Shows
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 783: Cataclysmic Variable Starshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzFgfN2B_k4 Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) 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 stars, it is capable of great violence. In this episode, we look at the wild physics of cataclysmic variables: binary star systems...
2026-02-2331 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 782: Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transientshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVvY9HGss8E Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) 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 Universe, are blue light flashes, bright and hard to understand. These objects, uncreatively named "Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients," are just the kind of puzzle...
2026-02-1628 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 781: Awakening Black Holeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpZRjII8qkc Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) 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 black holes awaken! Our Universe is filled with sleeping monsters. And sometimes, whether we want it or not, they wake up hungry. In...
2026-02-0932 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 780: When Asteroids & Comets Attack!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIVunut4Dgk Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest ) 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? Different kinds of objects affect Earth very differently when they impact. Let's discuss what makes an impactor more or less dangerous.
2026-02-0233 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyTravelers in the Night Eps. 851 & 852: Scientists Views Odds of Aliens & Landing On MarsDr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From May & June, 2025. Today's 2 topics: - In a recent paper published in Nature Astronomy entitled "Surveys of the scientific community on the existence of extraterrestrial life" Dr. Peter Vickers and his team of 10 co-authors report the results of their survey of the lead authors for the past 10 years in the top three astro-biological journals. These researchers sought to measure if their sample group of sc...
2026-02-0106 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 779: Milankovitch Cycleshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTFbrCIkrfU Streamed live on Jan 12, 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest ) 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 talk about the Milankovich Cycles! The Earth's orbit, tilt, and other physical attributes aren't quite as constant as you might think! Come learn...
2026-01-1931 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 778: Dyson Swarmshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cySk8O0iVjU Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest ) 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 the concept, you're in good company. This show is supported through people like you o...
2026-01-1236 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 777: The Eddington Limithttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uijiic8crBQ Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest ) 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 Eddington's assumptions. Let's explore this fascinating concept! Why are stars sphere-ish? Why do blackholes not eat everything? Why do pulsating stars...
2026-01-0536 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGY4t683Xro Hosted by: Fraser Cain ( @frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay ( @CosmoQuest ) 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 great mysteries in astronomy, and today we'll see if there's been any progress! Why is the Universe the way...
2025-12-2931 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Linehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uvcumUc6Gc Hosted by: Fraser Cain ( @frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay ( @CosmoQuest ) 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 the Milky Way, the Universe and into the Dark Ages! This forbidden transition of Hydrogen has led to the mapping of...
2025-12-2235 min
The 365 Days of AstronomyAstronomy Cast Ep. 760: What to Look For This Summerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hG8Q3ZSX50 Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. 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 hiatus, but we want to make sure you are ready for stuff we can anticipate happening. ...
2025-06-2329 min
Astronomy CastAstronomy Cast Ep. 666: Solar System References to the Underworldhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwZoy58ZR8 Sign up through https://wren.co/astro to make a difference in the climate crisis, and Wren will plant 10 extra trees in your name! Streamed live on Jan 17, 2023. Well, we did it. We made it to episode 666, an auspicious number to be sure. What can we do to celebrate this accomplishment? An episode all about things in the Universe that have been named after mythological people and places in the underworld! This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Kevin Lyle Venkatesh...
2023-01-2326 min
Weekly Space HangoutThe Final EpisodeJoin us this week for our first News Roundup of the New Year, which is also the final episode of the Weekly Space Hangout! Thank you to everyone who made this show possible over the years and who helped bring science to the community! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch...
2023-01-1249 min
Weekly Space HangoutDr. Eddie Schwieterman Discusses Nitrous Oxide as a BiosignatureHistorically, scientists using spectrographic analysis to study exoplanet atmospheres have considered oxygen and methane as two key biosignatures when identifying "life-friendly" planets. But could nitrous oxide (N2O) — aka "Laughing Gas" — also be a reliable biosignature? A recent paper published in the October, 2022, Astrophysical Journal explains why N2O can — and should — be included as a biosignature gas. Tonight we are pleased to welcome the paper's lead author, Dr. Eddie Schwieterman, astrobiologist at UC Riverside, to discuss why N2O is an indicator of life. Dr. Eddie Schwieterman is an Assistant Professor of Astrobiology in the Department of Earth...
2023-01-051h 00
Weekly Space HangoutThe Science of the L1527 "Butterfly" with Dr. Karl StapelfeldtDuring our November 16th show, Carolyn Collins Petersen introduced us to the hourglass/butterfly of L1527, an image captured by JWST using its onboard NIRCam. (You can read the original story here. This week we are joined by Dr. Karl Stapelfeldt, Chief Scientist for NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program at JPL who will help us understand the science behind this amazing structure. Karl earned a B.S.E. in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Physics at Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics at Caltech. His career at NASA includes positions at both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and...
2022-12-1057 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!It's time for another News Roundup ! Buckle up for another hour of news!! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoquestx Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast https://ww...
2022-12-0237 min
Weekly Space HangoutHipparchus' Lost Star Catalogue with Dr. Victor GysemberghGreek astronomer Hipparchus, who lived in the second century BCE, is considered to be the greatest astronomical observer of his time. Among his achievements are the development of trigonometry, the ability to predict solar eclipses, discovering and measuring the precession of the equinoxes, and, in approximately 135 BCE, the compilation of the first comprehensive star catalogue in the western world. Since that time, scientists have spent centuries searching for Hipparchus' Star Catalogue, but it disappeared and has never been found. Or has it? In 2017, researchers used multispectral imaging and computer algorithms to examine an ancient manuscript...
2022-11-251h 01
Weekly Space HangoutUp, Up, & Away with Dr. Jacob Izraelevitz and JPL's Venus Aerial Robotic BalloonsDespite the romance associated with Venus for millennia thanks to its having been named after the Roman god of love, Venus has proven to anything BUT romantic - LITERALLY! Combining the toxic and corrosive composition of its atmosphere with the crushing pressure exerted on anything that attempts to venture too far into it, Venus is the last place most of us would choose for a date. These conditions proved to be disastsrous for missions that sent traditional craft to the planet. To date, the only "craft" to have survived for more than a few hours are the 1985 Soviet Vega 1...
