Universe Today podcasts with Fraser Cain

Episode 683: Open Space 86: The Venus Announcement, and More...

September 17th, 2020  |  58 mins 2 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

It's time for an all new season of Open Space. This is a live QA with Fraser Cain.

Obviously, everyone wanted to discuss the discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. So we did that as well as talk about the progress of Starship and upcoming missions to Mars.

Episode 682: Life on Venus? A Key Biosignature Called Phosphine has been Discovered in Venus' Atmosphere

September 17th, 2020  |  10 mins 38 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

Well, did you hear the big news? Life on Venus. Life… on... Venus. Now, where have we heard this before? Oh right, life on Mars. If you’ve been watching any of my videos or listening to Astronomy Cast, you’re cautiously optimistic. Skeptical, but hopeful.

That’s the right position to take, because buckle up, the internet’s about to run with this news. It’s going to be difficult to figure out what was really discovered, and what this means for the search for life in the Universe.

Episode 681: Q&A 128: Which Supernova Created the Solar System? And More... With Astronaut Terry Virts

September 14th, 2020  |  27 mins 46 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

In this week's questions show, I wonder about the supernova that formed the Solar System, how astronauts deal with air pressure differences, and how we're going to handle the cold temperatures on Mars.

Featuring Astronaut Terry Virts
https://terryvirts.com/

Episode 680: Interview with Fraser on Awesome Astronomy

September 10th, 2020  |  1 hr 28 mins

astronomy, space, space exploration

Here's an interview I did with the Awesome Astronomy podcast. You can see their full podcast here: https://awesomeastronomy.com/

Subscribe to their podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/awesome-astronomy/id521780589
Or on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Yr24VAoheI0tOUSpVOI2Q

Episode 679: Q&A 127: Does the Simulation Hypothesis Explain the Fermi Paradox? And More...

September 8th, 2020  |  31 mins 27 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

In this week's questions show, you wondered if the simulation hypothesis is a good answer to the Fermi Paradox. How to get a career in space manufacturing? Will a compass work on Mars? And more...

Episode 678: Q&A 126: When Did Mars' Dynamo Shut Off? And More...

July 30th, 2020  |  20 mins 57 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

In this week's questions show, I consider what the benefits might be to humanity if we discover that we aren't alone in the Universe. How long did Mars planetary dynamo take to turn off? Could we find and repair the lunar rovers?

Episode 677: Q&A 125 Can Stars Orbit So Close They're Touching? And More...

July 24th, 2020  |  33 mins 13 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

In this week's questions show, I explain how it's possible for stars to orbit so closely they're actually touching. What are the limits to gravitational slingshots, and how astronomers know where to point their telescopes in the Universe.

Episode 676: Lunar Rovers. From Apollo to Artemis

July 21st, 2020  |  10 mins 16 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

When the Apollo astronauts first landed on the Moon, they couldn’t go far on foot. That’s why the three final missions were equipped with Lunar Roving Vehicles, or Moon buggies, which allowed the astronauts to cover much more ground and do more science.

Now that NASA is returning to the Moon by 2024 as part of its Artemis Program, it’s considering a fleet of new vehicles that will help astronauts roam far and wide across the surface of the Moon.

Episode 675: Q&A 124: Are We Even Mentally Capable of Understanding the Universe? And More...

July 20th, 2020  |  26 mins 17 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

In this week's questions show I explain why it's still important to do science, even if it's difficult, can we use multiple methods to measure distance, and why the Trojan asteroids don't collect into a single object?

Episode 674: A Massive Star Just Disappeared. No Supernova, Just Straight to Black Hole

July 14th, 2020  |  9 mins 4 secs

astronomy, space, space exploration

When the largest stars die, it’s usually pretty obvious. Supernovae are visible from billions of light-years away. But recently astronomers watched a massive star just disappear. No explosion, nothing, it just… vanished?

Of course, it could have been dust. It’s always dust. But one intriguing possibility is that the star just imploded directly into a black hole, without the supernova detonation. And if that’s the case, is this happening more often, we just didn’t notice it?