Podcasts about Universe Today

What consequences would Astronomy face if JWST had failed? Does SETI still do good work? Does our Universe live inside of a giant black hole? And in the free addition of [Q&A+] on Patreon, can there be an experiment that would provide proof of alien life? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Webb discovers auroras on Neptune, and measures the exact size of Asteroid 2024 YR4, the first Private Mission to carry humans on a polar orbit, a mission that could reach and explore Mercury using only a solar sail. And in our bonus story on Patreon, what would it take to build a sample return mission to Io?

Why don't moon landers just heat themselves to live through the lunar night? Will Betelgeuse's explosion cause a lot of gravitational waves? Is it even theoretically possible to accelerate close to the speed of light? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, what is my dream space mission? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Could there be rouge planets floating in space between us and Alpha Centauri system? Will the Chinese be beaming power from a space station to Earth? Will solar sails be used for propulsion in our lifetime? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, how Lagrange points work for different planets and moons? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

Liquid mirror telescopes exist. But there's a big problem with them. They can only look directly up. Can we fix it? Can they work beyond the Earth's surface, in orbit or on the Moon? Finding out in this interview.

Long-chain hydrocarbons found on Mars, has dark energy been decreasing over time? a completely flat telescope lens, the center of the Milky Way contains a star grinder. And in our free version on Patreon, a new theory for the formation of Mercury.

Will astronauts be eventually replaced by robots in space? Is there a plan for a replacement for the Kepler telescope? Do Intuitive Machines failures mean that Starship HLS is kind of in danger? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, will Artemis become 100% SpaceX? All this and more in this Q&A show.

Titan is the only known world except Earth that has liquid on its surface and a dense atmosphere. We are planning to send a nuclear helicopter called Dragonfly to explore it. What can we expect from Titan? Finding out in this interview.

Should we be colouring our star green to make it stand out for potential aliens? What would it take for a space station to be fully self-sufficient? What happened to LUVOIR which was supposed to be a bigger version of JWST? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, can you win a Nobel Prize by watching YouTube videos. All this and more in this Q&A.

Blue Ghost wraps up two busy weeks on the Moon with a sunset, good news, the death star isn't pointing at us, and a new option for the Mars Sample Return mission. And our longer edition on Patreon, how supernovae could have caused two of Earth's mass extinction events.

What would a black hole do if it was inside Uranus? What do I think about AI-generated content impersonating Universe Today? What telescope should you buy in 2025? And in our free extended version, the deepest rabbit hole I went into. All this and more in this Q&A show.

What would a black hole do if it was inside Uranus? What do I think about AI-generated content impersonating Universe Today? What telescope should you buy in 2025? And in our free extended version, the deepest rabbit hole I went into. All this and more in this Q&A show.

What is my biggest disappointment in the history of space exploration? Will the YR4 asteroid have a chance to hit the Moon? Does the solar gravitational lens need a coronagraph? And in our free extended version, how time dilation changes intergalactic travel? All this and more in this Q&A show.

As we put more and more satellites in orbit, chances of them colliding also increase. How can we manage that? How can we make sure that Kessler syndrome won't happen and keep all those satellites from destroying each other? Finding out in this interview.

Could we find a way to Earth from another part of a galaxy? Would people born on Mars grow taller to adopt to lower gravity? Can you jump off the surface of Pluto? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, what would happen if dark energy is disproved? All this and more in this Q&A.

Astronomers find 128 new moons for Saturn, four mini-Earths orbiting around Barnard's Star, a new video from Blue Ghost 1, massive science budget cuts for NASA, and in our Patreon version, a bonus story about the return of the X-37b spaceplane.

Is it possible that some of the galaxies out there are made of antimatter? How transparent is science research across the world? Which of the Lagrange points is my favourite? And in our free bonus question on Patreon, how big can of a moon can the Earth sustain? All this and more in this Q&A show.

Firefly's Blue Ghost 1 lands safely on the Moon, Athena… doesn't, and another lunar mission goes missing. NASA shuts down more instruments on the Voyagers, and Europa Clipper makes a flyby of Mars. Starship explodes again. And in the free Patreon edition, how Vera Rubin could find another flyby target for New Horizons.

Did James Webb break the age of the Universe? Can we watch asteroids that are about to hit the Moon? How much of actuation astronomy is done on the ISS? Plus, in our extended version on Patreon, what shape do black holes take? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

Is there a risk of contaminating Earth with space-resistant bacteria when de-orbiting the ISS? What would be the next big outpost when humanity reaches Mars? What's the real shape of Lagrange points? Plus, in our bonus part on Patreon, could there be life in lava tubes. Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Astronomers saw a rare type of supernova in the galaxy NGC 2891. Finding out what was so special about it and why is it a perfect example of why we need the Vera Rubin Telescope as soon as possible.