2022-11-1756 min
Weekly Space HangoutUntying an Early "Cosmic Knot" with Dr. Andrey VaynerSince its final commissioning and being placed in service, JWST has been delivering on its promise to provide unprecedented insight into the most distant — and oldest — regions of our Universe. Whether it's providing a new view of our nearby neighbor Jupiter, or sussing out never-before-seen details of the iconic Eagle Nebula and its Pillars of Creation, let's face it - the imagery so far has been nothing less than stunning! But more importantly, the data being collected by JWST's onboard instrumentation are allowing scientists the ability to peer back in time to study the oldest cosmic structures while they are...
2022-11-1053 min
Weekly Space HangoutRevisiting Apollo Photographically with Andy Saunders, Author of Apollo RemasteredThis week we are airing our prerecorded interview with Andy Saunders, the author and creative force behind the new book "Apollo Remastered." Andy used his talent and expertise to digitally remaster and restore the original flight film from America's first missions to the Moon. Universe Today's own Nancy Atkinson (who is also a WSH alumna,) interviewed Andy this past month, and as a special treat, Nancy is joining us tonight as well. Andy Saunders is a British author, science writer, and one of the world's foremost experts of NASA digital restoration. His photographic work has been exhibited...
2022-11-031h 02
Weekly Space HangoutThe ATA Searches for Technosignatures with Dr. Sofia Sheikh from the SETI InstituteAs we discover new exoplanets on an almost daily basis - particularly now that JWST is online - scientists are ramping up their research into identifying those planets that may exhibit traces of life (as we know it.) Scientists use spectrographs to examine the composition of these exoplanet atmospheres looking markers called technosignatures - trace elements that may be indicative of life. What constitutes a technosignature? Does the presence of one or more technosignatures mean that an exoplanet is a strong candidate for hosting life? Can atmospheric markers not included in our current list of technosignatures still be indicative...
2022-10-2953 min
Weekly Space HangoutNICER Maps a Neutron Star's Surface with Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian and Dr. Keith GendreauPulsars have baffled scientists for decades, including how they work and what form matter takes within a pulsar. Using data collected by the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) Mission between July 2017 and December 2018, scientists have not only been able to make the most precise size measurements of Pulsar J0030+0451 (located 1,100 light-years away in the constellation Pisces), but they have also mapped hotspots located on its surface. This week we are joined by Dr. Zaven Arzoumanian and Dr. Keith Gendreau, members of the Goddard Team that mapped J0030 and co-authors of "Focus on NICER Constraints on the Dense Matter...
2022-10-2055 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!It's our first News Roundup of the season! News, news, and more news! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoquestx Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast https://ww...
2022-10-1354 min
Weekly Space HangoutAstronomy for Equity with Mike SimmonsNothing transcends human differences here on our tiny planet than sharing the wonders of the night sky. For 50 years, Mike Simmons has been sharing and spreading astronomy with the world, both locally and internationally. Tonight, Mike joins us to share his newest venture, Astronomy for Equity, as he continues his calling to share astronomy with local communitites around the world. Astronomy for Equity brings together existing resources, expertise, networks, and communities to create opportunities for STEM growth in marginalized, isolated, and underserved areas. Mike Simmons is a long-time friend of the WSH. He is probably best known...
2022-10-0856 min
Weekly Space HangoutPiquing Our Curiosity with Dr. Ashwin VasavadaOn August 5, 2022, a plucky little rover named Curiosity celebrated its 10th Anniversary on the surface of Mars. Since being lowered on Mars that summer day it has continued to exceed all mission expectations. For ten years, Curiosity has called Gale Crater and the foothills of Mount Sharp "home," all while wandering around the name of science and traveling nearly 18 miles (29 kilometers) and ascending 2,050 feet (625 meters). What have we been able to learn about Mars during this decade? And what lies ahead for the "Little Rover that Could?" Join us tonight as Dr. Ashwin Vasavada brings piques our "Curiosity" and...
2022-10-0156 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout — September 21, 2022: Milky Way "Autobiographer" Dr. Moiya McTierThis week we are super excited to welcome Dr. Moiya McTier to the Weekly Space Hangout - this time as our special guest! In 2019, Moiya joined the Weekly Space Hangout as one of our first Early Career Journalists, and in April, 2021, she extended our WSH tradition of producing PhDs. On August 16th, Moiya's "autobiographical" book, The Milky Way, was published, and this week she is here to tell us all about it. Moiya grew up in the middle of the woods of rural Pennsylvania without running water. From there, she went to Harvard University where she became...
2022-09-2354 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout — September 14, 2022: The Geology of Exoplanets with Dr. Paul ByrneThe first suspected exoplanet was identified back in 1988, and was then confirmed in 1992. Since then, the rate at which detection/confirmations have been made has been increasing. And JWST has already directly imaged its first exoplanet! What data are we able to gather from here on Earth? What are we able to learn about these planets from the data collected? How does exoplanet geology compare with our own geology here on Earth? Let's find out as we welcome planetary geologist Dr. Paul Byrne, to the WSH. Paul Byrne received his B.A. in geology, and Ph.D...
2022-09-171h 02
Weekly Space HangoutHow to Teach Grown-Ups about Pluto with Dean RegasWelcome back to another season of the Weekly Space Hangout! In our season's premiere, we are excited to welcome back to the show our good friend Dean Regas from the Cincinnati Observatory! Dean has just released his new book "How to Teach Grown-Ups about Pluto" which is a light-hearted guide to Pluto's discovery and demotion that puts KIDS in charge! You can view the trailer for the book on YouTube and learn more about it - including how to get your own copy - here. Dean is a renowned educator, author, national popularizer of astronomy and an...
2022-09-0946 min
Weekly Space HangoutFocusing JWST with Lee Feinberg, Optical Telescope Manager [Season Finale]NOTE: Due to an unexpected production issue, our audio cuts out at 11:44 for just over one minute, and again at 13:51 for just over 15 seconds. We apologize for this. Since JWST launched in December, 2022, we have been holding our collective breath as it made its way to its final home at the L2 Lagrange point. Throughout its approximate month-long journey, JWST systematically worked through a complicated series of deployment and commissioning procedures, including the all-critical focusing and alignment of the telescope's 18 primary mirror segments using 132 different actuator motors. On April 29, 2022, it was announced that focusing and alignment had completed successfully...
