The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we welcome Geoff Notkin to the show. He is the two-time Emmy Awarding-winning host of STEM Journals, and he hosted Meteorite Men on the Science Channel. He’s going to tell us all about meteorites!   But first, we discuss the future of space stations as the ISS nears the end of its operational life. We also find that supermassive black holes wandering through space may be more common than we thought, and we hear about the discovery of an asteroid by someone who is very familiar to fans of Star Trek.Listen to the podcast here, or watch this episode as a video at: https://youtu.be/0axG2zDOd1s--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

Good news: We have Geoff Notkin, Emmy Award-winning host of Meteorite Men and STEM Journals on next week, talking about meteorites, and his adventures searching the globe for treasures from space.Better news: We have a sneak preview of the episode for you right now! Enjoy!--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

The premiere episode of our newest short-form series, Cosmic Connections! This week, we explore the connections between a nebula in space called the Dragons of Ara, and learn its connections to woolly mammoths, floods, and more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we have a special double interview as we welcome Dr. Richard Teague from the Center for Astrophysics to the show, talking about finding the first moon ever discovered in another solar system. We will also talk with Dr. Davide Farnocchia, asteroid dynamicist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about the asteroid Bennu, which could be headed for a collision with Earth (but, probably not).We also have an exploding star, and we take a look at the development of robotic attendants aboard space stations and colonies of the future.Listen to the podcast version of this episode here, or watch the video version at: https://youtu.be/FPqJRN68VXA--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we welcome Dr. Jonathan Lunine, chair of the astronomy department at Cornell University to the show, telling us all about the volcanoes of Venus!  But first, we journey out to the L 98-59 planetary system, exploring a trio of intriguing exoplanets. Next, we take a trip out to the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter, along with the Lucy spacecraft, as it readies for launch. Finally, we ready for the Perseid meteor shower, due to rain down to Earth on the nights of the 12th and 13th of August.   New examination of the L 98–59 planetary system reveals hidden details of three exoplanets in that planetary system. One of these is found to have a mass just half that of Venus, while another appears to be a water world. This new study by researchers at the European Southern Observatory also shows evidence for a fourth, and possibly even a fifth world in that stellar system, a mere 35 light years from Earth.  Listen to the podcast version of the episode here, or watch this show as a video at: https://youtu.be/e0kxpujd1Ok.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we welcome Dr. Stephanie Ryan to the show. She is the author of Let's Learn About Chemistry, and we will be talking about teaching science to children.  But first, we look at a new study suggesting clay, not water, may be hidden under the icy  South Pole of Mars. We also examine the radio galaxy Centaurus A in a new light, and look up at Saturn during a close(-ish) approach to Earth.  New examinations of radar reflections seen on Mars in 2018 suggests these features may be the result of clay, not underground lakes, near the south pole of the Red Planet. When radar images of the south pole of Mars were recorded by the Mars Express orbiter three years ago, researchers suggested the features might be the result of underground water. This was an intriguing possibility. A trio of new papers, however, finds that clay under the surface, not water, may, in fact, be responsible for the data seen by researchers.Astronomers using the Event Horizon Telescope have carried out the most-detailed observations ever of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. Researchers detailed the source of jets emanating from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. Astronomers suggest that examination of this galaxy at shorter wavelengths might produce an image similar to that seen in 2019 of the supermassive black hole in M87, taken by this same network of radio telescopes.On the night of Monday 2 August, Saturn and Earth made their closest approach to each other for this year. This offered amateur astronomers a chance to view the Ringed Planet at its closest and brightest. The rings are also currently aligned at around 18 degrees from edge-on as seen from Earth, offering stunning views of the rings, and the Moon on Monday stayed hidden until late at night. If you missed this close encounter, Saturn is still shining brightly in the southern sky, anytime after sunset, for most skywatchers in the northern hemisphere.Listen to this episode as a podcast here, or watch it as a video at: https://youtu.be/1rWxEJjLjEY--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we welcome planetary astrophysicist Dr. Stephen Kane to the show. We discuss the role private spaceflight plays in society and developing science.   We will also learn about the first discovery of a moon in another solar system. Next, we head to Mars, where the InSight rover has mapped the inner structure of the planet in detail for the first time. Finally, we take a glimpse at a new-generation telescope that could revolutionize astronomy, before welcoming our special guest.  Listen to the podcast here, or watch the video version of this episode at: https://youtu.be/OJhXYEQmQ80--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we welcome New York Times best-selling author Earl Swift to the show. He recently released a new book, Across the Airless Wilds, the first major history of NASA's lunar buggy.  We're also going to hear about NASA's latest success story, as the Hubble Space Telescope is successfully repaired, readying to continue exploring the Cosmos. We will also journey out to Venus, looking at the ultimate source of phosphine in the atmosphere of our planetary neighbor. Finally, we learn a possible answer to a 40-year-old mystery about the King of the Solar System, Jupiter.  Listen to the video version of this episode here, or watch the video version of this episode at: https://bit.ly/TCC-210720-pod.Please help support The Cosmic Companion with a purchase of Across the Airless Wilds: https://amzn.to/3iwxoNe.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we welcome Dr. Stella Kafka back to the show. She is CEO of The American Association of Variable Star Observers, and she's going to teach us all about Betelgeuse.  We are also going to look at the night sky, as Venus, Mars, and the Moon huddle close together. Then, we venture out Enceladus, one of the mighty moons of Saturn, examining its geysers for signs of life. Finally, we journey back to ancient Earth, learning about massive impacts on its young surface.  Listen to this interview with Stella Kafka here, or watch the video version of this episode at: https://youtu.be/nMuNnhmlEiY.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we learn how gravitational waves show evidence for a pair of ancient stellar murder mysteries, we meet a white dwarf the size of our Moon, and we pay a visit to our ailing friend, the Hubble Space Telescope.  This week's scheduled interview with Earl Swift, author of Across the Airless Wilds, has been postponed until July 20, due to technical problems. Make sure to join us then for an inside look at NASA's lunar buggy!   Listen to the podcast version of this episode here, or watch the video version of this episode at: https://youtu.be/60amV2NtG_cCatch up on every episode of this show at: www.thecosmiccompanion.tv! Subscribe or follow today and never miss an episode!  For more details on space and astronomy news, please visit: www.thecosmiccompanion.net.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-cosmic-companion/support This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aicreatorhouse.substack.com/subscribe