is the most likely place in the solar system to find signs of extraterrestrial life, and why we might just be living in the golden age of space exploration.David's website: davidwbrown.comFind David's book, The Mission: harpercollins.com/products/the-mission-david-w-brown?v...2021-02-1114 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#24 What went wrong with the Hubble Space Telescope?So way back in the 90s, NASA launched the bus-sized Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. But it had a huge problem, it couldn't focus the light from space as well as it should have.What went wrong? And how did NASA fix it, so it could stay in service for thirty years?Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2021-01-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#23 Meteors and meteorites, what are they and why do they burn up?Meteors, they're not falling stars, but what are they? Where do these objects come from and why do they 'burn up' in the atmosphere? And what's the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?We also take a quick look at some of the most famous meteor incidents in history.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com 2020-12-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#22 The Sun. How does it it produce so much energy? And what does the future hold?Let's take a closer look at the Sun - but not literally. How does it it produce so much energy and why can it do this for billions and billions of years? It's the source of practically all light and heat on Earth, so it's cool to know.What does the future hold for the Sun? How much longer could it support life on Earth?Let's find outFollow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to...2020-11-3005 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#21 Let's take a look at the Moon part 5 - Artemis and the future of human Moon explorationWe've had a look at the history of human lunar exploration, but this time we're going to look to the future. We're going back to the moon with project Artemis. Apollo was great, but that was 50 years ago. How are we doing it this time? It will be more flexible and more sustainable.Let's take a look at what's in store for human lunar exploration over the next decade. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@g...2020-10-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#20 Let's take a look at the Moon - part 4We love the moon. Sometimes we just step outside and it's there waiting for us. There's so much to explore with the moon, we're taking a few episodes to get right into it. Here's part 4.Let's continue our look at the exploration of the moon, this time it's the Apollo missions. It's incredible that people have been to the moon, and almost as unbelievable that Apollo was 50 years ago. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@g...2020-09-3007 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#19 Let's take a look at the Moon - part 3There's so much to explore with the moon. It's our little companion in space, like our next door neighbour. We're going to take a few episodes to get right into it. Here's part 3.Let's take a look at the exploration of the moon, not the Apollo missions, we'll save those for another episode, but the vitally important but sometimes forgotten uncrewed missions that came befor Apollo. The Russion Luna program, and NASA's Ranger and Surveyor programs that paved the way to the moon before Armstrong and Aldrin. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special con...2020-08-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#18 Let's take a look at the Moon - part 2There's so much to explore with the moon. It's our little companion in space, like our next door neighbour. We're going to take a few episodes to get right into it. Here's part 2.Why do all full moons look the same? And what's with the tides, they're caused by the moon right?Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com 2020-07-3106 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#17 Let's take a look at the Moon - part 1There's so much to explore with the moon. It's our little companion in space, like our next door neighbour. We're going to take a few episodes to get right into it. Here's part 1.Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com 2020-06-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#16 The incredible tale of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. A special first birthday quadruple episode.It's Cosmic Coffee Time's first birthday, and what better way to celebrate than with a quadruple episode exploring the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. Explore the vastly different landscapes of four totally unique and fascinating bodies. What are they really like? And check out how unique they all are. Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out. We might add a slice of birthday cake too. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can request a topic for the show! Emai...2020-05-3110 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#15 So are we really alone in the Universe? Where is everyone? And what are we doing to find extraterrestrial life?Ever since we started using radio to communicate on Earth, we've wondered if we could use it to communicate with other civilizations in different parts of the galaxy. But it seems the harder we look, the less we find. What is SETI? Are we really alone? Let's take a look. Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTimeYou can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com 2020-04-3005 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#14 So an asteroid caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs? Let's find the crater!So an asteroid fell from space and caused a mass extinction of the dinosaurs. But where is the crater? We know impacts have left craters on the moon, earth, and other planets, But have we found one big enough to have been caused by the dinosaur asteroid? Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out. Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com 2020-03-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#13 Comets? I know Halley's, but what other cool comet stuff should I know?Halley's Comet comes around once every 76 years. You might have missed its last visit in 1986, but it'll be back in around 40 years...What is a comet? Why do a lot of people really only know about Halley's? and how did we learn a whole lot more about another comet a few years ago. Who remembers the gutsy little comet lander called Philae?Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can request...2020-02-2905 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#12 Proving Einstein's relativity in outback Australia. A cracking tale of spacebending gravitySo Einstein's theory of general relativity predicted black holes, or more specifically, that gravity could warp spacetime. But how could we prove it? Here's a ripping yarn about some astronomers who travelled across the world in 1922 to test Einstein's theory during a solar eclipse in far north western Australia.Get comfy, grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-11-3005 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#11 So there are planets orbiting the stars? Tell me more about exoplanets!We love our Earth, (and we love our coffee), we love all the planets in our solar system. But what if I told you that some of the stars you see at night, have their own planets? They're squillions of miles away, some of them are pretty weird, and some of them might be able to support life.Grab a coffee in your favourite reusable cup, and check it out.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime You can request a topic for the show! Email it to...2019-10-3107 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#10 How cool is Saturn. I mean really.Sometimes your favourite coffee cup leaves a ring on the table, or on that important document! But rings that you're always happy to see are the ones around Saturn. Saturn with its system of rings is arguably the most spectacular sight in the solar system. So what is it like to see Saturn with your own eyes? how was its system of rings discovered? and what are we doing to learn about Saturn now?Get comfortable with your favourite coffee and let's take a closer look.Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content...2019-09-3006 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#9 Hey tell me about the International Space StationSo many questions about the International Space Station. What do the astronauts do in their free time? Why did they do that twin study? But coolest of all, how do I see the International Space Station from my back yard?Grab a coffee, and let's take a look Get the ISS Detector app issdetector.com Follow Cosmic Coffee Time on Twitter for some special content twitter.com/CosmicCoffTime Watch the ISS live! www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/iss_ustream.html You can request a topic for the show! Email it to cosmiccoffeetime@gm...2019-08-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#8 So Earth's magnetic field will make my compass needle point south one day?Got five minutes for a coffee? Grab your favourite cup, and hit play to take a closer look at Earth's magnetic field, it's stranger than you think! Let's see what makes it work, and explore the history of how north strangely becomes south sometimes. Stick around to see when it's likely to happen next. Episodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.com Follow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content. Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-07-3105 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#7 A black hole sounds pretty weirdBlack coffee and black holes, get caffeinated for this one. Black holes are some of the weirdest things in the universe, so let's understand them a bit better this coffee break.Episodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-3003 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#6 Why isn't Pluto a planet any more?Pluto is famous these days for not being a planet. What happened? You've got a coffee, we've got some of the answers.Episodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-1704 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#5 NASA Deep Space Communication NetworkCoffee break time again. So we see all these amazing pictures from rovers on Mars, and flybys of distant planets, but how do those pictures get back to Earth? Who's listening? and what is Australia's role in all of this?Check out https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.htmlEpisodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-1705 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#4 You've got to love an eclipse of the sunYou've got your coffee, we've got some pretty cool facts about eclipses. If you've ever wondered about how a solar eclipse happens, or maybe why they're so rare, then wonder no more! And what is an orbital node anyway?Episodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-1703 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#3 What's with leap years anyway?Coffee smells nice today, and why do we need a leap year? When did we start doing the leap day and what would happen if we didn't bother with 29 February?What was unique about the 2000 leap year?Episodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-1705 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#1 How much space is in space?We hear a lot about the size of the planets in the solar system and beyond, but how far apart are they? Let's grab a coffee and find out by using a really relatable scale, you might be surprised!Visit the scale model Solar System Trail stkildamelbourne.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Solar_System_Self_Guided_Trail_web_friendly.pdfEpisodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-1705 minCosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage#2 Big bang and the bookends of the universeThe biggest question - and a coffee break. How did the universe begin? Why can't we talk about what happened before the universe began? And how will the universe end?Episodes are at cosmiccoffeetime.buzzsprout.comFollow on Twitter @CosmicCoffTime for some special content.Want to suggest a topic? email cosmiccoffeetime@gmail.com2019-06-1705 min
The Soot and Whitewash Film Photography PodcastEpisode 14 - Some More Digital Un-necessities...In this show I talk about the new Film 35 digital adaptor kickstarter campaign, low temperature c41 processing some 30 year old Kodak 2483 E4 film, a HUGE thank you that like an idiot I missed from last weeks show, a couple of follow up pinhole points to last weeks pinhole show and a print and an email from Daniel Novak.
Mark Prestage - @a_life_lived
Andrew Bartram - @warboyssnapper
Dan Novac - @danielnovakphoto
Film 35 - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1374923168/film-35-innovative-photography-experience/description
Eric Renner book - https://ericrennerphoto.com/artwork/1592073_Pinhole_Photography_From_Historic.html
The Lensless Podcast - https...2018-10-1231 min