2022-07-0257 min
Weekly Space HangoutFormer NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Her New Memoir "Escaping Gravity"This week we are honored to welcome former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver to the Weekly Space Hangout. Her new memoir, Escaping Gravity (Diversion Books, June 21, 2022), offers a "first-hand account of how a handful of revolutionaries managed to outmaneuver the system of political patronage and bureaucracy that threatened the space agency and the future of human spaceflight. From inside NASA, Garver drove changes to policies and programs that enabled competition that challenged the expensive and ineffective traditional systems at the exact time the capabilities and resources of the private sector began to mature." Lori Garver led the...
2022-06-2556 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout — June 15, 2022: CREW HaT: An Answer to Radiation Shielding? with NIAC 2022 Awardee Dr. Elena D’OnghiaAs humanity dreams of exploring destinations both within our own solar system as well as those far beyond, the greatest challenge to be overcome is how to provide effective protection against the inevitable, prolonged exposure to lethal levels of radiation. We all know that Earth's strong magnetic field continually protects us. But can a sufficiently strong magnetic field be generated aboard a spacecraft? 2022 NIAC winner Dr. Elena D'Onghia joins us tonight to discuss a new concept that may just be the solution we need! Elena is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Department of As...
2022-06-1756 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout — June 8, 2022: News Roundup!It's another week of news, news, and even MORE news! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoquestx Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast https://www.patreon.com/as...
2022-06-1157 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout — June 1, 2022: Fuel Cell Technology and Space Applications with Ian Jakupca, NASA Glenn Research CenterDeveloping reliable, renewable, and safe power/energy storage systems is a key requirement for future space missions, both within our solar system and those venturing beyond it, as well as for establishing a permanent human presence on the moon and/or Mars. Are fuel cells one solution to this need? And what exactly constitutes a fuel cell? Find out tonight as we are joined by Ian Jakupca from NASA's Glenn Research Center. After graduating from the University of Dayton, Ian began developing specialized flow control components, instrumentation and electrochemical stacks for aerospace systems at the National Aeronautic...
2022-06-031h 02
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout — May 25, 2022: Why Hello Sag A* - It's Nice to Finally See You, with Dr. Lia MedeirosOn May 12th, 2022, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration released the first-ever direct image of Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our galaxy. Tonight we are very pleased to welcome Dr. Lia Medeiros, a member of the EHT Collaboration, to the WSH. If you watched the NSF's streaming Q&A session following their press conference, you may recognize Lia as a member of the panel. Dr. Lia Medeiros is currently an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study. In 2013, she completed her undergraduate education at the University of California-Berkeley in...
2022-05-2755 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: May 18, 2022 — Bringing Exoplanets into Focus, Bit by Bit with Alex MadurowiczNOTE: We apologize for the audio issues in this week's podcast. We are working to diagnose and resolve the issues, and we appreciate your patience as we do so. Gravitational lensing has been used to discover far-distant galaxies that are obstructed from view thanks to the inconvenient positioning of astronomical interlopers. Recently, researchers have begun asking if this same lensing technique could be adapted to use the gravity of OUR SUN to suss out never-before seen details of the more than 5000 exoplanets discovered to date. It is thought that by aligning the sun in a straight line...
2022-05-2156 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: May 11, 2022 — Small, but Powerful, Micronovae with Dr. Simone ScaringiAstronomers recently announced that, with the help of the ESO VLT, they had observed a new type of small — yet powerful — stellar explosion: a Micronova. The study, which was published in "Nature" on April 20, was led by Dr. Simone Scaringi, astronomer at Durham University in the UK. We are pleased to welcome Simone to tonight's WSH to tell us more about this exciting discovery. Simone earned his undergraduate BSc in Mathematics with Astronomy at the University of Southampton, after which he obtained both a M.Phil and PhD also from Southampton in the Astronomy group (2010). He spent the next two...
2022-05-141h 00
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: May 4, 2022 - News Roundup!There always seems to be so many news stories that we never get to cover - but tonight we will get to discuss a few more than usual! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Pa...
2022-05-0755 min
Weekly Space HangoutCatching Up With Dr. Paul M. Sutter (aka "The Spaceman")If you are a long-time viewer of the Weekly Space Hangout, then Dr. Paul Sutter is no stranger to you at all. For several years, he was one of our on-air journalists (along with Dr. Kimberly Cartier and Dr. Morgan Rehnberg.) Since leaving the WSH fold, Paul has continued to be one of the busiest people around. Tonight we are excited to welcome Paul back to the show (even if it is for only one night) so he can bring us all up to date with everything he has been doing - as well as hopefully share a few...
2022-04-3057 min
Weekly Space HangoutHow to Access and Use Survey Data with NASA's Kevin GillLet's face it - there isn't a single one of us who hasn't gazed at myriad stunning astronomy images that are readily available on the web. Whether it's Jupiter's Great Red Spot, Saturn's gorgeous rings, desolate Martian landscapes, or a spectacular deep sky object, the "raw material" behind each of these beauties is often publicly available data collected by survey missions. But how exactly does a long string of seemingly random "ones and zeros" get tranformed into such amazing visual imagery? Tonight, Kevin Gill, the image processing "magician", is with us to give us an introduction into how to...
2022-04-2154 min
Weekly Space HangoutSailing Away Using Diffractive Solar Sails, with Amber DubillTonight we are very excited to welcome Amber Dubill from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to the WSH. Amber has worked on both IMAP and DART, and also has a keen interest in advanced solar sail design concepts. Solar sails have long been theorized as being a viable means of spacecraft propulsion — eventually — and we do seem to be moving closer to their being a reality… In June 2019, the Planetary Society succesfully launched their crowdfunded, proof-of-concept LightSail 2, and it is still going strong! In fact, you can check on its current status here. Meanwhile, in Roc...
2022-04-151h 00
Weekly Space HangoutArchaeology of Space: The ISS Archaeological Project with Dr. Justin St. P. WalshThis week we welcome Dr. Justin Walsh to the show to tell us about the archaeology of space. Wait… WHAT???? You read that correctly… the archaeology of space. Justin is a PI of the International Space Station Archaeological Project (ISSAP) [https://issarchaeology.org/], the first large-scale space archaeology project. Initiated in 2015, the archaeological study of a space habitat — specifically the ISS — is aimed at understanding the "evolving cultural, social, and material structures in the ISS’s unique context." Justin is an archaeologist who researches and teaches Mediterranean art and archaeology at Chapman University in Irvine...
2022-04-0858 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: March 30, 2022 - Searching for Skylab, with Director Dwight Steven-BonieckiThis week we are airing Fraser's pre-recorded interview with award-winning author, and documentary director Dwight Steven-Boniecki. Dwight is the director of a film called Searching For Skylab - a largely forgotten story that tells the story of the space station that preceded the ISS. The documentary features never-before-seen footage revealing incredible feats of science and technology achieved by the space station and NASA astronauts. While Skylab is perhaps best remembered for its spectacular crash into the Australian desert in the summer of 1979, the missions themselves provided the scientific community with invaluable information about our planet, the sun, space, and...
2022-04-0253 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: March 23, 2022 - News Roundup!Another week with no guest - but that means we get to talk about MORE NEWS!!! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoquestx Become a Patreon of As...
2022-03-2650 min
Weekly Space HangoutDimethyl Ether Detected in a Planetary Disk?On March 8, the ESO announced in their Press Release (https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2205/?lang) that a team of researchers from Leiden University, The Netherlands, had detected the largest molecule to date within a planetary disc. At 9-atoms, dimethyl ether is considered a precursor of larger organic molecules that can lead to the emergence of life. Tonight we are pleased to air Fraser's prerecorded interview with two members of the team that detected the molecule, Nashanty Brunken and Dr. Alice Booth, who will tell us more about this amazing detection. Nashanty Brunken is an Astronomy...
2022-03-1956 min
Weekly Space HangoutHR 6819: Black Hole? Vampire 2-Star System? Dr. Abigail Frost ExplainsOn March 2, 2022, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) reported (refer to Press Release: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2204/?lang) that the HR 6819 system, believed to be the home of the closest black hole to earth, is, in fact, "a 'vampire' two-star system in a rare and short-lived stage of its evolution." HR 6819, just 1000 light-years from earth, does not include a black hole. The study was led by Dr. Abigail Frost from KY Leuven, and we are extremely please to welcome Dr. Frost to the Weekly Space Hangout tonight. Dr. Abigail Frost is a postdoctoral research associate...
2022-03-1252 min
Weekly Space HangoutSuccessful MAREVL 2.0 Static Fire Test with bluShift Aerospace's Seth LockmanThis week is another news roundup! And what could be better than having a guest join us straight from the "Breaking News" headlines! Joining us tonight is Seth Lockman, Communications Director for bluShift Aerospace, fresh off their successful static fire test of their MAREVL 2.0 rocket last evening (March 1, 2022)! CONGRATULATIONS to Sascha Deri and everyone at bluShift!!! You can view the YouTube video of the test fire here: https://youtu.be/UwZclCjTM5k?t=3810 Learn more about bluShift Aerospace on their webpage: https://www.blushiftaerospace.com/ Would you like to invest in...
2022-03-0553 min
Weekly Space HangoutYet Another News Roundup!This week is another news roundup! Be prepared for an entire hour of science news! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoquestx Become a Patreon of Astronomy Cast ht...
2022-02-2651 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!This week is another news roundup! Be prepared for an entire hour of science news! Oh yeah - a certain DESK may be making a return! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! Become a Patreon of Co...
2022-02-2054 min
Weekly Space HangoutThe Sun's Local Bubble and Nearby Star Formation with Michael FoleyThis week we are airing Fraser's prerecorded interview with Michael Foley, co-author of a recently published paper that talks about how the local bubble around the Sun drives nearby star formation. You can watch Carolyn Collins Petersen talk about this research during the January 19, 2022, WSH News Roundup (https://youtu.be/A_QcGmGBYDk?t=1737) Michael Foley is a fourth-year NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics where he works with magnetohydrodynamics simulations of stellar feedback and turbulence. Mike earned his undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame where he conducted research on supernovae...
2022-02-1256 min
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: February 2, 2022 - Dr. Sian Proctor: Geoscientist, Space Artist, & Inspiration4 Astronaut/Mission PilotThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Sian Proctor, Inspiration4 Mission Pilot, to the Weekly Space Hangout. On September 16, 2021, the Inspiration4 all-civilian orbital mission to space launched from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Dr. Sian Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and astronaut. She is also an analog astronaut and has completed four analog missions including the all-female SENSORIA Mars 2020 mission at the Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat, the NASA funded 4-months Mars mission at HI-SEAS, a 2-weeks Mars mission at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), and a...
2022-02-051h 00
Weekly Space HangoutDr. Ralph McNutt, PI for the Proposed Interstellar Probe MissionThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Ralph McNutt to the WSH. Two weeks ago, Dave Dickinson introduced us to a proposed new mission by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the Interstellar Probe (https://interstellarprobe.jhuapl.edu/). Ralph is the Principal Investigator for this exciting new mission and he is here tonight to tell us more about it. Dr. Ralph McNutt is the chief scientist in the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which he joined in 1992. As project scientist for the MESSENGER mission, he serves as the principal investigator's "...
2022-01-2955 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!This week we have no guest scheduled, so it will be an hour of news! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: ► Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest ► Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! ► Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! ► Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoq...
2022-01-2254 min
Weekly Space HangoutDr. Scott Bellamy, Mission Manager for NASA’s DART Mission and Europa ClipperThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Scott Bellamy to the WSH. Scott is the Mission Manager for NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission which successfully launched in the early morning hours from Vandenberg atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 24, 2021. Scott Bellamy is one of the Mission Managers in the Planetary Missions Program Office (PMPO) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL. Presently, Scott is responsible for day-to-day oversight of the Europa Clipper flagship mission, as well as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. DART's mission is to conduct a...
2022-01-1656 min
Weekly Space HangoutAstronaut Nicole Stott, Author of Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet — And Our Mission To Protect ItTo ring in 2022 on Weekly Space Hangout we are pleased and excited to welcome Nicole Stott to the show. Nicole is an astronaut, aquanaut, artist, mom, and now author of her first book Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It. She creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on Spaceship Earth. Nicole is a veteran NASA Astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space as a cr...
