Universe Today Podcast

In the season finale of my questions show, I talk about high-altitude bacteria, traveling into the future, does it make sense to go back to University, and more. See you all in September!

In this week's questions show, I explain why Dyson Spheres (and Swarms) should actually be pretty easy to detect across the Universe. If it's possible to service the Hubble Space Telescope with a Falcon 9, and will computers take jobs away from astronomers.

In this week's questions show, I explain what would happen if scientists discovered an existential threat to humanity. Would they let us know, or keep it secret to avoid a panic? Could we detect a Breakthrough Starshot fleet coming our way? And how well does China communicate its space exploration to the public?

My guest today is Professor Lee Cronin from the University of Glasgow. Dr. Cronin investigates the chemistry of life and has developed methods that could help us detect it on other worlds - even life as we don't know it.

In this week's questions and answer show, I explain how all the dust in space forms, could life be Von Neumann probes, why do people think black holes lead to another universe, and more...

In this week's Q&A, I try to imagine what might happen if a microscopic black hole passed through the Earth. How long will James Webb take to become operational, and what will be the Plan B for James Webb if it fails?

In this week's episode, I talk about the various ways we measure the age of the Universe. What's next for OSIRIS-REx? And what are the next frontiers for gravitational wave astronomy?

I'm pleased to welcome back Dr. Casey Handmer, a software systems architect at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In addition to his work at NASA, Casey has a fascinating blog where he considers the future of human and robotic space exploration:

My guest is Dr. Ken Olum, a research professor at Tufts University. His primary research is into cosmic strings, and how they could be detectable through techniques like gravitational waves.

In this week's questions show, I consider what the night sky might look like if you could stand at the center of the Milky Way where the stars are denser. Do all stars have Oort clouds? And could Starship really send humans to Mars for the price of a house?