Astronomy Cast

Astronomy Cast Ep. 694: Mission Roll Call Part 3: Sun, Mercury, and Venus by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 16, 2023. Our journey through space missions continues. Now we move away from the Earth to the rest of the solar system. What’s out there orbiting, roving and flying on other worlds and in interplanetary space. Today we look inward and we’ll talk about the missions studying the Sun, Mercury and Venus.   Thank you to all of our patrons who allow us to do this! This week I'd like to thank Jeremy Kerwin, Stuart Mills, Slug!, Harold Bardenhogan, Matthew Horstman, Kimberly Reich, Georgie Ianov, Scott Bieber, Jim Schooler. Marco Yarasi, David Gates, Alex Cohen, Justin Proctor, Claudia Mastriani, Scott Cohen, Disastrina, Kinsaya Pianflinko, Mathias Hayden, The Big Squish Squash!, Tim Garish, Gregory Singleton, Tim McMackin, Jeff Wilson Cooper, Paul D Disney, Benjamin Mueller, Ninja Nick, Kenneth Ryan, Eran Segev, Scott Briggs and Bruce Amazine. Thank you all so much! 

Astronomy Cast Episode 693: Mission Roll Call, Part 2: Looking Outward from Earth by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 9, 2023. Last week, we brought you up to speed on the spacecraft which are helping to study Earth from above. Many of our missions are in Earth orbit but looking outward to study the Universe. Today, we’ll talk about the missions close to home, helping us understand our place in the cosmos.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 692: Mission Roll Call Part 1: Earth Orbit by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It’s time for another series! This time we’re gonna look at the missions that’re currently in place across the solar system. Today we’ll start with the key missions here on Earth, studying the planet from above and looking out into the Universe. 

Astronomy Cast Ep. 691: Jupiter’s Changing Red Spot by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 25, 2023. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is one of its most iconic features. First seen hundreds of years ago. Although it’s certainly long lasting, it’s been changing in size over the last few decades. Shrinking, changing in color. Is it fading away? And what can the changes tell us about storms on giant planets?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 690: Climate on Mars - From Ice Caps to Dust Storms by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 18, 2023. We’ve looked at Earth’s changing climate, now let’s see what it’s like for another world: Mars. Much looks familiar, but some of it is totally alien, from ice caps of frozen carbon dioxide to planetary dust storms that can obscure the entire world from view.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 689 - Our Warming World: 20 Years of Climate Science by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 11, 2023. It’s official! June and July were the warmest we’ve seen since records began over a century ago. Fires are rampant across Canada, and we’re seeing record droughts around the world. Today we’re going to look at 20 years of climate science, how well does reality match up with the predictions.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast - Hiatus Message by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Once again, we’ve reached the end of a season here on Astronomy Cast, and it’s time for the summer hiatus. See you in September!

Astronomy Cast Ep. 688: What’s Next? Looking Ahead to Season 17 by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 26, 2023. Once again, we’ve reached the end of a season here on Astronomy Cast, and it’s time for the summer hiatus. But the Universe never takes a break. What can we expect to happen over the summer while we’re catching up on our reading, building our gardens and planning for Season 17?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 687: Prepping for the Moon by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We’re going back to the Moon. In the next few years humans will set foot on the Moon again, ideally this time to stay. But this will be different than the Apollo era, going to the scientifically fascinating, and difficult southern pole of the Moon. What needs to be done to prepare the way back to the Moon?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 686: Ice In The Shadows by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Ga Streamed live on Jun 12, 2023. The permanently shadowed craters on the Moon are the focus of so much research. That’s because they seem to contain vast reserves of water ice. Water we could use for oxygen, propellant and so much more, but also, to help us understand where the Earth’s water came from.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela  

Astronomy Cast Ep. 685: Manufacturing In Space by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 5, 2023. Launching satellites from Earth is counter-productive. You’ve got to make a satellite that can handle Earth gravity, then the brutal flight to space, then deployment in orbit. What if you could build your spacecraft in space?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeanette Wink Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog BogieNet Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 684: Too Big, Too Soon: Massive Early Galaxies Defy Expectations by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 29, 2023. One of JWST’s top jobs is to peer deeper into the Universe than ever before, watching as the first galaxies came together. Surprisingly, astronomers found galaxies that seemed much more mature than expected, much earlier than it was believed possible. What’s going on and what does it mean for cosmology?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Jeanette Wink Gerhard Schwarzer David BogieNet THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 683: Cosmic Dawn by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 22, 2023. After the cosmic microwave background radiation was released, the Universe returned to darkness, cloaked in this clouds of primordial hydrogen and helium. Gravity pulled these vast clouds into the first stars, and then the first galaxies. This is Cosmic Dawn, and JWST will help us probe this mysterious time in the Universe.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Jeanette Wink Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 682: Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies & Dark Matter by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Ga Streamed live on May 15, 2023. Astronomers first noticed the strange behaviors of rotating galaxies almost 100 years ago, suggesting there’s an invisible dark matter hold them together with gravity. Or maybe we just don’t understand how gravity works at the largest scales. Observations are much better now, and astronomers have found examples of galaxies that are almost entirely made of dark matter. Does this tell us anything?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Jeanette Wink Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela  

Astronomy Cast Ep. 681: Kilonovae by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 7, 2023. In 2017, astronomers detected the gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation from colliding neutron stars. This had been long theorized as one of the causes of a certain type of gamma-ray burst. By studying the event and its afterglow, astronomers have learned a tremendous amount about the formation of the heaviest elements in the Universe.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Jeanette Wink Gerhard Schwarzer David THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 680: Rogue Black Holes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 1, 2023. Last week we talked about rogue stars. This week we’re going to take things up a notch and talk about an even more extreme event. Rogue black holes. Astronomers recently discovered a supermassive black hole on an escape trajectory, leaving newly forming stars in its wake. It’s wonderful, terrible, nightmare fuel. Fraser’s rogue SMBH article: The original paper:   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 679: High(per) Velocity Stars by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 24, 2023. Most stars in the Milky Way are trapped in here with us, doomed to orbit around and around and around. But a few have found a way out, an escape into the freedom of intergalactic space. How do stars reach escape velocity, never to return?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeannette Wink Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 678: World Building: Planet Formation, Growth & Ejection by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 17, 2023. Okay sci-fi writers, today we’re going to give you a guided tour of building planets. How they form, how they grow, and how things can go horribly horribly wrong. [Editor’s Note: Google HL Tau, click on the Wikipedia link and see planets forming!]   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeannette Wink Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 677: The Answer is Always Dust by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 10, 2023. Whenever astronomers discover something surprising, the answer often turns out to be dust. Dust obscuring our view, dust changing the polarity, dust warming things up, dust cooling things down. It’s always dust. Until it isn’t.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeannette Wink Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 676: Other Things With Rings by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 3, 2023. We’ve spent a lot of time gushing about Saturn’s rings, but there are other places with ring systems. And not just Jupiter and the ice giants, but asteroids, dwarf planets, centaurs and even exoplanets. Today let’s gush about them!   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Jeannette Wink Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela