

The 365 Days of Astronomy
365DaysOfAstronomy.org
The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast launched in 2009 as part of the International Year of Astronomy. This community podcast continues to bring you day after day of content across the years. Everyday, a new voice, helping you see the universe we share in a new way. This show is managed by Avivah Yamani, edited by Richard Drumm. This podcast is funded through Patreon.com/CosmoQuestX and produced out of the Planetary Science Institute.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 1, 2025 • 22min
EVSN - Saturn’s Rings Are Made of a Broken-up Moon
From September 16, 2022. Using computer simulations, researchers have pieced together a possible scenario where Titan caused another of Saturn’s moons to break up and become the beautiful ring system we see today. Plus, organic molecules on Mars, the death of the dinosaurs, and a review of Lightyear on Disney+. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 31, 2025 • 21min
Actual Astronomy - The Observer’s Calendar for August 2025
Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. actualastronomy@gmail.com The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents The Observer’s Calendar for August 2025. In this episode we talk about the Moon pairing with Antares, Saturn, Mars then Antares again! We also talk about finding 4 asteroids at oppositions, Ausonia, Pallas, Julia and Hebe. There is also a great line in the sky formed when Jupiter, Venus and the Moon line up with Castor and Pollux after mid-month. Aug 1 - Carbon Star V Cyg at it’s best Aug 2 - Lunar Straight Wall and Eyes of Clavius Aug 3 - Antares 0.6 N. Of Moon - Ausonia at opposition m=9.3 Aug 6 - Wargetin Pancake visible on Moon Aug 9 - Full Moon - Mare Orientale - NGC 6723 well placed Aug 10 - Jupiter and Venus within 2-degrees this week - Pallas at opposition - m=9.4 - Julia at opposition m=8.8 Aug 11 - Neptune, Saturn and Moon congregate in late evening Sky Aug 12 - 5 am Endymion sunset rays visible on Moon - Perseid meteor Shower Aug 16 - Last quarter and many star parties over next 2 weeks Aug 19 - Mercury at greatest elongation 19-degrees from Sun in morning sky Aug 20 - Jupiter, Venus and Moon line up with Castor and Pollux in morning sky Aug 21 - Moon & Mercury Aug 22 - Old crescent moon in east before sunrise - Variable star Khi Cyg at Max mag. =3.3 Aug 25 - Asteroid Hebe at opposition m=7.6 Aug 26 - Mars 3-degrees N of Moon Aug 31 - Antares 0.7 North of Moon We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 30, 2025 • 11min
Space Stories - When Stars Explode: From Nova to Kilonova
Hosted by Avivah Yamani, your Director. What happens when a star dies? Today we journey through the powerful stellar finales, from the gentle flare of a nova to the cataclysmic force of a kilonova. Join us as we unravel the stories behind novae, supernovae, hypernovae, kilonovae, and the recently discovered micronovae. Have a listen & find out what makes stars go out with a bang! We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 29, 2025 • 9min
Deep Astronomy - The Earth As An Exoplanet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8omjQrl2f4 Hosted by Tony Darnell. From August 22, 2018. Are we alone? How unique is our Earth? Should the hunt for life beyond Earth uncover a multitude of habitable worlds and few (if any) inhabited ones, humanity would begin to understand just how lonely and fragile our situation is. On the other hand, if our hunt yields a true diversity of inhabited worlds, then we would learn something fundamental about the commonality of life in the cosmos. Like this content? Please consider becoming a patron We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 28, 2025 • 32min
Astronomy Cast Ep. 10: Measuring Distance in the Universe
http://www.astronomycast.com/archive/ From November 13, 2006. You hear distances all the time in astronomy. This star is 10 light-years away; that galaxy is 50 million light-years away; that Big Bang over there happened 13.7 billion years ago. But how did astronomers actually figure out how far away everything is? It’s not a single measuring stick. Instead, astronomers have built up a series of overlapping measuring tools (yes, we’re calling supernovae and variable stars “tools”), which take us from right around the corner to very ends of the Universe. Get out your ruler… no, the bigger one… never mind… just listen. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 27, 2025 • 6min
Travelers in the Night Eps. 803 & 804: Monster NEO & Tracie’s Solo
In this intriguing discussion, listeners are introduced to the half-mile asteroid 2024 JW1, discovered by a diligent astronomer. Its safe trajectory is a relief for Earth, as it won't approach closer than 53 lunar distances. The excitement continues with Tracie Beuden’s inspiring solo observatory debut, where she not only operated the telescope but also hosted visitors, adding a personal touch to her astronomical journey. The quest for knowledge in the cosmos never ceases to amaze!

Jul 26, 2025 • 47min
The Cosmic Savannah Ep. 72: Exploring New Horizons in Astronomy
Hosted by Dr. Jacinta Delhaize, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela & Dr. Daniel Cunnama. From June 19, 2024. Season 6. In this episode of The Cosmic Savannah, our hosts chat with Dr. Rojovola Zara-Nomena Randriamanakoto from the South African Astronomical Observatory about her transformative journey from Madagascar to becoming an instrumental figure in astronomy, advocating for women in STEM, and her research on star clusters and colliding galaxies. Dr. Zara Randriamanakoto is an influential astronomer from Madagascar working at the South African Astronomical Observatory. She moved to South Africa in 2008, overcoming language barriers and limited initial exposure to computers and programming. Her journey into astronomy was driven by an opportunity linked to the Square Kilometre Array project. Zara studies massive star clusters, particularly in collisional ring galaxies, utilizing data from the Hubble Space Telescope. She has played a pivotal role in developing the astronomy community in Madagascar, focusing on education, outreach, and increasing female participation in STEM fields. Zara has received several prestigious awards, including the L’Oreal UNESCO Young Talent Program and the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans. She is committed to mentoring and inspiring the next generation of scientists and is actively involved in promoting astronomy both in Madagascar and South Africa. Podcast Manager and Show Notes: Francois Campher Social Media Manager: Sumari Hatting Transcripts: Abigail Thambiran Audio Editing: Jacob Fine We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 25, 2025 • 36min
EVSN - Volunteer Stargazer
From July 16, 2025. In this special episode we look at how volunteers throughout history have aided in scientific explorations and tell you how you can get involved with our latest community science projects. - World Mappers (Mars Mosaics & Lunar Melt): https://mappers.psi.edu We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 24, 2025 • 6min
UNAWE Space Scoop - What Did Our Solar System Look Like as a Baby?
Hosted by Richard Drumm, your editor! Planets don’t just pop out of nowhere, fully formed and ready for astronomers to study. First, they begin as tiny little specks of dust, forming inside the clouds of gas around baby stars, which are known as protoplanetary discs. These dusty specks condense from the hottest parts of the cloud, kinda like the way raindrops form inside rainclouds. Over time, the specks of dust collide and stick together, forming rocky pebbles. When enough of these pebbles clump together, they can collapse under their own weight to form asteroid-sized rocks. These new-born asteroids gravitationally attract the material around them until they’ve grown into full-sized planets. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Jul 23, 2025 • 15min
Cheap Astronomy Ep. 121: Black Holes Yet Again!
Very dense and podcastable. Cheap Astronomy finds there can never be too many podcasts about black holes. Dear Cheap Astronomy – What are squeezars? Squeezars are stars that orbit supermassive black holes. Essentially they are stars on a slow death spiral into the black hole and the squeezing referred to is the tidal stretch being exerted upon them as the orbit closer and closer to the black hole’s event horizon. That tidal stretching heats them up, a bit like how the moon of Io, orbiting close to Jupiter is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. So they are unusually hot and they are also unusually fast. Dear Cheap Astronomy – Do black holes float in water? Well, the internet says they do so it must be true. But let’s unpack this a bit. The internet also says that if you compress the Earth down to marble size it will become a black hole. This is true in a hypothetical sense, but actually compressing the Earth down to marble size is pretty much impossible. You could use some kind of gargantuan press to start the process, but once the Earth becomes denser than the material the press surfaces are made of, the press becomes useless. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.