2022-01-0851 min
Weekly Space HangoutDo Black Holes Grow as the Universe Expands? Dr. Kevin Croker Explains Cosmological CouplingThis week marks the final episode of 2021, and we are excited to welcome Dr. Kevin Croker from University of Hawai’i at Mānoa! Kevin led a team that compared data from simulated black hole mergers with that from gravitational waves detected by the LIGO–Virgo collaboration. This comparison led to a surprising conclusion: ignoring the expansion of the universe may be limiting the scientific understanding of black-hole physics. The team hypothesizes that that as the universe expands outward following the Big Bang, all objects with mass grow as well - and Black Holes are no exception. This new proce...
2021-12-3155 min
Weekly Space HangoutCleaning Up Earth's Space Debris with Dr. Jake AbbottThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Jake Abbott, director of the Telerobotics Laboratory at the University of Utah to the WSH. The proliferation of Space Debris has become an increasingly alarming reality. In fact, as recently as December 3, 2021, "The International Space Station (ISS) had to swerve away from a fragment of a U.S. launch vehicle" (source: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/international-space-station-swerves-dodge-space-junk-2021-12-03/). In a paper published in November 2021 in the science journal Nature , Jake and his research team have proposed a new method of dealing with the debris: using a series of spinning...
2021-12-2358 min
Weekly Space HangoutDr. Paul Halpern Discusses His New Book "Flashes of Creation"This week we welcome Dr. Paul Halpern, professor of physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. His new book, "Flashes of Creation: George Gamow, Fred Hoyle, and the Great Big Bang Debate," brings to life one of the greatest clashes of ideas in the history of science. Dr. Paul Halpern is a professor of physics at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and the author of seventeen popular science books, including The Quantum Labyrinth, Einstein’s Dice and Schrodinger’s Cat, and Synchronicity. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a Fell...
2021-12-2056 min
Weekly Space HangoutWhy Are There So. Many. Rocks on Bennu? w/ Dr. Saverio CambioniThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Saverio Cambioni to the Weekly Space Hangout. In October 2020, OSIRIS-REx successfully collected (and stowed) a sample from the asteroid Bennu in a Touch-And-Go (TAG) maneuver that could not have been attempted — much less completed — without the assistance of the CosmoQuest community who participated in the Bennu Mappers project. Bennu Mappers launched on May 22, 2019, and ended a mere 92 days later on August 21. During this time, 3640 community members examined 4509 images which had been collected by ORSIRIS_REx during its 2 years of orbiting Bennu. They were tasked with identifying and marking rocks that...
2021-12-1159 min
Weekly Space HangoutAn Outsider's Guide to the Future of Physics with Dr. Stephon AlexanderThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Stephon Alexander to the WSH to chat about his new book, Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider’s Guide to the Future of Physics, which was published on August 31. What lurks beyond the black hole singularity in our galaxy? How did cosmic structure emerge from a chaotic and featureless early universe? Is there a hidden link between the emergence of life and the laws of physics? These questions and other major problems of theoretical physics seem beyond the reach of human knowledge. But cosmologist Stephon Alexander is not so...
2021-12-0552 min
Weekly Space HangoutThe Night Sky with Astrophotographer Ian LauerThis week we are thrilled to be joined by astrophotographer Ian Lauer. Ian is an astronomer and astrophotographer with a passion for public speaking and sharing the wonders of the night sky with the public. He has worked with telescope manufacturers and retailers around the world to building telescope systems for private and professional observatories, astrophotographers, government projects and educational institutions. Ian has a knack for making people laugh and he incorporates this skill into transforming what can often be dry and dull science topics into fun and exciting concepts. Whether he’s speaking in front of th...
2021-11-2853 min
Weekly Space HangoutMerger-Triggered Core-Collapse Supernovae w/Dillon Dong, CalTechThis week we are excited to welcome CalTech graduate student Dillon Dong to the WSH. Dillon was the lead investigator in a study that determined that a bright radio flare discovered in data collected by the Very Large Array (VLA) Sky Survey in 2017 was the result of a black hole or neutron star crashing into its companion star in a never-before-seen process. You can learn more about this study and its surprising results here: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/a-black-hole-triggers-a-premature-supernova Dillon Dong is a final year graduate student working on finding and characterizing astronomical...
2021-11-1953 min
Weekly Space HangoutStudying Stellar Nurseries and Nebulae Using 3D Printed Models with Dr. John ForbesThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. John Forbes to the Weekly Space Hangout. John is a theoretical and computational astrophysicist at the Flatiron Institute, a division of the Simons Foundation, in New York City. He studies how galaxies and stars form using supercomputer simulations, statistical modeling, and machine learning. John recently collaborated with Dr. Nia Imara from UC Santa Cruz and James Weaver from Harvard to develop a series of nine models that incorporate the three forces that govern how stellar nurseries are formed: turbulence, gravity, and magnetic fields. Using these models, they have 3D printed colorized...
2021-11-141h 01
Weekly Space HangoutJuggling in Space with Physicist Dr. Adam DipertBe prepared to be AMAZED as we welcome Dr. Adam Dipert to the WSH. In addition to being a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Physics at North Carolina State University, Adam has wowed audiences as a professional circus performer and juggler for nearly twenty years as his alter-ego, The Space Juggler! Space Juggling is a technique for juggling in weightlessness, discovered through a deep and lifelong embodiment practice, and informed by scientific and mathematical investigations. This is the first fully developed circus art form designed for weightlessness — a glimpse of the future of kinesthetic arts, about much more th...
2021-11-0756 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!This week is another news roundup - all the news that's fit to discuss! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: ► Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest ► Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! ► Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! ► Become a Patreon of CosmoQuest https://www.patreon.com/cosmoquestx ► Bec...
2021-10-3053 min
Weekly Space HangoutVolcanism on Venus and Ice on Mars with PSI’s Megan RussellThis week we are very pleased to welcome Megan Russell from the Planetary Science Institute to the WSH. Since starting at the Planetary Science Institute in March, Megan has gone from exploring volcanism on Venus to assisting in the search for ice on Mars. She is currently a Science Team Member and on the operations team for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Shallow Radar (SHARAD) experiment, and a System Analyst with the Colorado Shallow Radar Processing System (CO-SHARPS) team. Megan is also working on a Mars Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project. After completing her BSc...
