The Cosmic Companion - Astronomy, Space, Technology Advancing Humanity

When we look up at the moonless, cloudless night sky, far away from city lights, we may see as many as 5,000 stars. These distant dots of light may seem eternal, but this illusion is merely an effect of our momentary, fleeting lives in the Cosmos.  Like humans, stars are born, live, and die. Most stars are found within local families called galaxies. Our own Milky Way is thought to contain somewhere around 400 billion stars. And there may be a trillion galaxies spread throughout the Cosmos...--- 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 The Cosmic Companion, we look at Teaching Children Science. We will be talking with National Geographic's Kelly Hargrave about her new book, Can't Get Enough Shark Stuff. Children are natural scientists. The questions which may be tedious to some parents "Why is the sky blue?" "What are the stars?" "Why do we have belly buttons?"- reveal science to be hard-wired into the human mind.  Far too often, natural curiosity is squelched and discouraged by society as a whole. Children often find their questions brushed aside by adults all too often caught up in the daily tribulations of media celebrities and the soap opera of state. At the same time, our race stands at the precipice of massive potential dangers ranging from nuclear war to pandemics to catastrophic climatic change.--- 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 May 15 Lunar Eclipse gives us a perfect reason for Exploring Our Neighbor: The Moon! Features lunar eclipse viewing guide for Sunday's celestial event!--- 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 buzz this week is all about the Eta Aquarid meteor shower visible late on Thursday and Friday nights! Nearly one shooting star a minute might bee seen under really dark skies.The Eta Aquarids are caused by Earth impacting tiny pieces of the most famous of all comets — Halley!--- 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 the Cosmic Companion, we explore the Ocean Worlds of the Cosmos. Later in the show, we will talk with oceanographer and National Geographic explorer Sylvia Earle.Oceans are one of the defining features of our world, covering roughly three-quarters of the globe. Water is essential to life on Earth, and at one time, we thought this life-sustaining substance was rare throughout the Solar System.Over the last few decades, researchers have come to understand that water appears to be far more common throughout the Cosmos than ever before believed...--- 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

Exploring exoplanets — worlds orbiting alien stars — talking with Thayne Currie of NAOJ, who recently found a bizarre massive planet.This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at exoplanets — worlds orbiting alien stars. We are joined by Dr. Thayne Currie, astrophysicist at The Subaru Telescope, who recently discovered a planet nine times more massive than Jupiter orbiting a young star a little over 500 light years from Earth.On 21 March 2022, NASA confirmed the 5,000th confirmed exoplanet, marking a milestone in our understanding of the Cosmos.Three decades before, the first exoplanets were found orbiting pulsars — rapidly spinning corpses of stars, during the second week of 1992. This was the week Kristi Yamaguchi won the US female Figure Skating championship, Paul Simon opened a tour of South Africa, and President George H. W. Bush got ill at the home of the Japanese Prime Minister.On 6 October 1995 (the day after O.J. Simpson was found innocent of murder), astronomers announced the discovery of 51 Pegasi, the first exoplanet found around a healthy, active, main-sequence star.--- 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

Earth: Our Fragile Planet w/ Katherine Calvin and Sylvia EarleCelebrating Earth Day with NASA Senior Climate Advisor Katherine Calvin and Sylvia Earle - Time Magazine’s first Hero for the Planet!--- 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

What is intelligence? How do we see it in other animals? And how might we recognize it on other worlds? Examining the nature of intelligence and the intelligence of nature with National Geographic’s David LiittschwagerHumans often like to think we are an intelligent species. And, perhaps, that may hold a kernel of truth. We did befriend cats, so…Speaking of which (because, why not?) intelligence is not, in any way, limited to only our own species. In order to understand intelligence, we must recognize the trait among other species. And we must also discuss what it means for a species to be intelligent.--- 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 The Cosmic Companion, we talk about The Future of the International Space Station, as we explore this outpost of humanity in space.We talk with Homer Hickam - the self-made rocket designer who helped lead negotiations with the Russian government over their role on the ISS. We will talk about his role as the ISS took shape, and how the War in Ukraine might affect the orbiting outpost...--- 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

Welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. This week we talk about why Black Holes Don’t Suck as we discuss these bizarre features of space. We’ll talk about the different types of black holes, explore the history of our understanding of these objects, and glance at some of the great questions astronomers have today about black holes.Later on in the show, we’ll be talking with astronomer and astrophysicist Dr. Abigail Frost about her work finding that the nearest black hole to Earth isn’t a black hole after all!--- 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