Universe Today Podcast

Your Ultimate Guide to All Things Space

Space news, interviews, Q&As, and exclusive content from Universe Today.
Audio versions of Fraser Cain YouTube channel.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:44:41
    June 23rd, 2025

    Solar power has its limits. Some space missions will need an alternative source of power like RTGs. How can we make them better? Which fuel is optimal for them and why? How to convert heat into electricity? Finding out in this interview.

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    00:22:13
    June 20th, 2025

    A new mission can make solar eclipses on demand, what do supernovae and stellar flybys do to Earth’s climate, how asteroid 2024 YR4 will make the mother of all meteor showers, and Starship 36 explodes during testing. And on Space Bites+, how we could use a space elevator to extract water from Ceres.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:18:09
    June 19th, 2025

    Can a giant asteroid knock the Moon from its orbit? How good does a telescope need to be to see the Oort cloud? What are the odds of a rogue planet hiding nearby in our Solar system? And in our extended Q&A+ version, can we be sure that we're alone in the Universe? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

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    01:06:43
    June 17th, 2025

    This is an interview with me for the Worldviews Podcast.

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    00:42:30
    June 16th, 2025

    We never came back to Uranus after the Voyager 2 flyby in 1986. It's time to come back. But what will it take to organise a mission to Uranus? What priorities will it have and when can it launch? Finding out in this interview.

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    00:57:39
    June 15th, 2025

    This is an interview with me done by Salman Hameed @ Kainaat Astronomy in English.

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    00:21:32
    June 13th, 2025

    Have we finally found the source of ultra-high energy cosmic rays? Our first look at the Sun’s south pole, New Glenn slips again, what kind of damage would rockets do to the ozone layer? And in Space Bites+, a pair of quasars that dominated Cosmic Noon.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:20:57
    June 12th, 2025

    At what point we should just admit defeat and give up on our search for dark matter? Should we be sending a lot of cheap space probes instead of a single expensive one? If the Universe is rotating, where is the axis? And in our Q&A+ version, how to make a friend fall in love with Astronomy? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:37:04
    June 10th, 2025

    For a long time the central part of our galaxy was mostly hidden from us because of all the dust. It was even called the Zone of Avoidance. But with better telescopes and modern techniques we can peer inside and reveal what's hiding. Even build 3D-maps of the region.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:23:21
    June 6th, 2025

    The White House pulls Jared Isaacman’s nomination, the 2026 NASA budget is released, the Hubble Tension might not be a problem after all, the Milky Way and Andromeda might not merge after all. And on SpaceBites+, which ozone isn’t a good biosignature.

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    00:19:15
    June 5th, 2025
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    00:42:08
    June 4th, 2025

    What's the difference between a nova and a supernova? What's the mechanism behind their explosions? What instruments are used to observe them at the moment? Finding out in this interview.

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    00:17:55
    June 3rd, 2025

    How much of our atmosphere is lost to space and should we be actively replenishing it? Is there an exact copy of Earth out there hiding in the Universe? Can we use the Sun to send messages? And in our extended Q&A+ version, how the advancements in AI will change astronomy? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:32:10
    June 2nd, 2025

    Launching Breakthrough Starshot light sail probes to Alpha Centauri requires a lot of new tech, including the actual light sails. How do you make the optimal material to maximize the size with minimising mass? Finding out in this interview.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:21:11
    May 30th, 2025

    China’s asteroid sample return mission launches, searching for a companion star for Betelgeuse, the 9th flight test wraps up for Starship and Superheavy, and Webb takes its longest exposure yet. And in SpaceBites+, is Venus hiding deadly asteroids.

  • 00:00:00
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    00:17:41
    May 29th, 2025

    Can we make the Van Allen belts safe to fly through? Why not get a super gravity assist from the Sun? Can we predict the next supernova in the Milky Way? And in our extended Q&A+ version, what's going on with the ocean rocks producing electricity at the bottom? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.