2021-10-2655 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!This week we are featuring our first News Roundup of the season. We originally had a guest lined up, but he has had to reschedule due to illness so we get to spend the hour talking news, news, and more news! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: ► Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest ► Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! ► Watch...
2021-10-1751 min
Weekly Space HangoutSEASON PREMIER: Joshua Stoff, Curator of the Cradle of Aviation MuseumAfter a slightly longer than expected hiatus (Fraser's moving chaos) THE WSH IS BACK!!! We are excited to welcome Joshua Stoff from the Cradle of Aviation Museum to the first WSH of the new season. Joshua is the longtime Curator of the Cradle of Aviation Museum, a major Air & Space museum on Long Island, in the greater New York area. He has been curator there since 1982 and has entirely developed the collection and the exhibits for them. The museum focuses on the history of aviation and spaceflight as it relates to Long Island...
2021-10-0959 min
Geologic PodcastThe Geologic Podcast Episode #722 The Show Notes My Morning JogIntro Sailing with the real Damian HandzyAsk George - Remixes? from Mike in South MilwaukeeChap Ostrander, my first band directorInteresting Fauna - Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)Damian Handzy’s Facts That’ll Fuck Y’up - Sheets, “fnese,” dreams, Stanley Cup, more…Tell Me Something Good - Upset Soccer Fan Gets and Gives CosmoQuest this weekendSeven Songs next WednesdayThursday Tunes at TwilightShow close CosmoQuest Fri, July 16, 2021 – Sun, July 18, 2021 ht...
2021-07-1553 min
Weekly Space HangoutThe Gang's (Almost) All Here: Celebrating Our Journalist TeamThis week, in our Season Finale, we are celebrating and honoring an extra-special group of people on the Weekly Space Hangout: Our Journalist Team! We are also excited to introduce our newest team member, Dr. Nick Castle from PSI, and celebrate the return of Nika (Klimovich) following her brief sabbatical. It has been an honor to work with this exceptional group of individuals for the past two seasons, and we look forward to continuing the relationship in the future! We hope you have enjoyed this season as we enter our summer hiatus — we will continue to...
2021-07-021h 06
Weekly Space HangoutMaking Soil for Space Habitats with Dr. Jane ShevtsovThis week we are very pleased to welcome Dr. Jane Shevtsov, Mathematical Biology Instructor at UCLA, to the WSH. Her project proposal, Making Soil for Space Habitats by Seeding Asteroids with Fungi, is one of NASA's 2021 NIAC Phase I selections. Jane is a systems ecologist who teaches math for life sciences at UCLA and is developing ways of using fungi to make soil for space habitats with TransAstra Corporation. Jane has a BS in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from UCLA and a PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia. As a graduate student, she...
2021-06-2554 min
Weekly Space HangoutCelebrating #BlackInAstro with Ashley WalkerAs we prepare to celebrate #BlackInAstro week, the WSH is excited to welcome Ashley Walker, founder and organizer of #BlackInAstro, to the show. Ashley Lindalia Walker is a planetary astrochemist and science communicator. She received her BS in Chemistry from Chicago State University, where she became the first astrochemist in the university’s history. Ashley has interned at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Her research interests include planetary atmospheres of extraterrestrial planets and moons within our solar system as well as exoplanetary systems. Currently she is a PhD student at...
2021-06-1850 min
Weekly Space HangoutRoving Mars with Perseverance and MASTCAM-Z with Darian DixonThis week we are very excited to welcome Darian Dixon, Curiosity (MSL) MMM operator and Percy's Mastcam-Z Data Management (ZDM) Lead at Malin Space Science Systems (https://www.msss.com/). Darian earned his BS in Geology in 2015 before moving to Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, where he earned his MS in Planetary Geology in 2018. While at WWU, Darian studied under Mastcam-Z Co-Investigator Dr. Melissa Rice and had the opportunity to attend Mars-2020 team meetings and contribute to the Mastcam-Z team. When not immersed in the thrilling world of Mars exploration, Darian is an avid...
2021-06-1155 min
Weekly Space HangoutAdvances In Warp Drive Technology Research with Dr. Mario BorundaThis week we welcome Dr. Mario Borunda to the show. In his recent article published on EarthSky.com, Mario discusses advancements in warp drive technology research. You can read his article, "Warp Drives: Physicists Give Chances Of Faster-Than-Light Space Travel A Boost," here: https://earthsky.org/space/warp-drive-chances-of-faster-than-light-space-travel/ Dr. Borunda double-majored in Physics and Mathematics earning his B.S. from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2003. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Texas A&M University in 2008. He spent three years as a postdoc and nine months as a research associate at Harvard...
2021-06-0452 min
Weekly Space HangoutLooking for Microbial Life in Space With Dr. Jay L. NadeauThis week we welcome Dr. Jay L. Nadeau to the Weekly Space Hangout. Jay is an Associate Professor in the Physics department at Portland State University and the founder of the Nadeau Lab (https://motility.research.pdx.edu/index.html) where they research nanoparticles, fluorescence imaging, and develop instrumentation for the detection of life elsewhere in the solar system. Prior to PSU, she was associate professor of biomedical engineering and physics at McGill University (2004–2015) and a Research Professor at Caltech (2015-2017). Before McGill, she was a member of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Center for Life Detection, and...
2021-05-2849 min
Weekly Space HangoutRobotics on Mars with Dr. Ethan SchalerThis week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Ethan Schaler to the Weekly Space Hangout. Ethan is a Robotics Mechanical Engineer in the Robotic Actuation and Sensing Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Ethan has backgrounds in Electrical Engineering (PhD), Mechanical Engineering (BS), and Micro/Nanotechnology (MPhil), and collaborates with researchers in a variety of disciplines to design, model, fabricate, and characterize new robotic systems at micrometer- to meter-scales. In the flight world, Ethan is a member of the Robotic Arm team in the Sampling and Caching Subsystem for the Mars 2020 mission, where he's fo...
2021-05-2351 min
Weekly Space HangoutExploring Mars with "Professional Martian" Dr. Tanya HarrisonThis week we are excited to welcome "Professional Martian" Dr. Tanya Harrison to the WSH. Tanya is a respected Mars expert who worked as a geoscientist and mission operations specialist on multiple NASA Mars missions over the past 13 years, including the Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance rovers, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A thought leader in the commercial space sector from her previous role as Director of Research for Arizona State University’s NewSpace Initiative, she currently works as the Director of Science Strategy for the federal arm of the Earth observing satellite company Planet Labs. Tanya holds a...
