

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

Aug 2, 2024 β’ 59min
[Bonus] Discussing Starship's Fifth Test Flight with John Michael Godier
John Michael Godier and Universe Today's Fraser Cain discuss the exciting developments in space exploration, focusing on Spacex and the upcoming fifth test launch of Starship. Join us as we discuss the details, analyzing the performance, challenges, and future implications of SpaceX's ambitious project.
β«οΈ JMG's Event Horizon:
https://www.youtube.com/@EventHorizonShow
π¦ Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday
π Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club
πΊ VIDEO VERSION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hemEcdEOlxw&ab_channel=EventHorizon
π° EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Read by 60,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe. It's FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π€³ OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday
Facebook: https://facebook.com/universetoday
Instagram: https://instagram.com/universetoday
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Jul 30, 2024 β’ 24min
[Overtime Q&A] Expanding Universe, Starship Telescopes, Quasi Stars VS Black Holes
What happened at the earliest stages of the Universe and what is it expanding into? Can they just put a telescope inside a Starship? Why do I like the NIAC program so much? Answering all these questions and much more in this week's episode of Overtime Q&A.
π¦ Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday
π Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club
00:00 Start
00:35 What happened in the earliest stages of the Universe?
02:56 What is the Universe expanding into?
03:57 Did it happen now or in the past?
07:48 Could we put big telescopes in Starship?
08:52 What was the source of energy of the Big Bang?
09:44 Is a quasi-star a good explanation for black holes?
12:35 Will the ELT do infrared?
13:57 What would a starquake do to Earth?
15:49 Does Io have tectonic plates?
16:29 Why do I like NIAC so much?
18:13 How do we get JUMBOs?
19:59 Why can't we see beyond the CMB?
21:07 Could you ride a black hole's polar jets?
πΊ VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/NRjn9KYzPGE
π° EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Read by 60,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe. It's FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π€³ OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday
Facebook: https://facebook.com/universetoday
Instagram: https://instagram.com/universetoday
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Jul 29, 2024 β’ 54min
[Interview] Fluids Get Really Weird In Space. NIAC 2024
Fluids behave very differently in space. We can make good use of it. For example, a recent NIAC grant was awarded to investigate a Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars Transfer. This is a system that should provide breathing oxygen for a journey to Mars made out of water with no moving parts in it.
π£ Guest: Dr Alvaro Romero-Calvo
https://ae.gatech.edu/directory/person/alvaro-romero-calvo
π More about the NIAC project:
https://www.nasa.gov/general/magnetohydrodynamic-drive-for-hydrogen-and-oxygen-production/
π¦ Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday
π Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club
00:00 Intro
01:39 Water in space
09:18 The NIAC project
28:31 Nightmares in space
35:56 Propulsion
44:19 Current obsessions
51:53 Final thoughts
πΊ VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/fnKwzi7nvOU
π° EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Read by 60,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe. It's FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π€³ OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday
Facebook: https://facebook.com/universetoday
Instagram: https://instagram.com/universetoday
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Jul 26, 2024 β’ 18min
[Space Bites] GAIA Damaged // Possible Signs of Life on Mars // Lava Tubes Mapped
Gaia was hit by a micrometeoroid and a solar storm, mapping a lunar lava tube from space, both Mars rovers found fascinating rocks, and a direct image of the closest exo-jupiter.
π¦ Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday
π Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club
00:00 Intro
00:17 Gaia hit by a micrometeoroid
01:52 Moon lava tubes
03:27 Curiosity finds yellow crystals on Mars
04:53 Possible signs of life from Perseverance
06:46 ExoJupiter Seen by Webb
08:27 ESA's Mission to Apophis
10:26 Vote results
11:05 Mercury is full of diamonds
12:27 New Horizons detects background light
14:17 More space news
14:59 Chandra's anniversary
16:03 Carbon emissions
16:46 Webb's second year
πΊ VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/vfyuM6ynIyA
π° EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Read by 60,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe. It's FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π€³ OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday
Facebook: https://facebook.com/universetoday
Instagram: https://instagram.com/universetoday
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Jul 23, 2024 β’ 33min
[Overtime Q&A] Telescopes Shooting Lasers, Assembling Telescopes in Space, Growing Plants on Mars
Topics include planting on Mars, lasers in telescopes, space telescope assembly, Breakthrough Starshot, black holes, galaxy collisions, LCD coronagraphs, light travel, and machine civilizations.

Jul 22, 2024 β’ 54min
[Special] Everything NASA Discovered from YEAR 2 of JWST
Explore the fascinating discoveries from the second year of the James Webb Space Telescope including Jupiter's moons, Uranus rings, exoplanets, TRAPPIST-1 system, asteroid collisions, methane on exoplanets, rogue planets, lobster nebula, black holes, distant galaxies, and the epoch of re-ionization.

Jul 19, 2024 β’ 20min
[Space Bites] Europa Clipper in Danger // NASA Cancels VIPER // Dune Style Space Suit
Europa Clipper might be delayed. NASA is cancelling its VIPER lunar rover mission. Mapping the dark matter in a dwarf galaxy. And a real-life stillsuit.
π¦ Support us on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/universetoday
π Suggest books in the book club:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1198440-universe-today-book-club
00:00 Intro
00:14 Europa Clipper in serious danger
03:11 NASA cancelled VIPER
04:56 Dune-style suit for space
06:58 Falcon 9 failure
08:17 SpaceX's ISS de-orbit vehicle
09:24 Flight 5 SuperHeavy static fire
10:05 New Glenn Legs
10:48 Vote results
11:25 Why is the Great Red Spot shrinking
12:34 Mapping dark matter
14:16 JWST updates
17:32 Weird state of the launch market
πΊ VIDEO VERSION
https://youtu.be/9ahZM6xTRkk
π° EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Read by 60,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe. It's FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π€³ OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcain
Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday
Facebook: https://facebook.com/universetoday
Instagram: https://instagram.com/universetoday
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Support Universe Today Podcast

Jul 17, 2024 β’ 1h 2min
[Interview] Finding Interstellar Visitors Flying Through The Solar System
Discover the first interstellar visitors, Oumuamua and Borisov, and their implications for Astronomy. Explore interstellar meteorites, detection methods, missions to interstellar objects, and active asteroids. Unravel the mysteries of interstellar phenomena and the excitement of future discoveries.

Jul 17, 2024 β’ 2h 33min
[Bonus] Patreon Q&A Special. June 2024
In this podcast, they discuss detecting nuclear wars on exoplanets, eclipses on other planets, rotational black holes, abiogenesis theories, dark matter interactions, exploring gravitational waves, colonization of space, inside black holes, and ancient astronomical constructions. They also touch on Starship design considerations, refraction of gravitational waves, distance to Voyager probes, and the potential of a mirror universe.

Jul 16, 2024 β’ 21min
[Overtime Q&A] Poison for Stars, Moon Telescope VS JWST, Solar System Killer Star
Topics include iron's impact on stars, Moon telescope vs. JWST, Solar System risks, best planets for resources, evolution on other worlds, red dwarf stars, high-velocity star threats, astronomy funding, planet habitability, planet between Sun and Mercury, diving into gas giants, JWST influence on cosmology, and human legacy.