The asteroid threat is down to zero, whatever happened to that star that was supposed to go nova, more landers are launched to the Moon. Plus in our extended version on Patreon, how Venus's atmosphere could protect life in its clouds.

Would we have colonized Mars by now if it had air? What is the ultimate fate of stars? What's the point of talking about the density of black holes? And which movies would go into the Fraserverse? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Will SpaceX eventually consume NASA? Are there asteroids at Lagrange points in front and behind the Earth? Can we track the Space Force's secret X37 shuttle? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

A massive new release of Type 1a supernova data, did astronomers see a strange star form? huge spiral arms of comets in the Oort Cloud, and the highest energy neutrino ever detected. Plus in our extended version on Patreon, how scientists could get real data on UAPs.

What will we really lose in case SLS actually gets cancelled? Would nuclear rockets bring a significant enough improvement to space travel? Do we even know how to die in space? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Does dark matter annihilate with normal matter? Should we be searching for signs of life in other galaxies? Do we know how to terraform exoplanets? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

Moving across the surface of Enceladus can be more tricky than you think. Rough icy terrain can be hard for wheels. No atmosphere makes helicopters impossible. Thus, hopping and jumping might be the answer!

James Webb finds the smallest asteroids in the main belt, astronomers double the chances of that asteroid strike in 2032, using hydrogel to protect astronauts from radiation, and material from Alpha centauri is already streaming into the Solar System.

Which NIAC project would be the best to bring to life? Are there really more stars than grains of sand on Earth? Is the solar eclipse going away from us? What's on my shelf behind me? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

NASA just funded a NIAC project to study the possibility of building large structures on the Moon, on Mars and in space out of glass. Blowing glass bubbles similarly to how it's done on Earth.

Will space debris prevent us from accessing orbit and when could it happen? Is the Universe with all its rules just a lucky accident? What does "The Publisher of Universe Today" even do? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Will space debris prevent us from accessing orbit and when could it happen? Is the Universe with all its rules just a lucky accident? What does "The Publisher of Universe Today" even do? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Venus has a thick layer of clouds that obscures our view of the surface. To tackle that, this NIAC project suggests launching a balloon with a tether that will go below the cloud layer and help us image Venus surface.

A new asteroid with a 1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, the European Space Agency is building a Lunar Lander platform, the largest structure in the Universe has been discovered, and how far away could we detect ourselves?

Who will get sample from Mars first? Who controls the James Webb Space Telescope? Does space radiation rule out panspermia? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

We all want to see potentially habitable exoplanets around Sun-like stars. But to do that you need a starshade. Something to cover the star and reveal the faint planets around it. What can we build these structures from to make them rigid and strong enough? Finding out in this interview.

Why are most craters circular, no matter which angle the meteor falls? Is there a size limit for a telescope before diminishing returns take place? Can black holes have atmospheres? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

Space Docks are everywhere in science fiction. It's the most logical way to build big constructions in space. So, NASA funded a futuristic project that studies the possibility of assembling structures in space.

The MOXIE experiment on the Perseverance rover showed that creating oxygen on other planets is possible. Now, we can apply the same logic to Venus. This could allow the creation of constantly floating balloons, leading to cloud cities in the future.

Venus is closer than Mars. It's more Earth-like. We can bring back samples from it. But it's chronically underexlored. This is why we need a Venus Exploration Program!

The building blocks of life have been found in asteroid samples, the most volcanic activity ever seen on Io, astronauts are searching for bacteria on the outside of the space station, and Ingenuity found surprisingly fast wind speeds on Mars.

How big can a space crowbar be? Why does the Sun look bigger near the horizon? How do we measure temperature on the Moon? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

NASA is launching a new telescope this year called Pandora. It'll be specifically inspecting atmospheres of exoplanets. It even uses spare parts from JWST. Learning more about the Pandora telescope in this interview.

Did we find ore veins on Moon or Mars? Can we see astronomical objects in 3D? Can we catch a ride on a comet? How will the internet work on Mars? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A.

What's going on with the TRAPPIST-1 system? Did James Webb find atmospheres or not? Do any of the planets have a chance to be habitable? When should we expect more information? Answering all these questions in this interview.

What happened to Starship during test flight 7? Astronomers see a black hole's jets forming in real-time. Curiosity finds ripples of an ancient shore, and an insanely high-resolution image of Andromeda captured by Hubble.

How does JWST stay in L2 and not drift away? What is the wait calculation for Alpha Centauri? How can we use Jupiter's Lagrange points? Answering all these questions and more in this Q&A show.

To look for lifer in space we need to understand it. What fundamental boundaries does it have? What limits are imposed on life? Finding out in this interview.