2021-05-1554 min
Weekly Space HangoutDr. Ronald Mallett, Professor Emeritus, UConnThis week we aired Fraser's prerecorded interview with Dr. Ronald Mallett, Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Physics at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Ron received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in physics from the Pennsylvania State University. In 1975 he joined the physics faculty at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. His research interests include black holes, general relativity, quantum cosmology, and relativistic astrophysics. As part of his research, Ron has hypothesized that a rotating ring laser could, via frame dragging, sufficiently twist space and time to mimic the conditions inside a rotating...
2021-05-071h 04
Weekly Space HangoutTaking to the HI-SEAS with Chelsea GohdThis week we are excited to welcome Chelsea "Foxanne" Gohd, Senior Writer at Space.com, to the WSH. Chelsea writes articles and creates, scripts, and hosts videos about science topics ranging from climate change to exoplanet exploration and human spaceflight. In November 2020, Chelsea became an analog astronaut after having completed an analog Mars mission at HI-SEAS** with six other women. Their mission, Sensoria M2, is only the second ever all-female crew at HI-SEAS. You can watch a short video about their experience here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFWmG1dZfr8&t=1s Prior to...
2021-05-0153 min
Weekly Space Hangout"TREX-ing" Around the Moon with Dr. Amanda HendrixThis week we are airing Fraser's pre-recorded interview with Dr. Amanda Hendrix, Senior Scientist at PSI. Amanda studies solar system bodies in ultraviolet wavelengths and is the Director/PI of the NASA Toolbox for Research and Exploration (TREX) team, a branch of NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). Amanda has 20+ years of experience in planetary science research. She earned a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder. As a graduate student and post-doctoral research...
2021-04-2359 min
Weekly Space HangoutWhite Dwarf Binary Systems with Dr. Ken ShenThis week we are very pleased to welcome Dr. Ken Shen, assistant staff researcher in the UC Berkeley astronomy department, to the Weekly Space Hangout. Ken studies the astrophysics of white dwarfs in interacting binary systems, with a focus on thermonuclear phenomena. Ken received his PhD in September 2010 in the Department of Physics at UC Santa Barbara, and from 2011-2014 he was a postdoctoral Einstein fellow at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Oh yeah! Ken appeared on Jeopardy on 24 February 2021 (unfortunately he didn't finish in first place) but, in honor of the late...
2021-04-1655 min
Weekly Space Hangout"The Disordered Cosmos" with Dr. Chanda Prescod-WeinsteinThis week we are very excited to welcome Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein to the Weekly Space Hangout. Chanda is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She is also a columnist for New Scientist and Physics World. In her first book, THE DISORDERED COSMOS: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred (Bold Type Books), Chandra brings readers into the world of particle physics and the cosmos — all while making an urgent call for a more just and inclusive practice of science that...
2021-04-101h 00
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!Yup - another week with no guest scheduled (we are working on it though, I promise) but fear not - I know the team will fill the hour with a slew of amazing stories!! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: ► Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest ► Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! ► Watch our streams over on Twitch at https...
2021-04-0455 min
Weekly Space HangoutLooking for Water on the Moon with Dr. Casey HonniballThis week we are pleased to welcome Dr. Casey Honniball to the WSH. Casey is a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and has extensive experience in observing, instrumentation, and telescope operation. As an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, she aided in the development of a submillimeter instruments that she would later help deploy to Mt. Graham and Llano de Chajnantor Observatories and to Antarctica. As a graduate student at the University of Hawai'i she was responsible for assembly, test, and deployment of a 3-5 µm imaging interferometer (MIDAS, M...
2021-03-2751 min
Weekly Space HangoutNews Roundup!No guest was scheduled for this week yet, but there is nothing at all wrong with spending the hour catching up on the news! **************************************** The Weekly Space Hangout is a production of CosmoQuest. Want to support CosmoQuest? Here are some specific ways you can help: ► Subscribe FREE to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/cosmoquest ► Subscribe to our podcasts Astronomy Cast and Daily Space where ever you get your podcasts! ► Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/cosmoquestx – follow and subscribe! ► Beco...
2021-03-2050 min
Weekly Space HangoutExoplanets with Dr. David KippingThis week we are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. David Kipping, Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University, to the WSH. David researches extrasolar planets and moons, including their impact on the origins of our solar system and beyond. At Columbia, he leads the Cool Worlds Lab where he and his team study extrasolar planetary systems with a particular focus on the detection and analysis of worlds found at longer orbital periods. David is also principal investigator of The Hunt for Exomoons with the Kepler (HEK) project, in addition to being active in science outreach...
2021-03-1355 min
Weekly Space HangoutMarch 3, 2021 – Dr. Nicholas Castle, MSL Mission Science TeamThis week we are excited to welcome Dr. Nicholas Castle from the MSL/Curiosity Mission Science Team to the WSH. Nick has been a rock-collector and space enthusiast for as long as he can remember. He is currently an active member of the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) mission operations team, where he helps coordinate activities for the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) X-ray diffraction instrument. Outside of mission operations his research focuses on meteorites, especially those from Mars. He is a bit of an instrumentation junkie who works with electron microscopes, mass spectrometers, X-ray diffractometers...
2021-03-0655 min
Weekly Space HangoutMelissa Thorpe, Interim Head of Spaceport CornwallThis week we are very pleased to be airing Fraser's pre-recorded interview with Melissa Thorpe, Interim Head of Spaceport Cornwall. Melissa is the main liaison for industry, military, Government, media, public, and schools for Spaceport Cornwall, the UK’s first horizontal launch site. Together with launch partner, Virgin Orbit, this ambitious project will offer dedicated and responsive access to space by 2022 from an existing civilian airport. Melissa works across the launch environment to efficiently secure investment and infrastructure required to launch, whilst communicating the space story to the local community. Originally from Canada, Melissa moved to...
2021-02-2858 min
Weekly Space HangoutJoseph Mallozzi, TV Producer, Writer, and ShowrunnerThis week we are excited to welcome Joseph Mallozzi to the Weekly Space Hangout. Although you may not know his name, most of us certainly recognize — and love — many of the television shows Joe has produced, written, or showran. Joseph Mallozzi is a Canadian writer, showrunner, and producer with over 20 years experience in the television industry. He has over 350 hours of produced television to his credit in addition to 100+ hours as both a writer and a showrunner. Joe has worked primarily in the genre field, most notably on the Stargate franchise (SG-1, Atlantis, Universe,) Dark Matt...
2021-02-1154 min
Weekly Space HangoutDr. Jani Radebaugh Discusses the Dragonfly MissionThis week we are joined by Dr. Jani Radebaugh, Planetary Scientist from Brigham Young University. Jani's field work specializes in finding analogues to other planets here on Earth. She is a Science Team Member for the newly selected NASA Dragonfly rotorcraft lander mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. She was also involved in the Cassini and Galileo Missions, the Io Volcano Observer mission proposal, and the Median project for Mars. Professor Radebaugh travels far and wide with her Brigham Young University students to find and study unique landscapes to better understand other planets. She explores the big de...
2021-02-041h 01
Weekly Space HangoutWeekly Space Hangout: January 13, 2021 — Alberto Caballero: A Potential Source for the WOW! Signal?This week we are excited to welcome Alberto Caballero, host of the Exoplanets YouTube channel, to the Weekly Space Hangout. In November 2020, arXiv published his (non-peer reviewed) paper in which Alberto indicates he has narrowed down the source of the August 1977 WOW! signal, and has potentially identified the star where it originated. Alberto Caballero is a science communicator and host of The Exoplanets Channel (https://www.youtube.com/theexoplanetschannel). He also coordinates the Habitable Exoplanet Hunting Project (https://exoplanetschannel.wixsite.com/home/setiproject), a program intended to find habitable exoplanets, and the SETI Project, aimed at finding...
2021-01-1454 min
Astronomy Cast Full Raw FeedCosmoQuest Hangoutathon PromoHi everyone, Producer Susie here. This weekend, December 21-23, 2019, we will be having our CosmoQuest Hangoutathon. For 40 straight hours, our team will be bringing you guests, science and fun live on our channel. We are raising money to pay for our team to continue to bring you science, and for us to continue our citizen science programs, like the extremely successful Bennu Mappers from this past year, where over 3500 of you wonderful volunteers mapped over 14 million rocks on the asteroid Bennu, looking for a safe place for the OSIRIS-REx mission to grab samples to return to earth. ...
2019-12-2001 min365 Days of Astronomy - Weekly EditionCosmoQuest Hangoutathon PromoHi everyone, Producer Susie here. This weekend, December 21-23, 2019, we will be having our CosmoQuest Hangoutathon. For 40 straight hours, our team will be bringing you guests, science and fun live on our channel. We are raising money to pay for our team to continue to bring you science, and for us to continue our citizen science programs, like the extremely successful Bennu Mappers from this past year, where over 3500 of you wonderful volunteers mapped over 14 million rocks on the asteroid Bennu, looking for a safe place for the OSIRIS-REx mission to grab samples to return to earth. ...
2019-12-2001 min
Astronomy CastCosmoQuest Hangoutathon PromoHi everyone, Producer Susie here. This weekend, December 21-23, 2019, we will be having our CosmoQuest Hangoutathon. For 40 straight hours, our team will be bringing you guests, science and fun live on our channel. We are raising money to pay for our team to continue to bring you science, and for us to continue our citizen science programs, like the extremely successful Bennu Mappers from this past year, where over 3500 of you wonderful volunteers mapped over 14 million rocks on the asteroid Bennu, looking for a safe place for the OSIRIS-REx mission to grab samples to return to earth. We want to...
2019-12-2001 min
Relativity | Astronomy CastEp. 536: Everyday Relativity
Relativity is used in more day to day situations than you may realize. In this episode, we will count (some of) the ways. This episode is brought to you live from the All-Stars Star Party in Indian Wells, California
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2019-06-3035 min
Space JunkCitizen Science with Pamela GayAdvances in technology and communication have brought the world of professional science to the rest of us. With initiatives like Galaxy Zoo and CosmoQuest, the interested public can get involved in producing scientific results that are often a crucial component in a scientific paper or a new discovery.In this episode, Tony Darnell and Dustin Gibson discuss the growing importance of citizen science and we'll talk about CosmoQuest, a citizen science initiative started in 2012 that has faced budget cuts and needs your help.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/spacejunk/support
2018-12-2858 minRelativity | Astronomy CastEp 487: Dark Matter: 2018 Edition
Last week, we gave you an update in particle physics. This week it’s time to see what’s new in the world of dark matter. Spoiler alert, we still have no idea what it is, but maybe a few more ideas for what it isn’t.
We usually record Astronomy Cast every Friday at 3:00 pm EDT / 12:00 pm PDT / 19:00 UTC. You can watch us live on here on AstronomyCast.com, or the AstronomyCast YouTube page.
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2018-04-1300 min
Mad Art CastMad Art Cast Episode #50 — CosmoQuest and Pamela Gay InterviewThe Mad Art Cast crew chats with Pamela Gay about the citizen science CosmoQuest program and the recent grant awarded!
2016-04-0500 min
Free Astronomy Public LecturesCosmoQuest: Science inside (powered by you!) (Free Astronomy Public Lectures)Presented by Dr Pamela Gay on 13th September 2013.In order to handle the onslaught of data coming from space and ground-based telescopes, many astronomers are turning to the public for aid. The team behind the new CosmoQuest virtual research centre is building a first of its kind research community for professional and citizen scientists to work together on advancing our understanding of the universe; a community of people who are participating in doing science, and in learning about this cosmos we share. Working with NASA's Dawn, LRO, MESSENGER, and STScI teams, this facility is developing citizen science projects...
2013-09-1200 min
Science On TopSoT Special 009 - Dr. Pamela GayDr. Pamela Gay is an astronomer and assistant research professor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. She is the co-host of AstronomyCast, one of the longest running astronomy podcasts and Project Director for CosmoQuest.org. CosmoQuest is a non-profit organisation trying to engage people in both learning and doing science.
In this conversation we talk about her research on variable stars, as well as her involvement in citizen science and amateur astronomy. We discuss science education and funding, how AstronomyCast began and Pamela's inspirations.
You can find Pamela at her blog, StarStryder.com
You...
2013-08-1151 min