Astronomy Cast

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

Astronomy Cast Ep. 675: Exotic Forms of Ice by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Ice is ice, right? You know, what you get when water freezes. Well, maybe here on Earth. But across the Universe, water can be squeezed together at different temperatures and pressures, leading to very different structures. Today we'll talk about the different forms that ice can take. This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 674: Asteroid Early Warning Systems by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The asteroid apocalypse is one of those existential crises that keep astronomers up at night. But the DART mission showed us that we can push an asteroid off its trajectory if we have enough warning. Today we'll talk about how humanity is building early warning systems to give us time to respond to a dangerous asteroid. This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 673: How to See Satellites (or Avoid Seeing Them) by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 13, 2023. If you're in dark skies and look up, you're certain to see a satellite. Lots of them. But how can you know which one you're seeing, and how can you improve your chances of a sighting? Today we'll talk about how to see satellites, or avoid seeing them. This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 672: Space Debris Removal by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 8, 2023. We've talked about the rising problem of space junk. Okay, we know it's an issue. So what can be done about it? Today we'll talk about ideas to remove space junk, making sure space is open to use for the centuries to come. This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 671: The Consequences to Breaking Space Laws by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 1, 2023. Last week we talked about the laws that govern space exploration. This week the rubber hits the road. What are the consequences for actually breaking these rules? Are they really going to stop anyone? This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 670 - Governing Space: The 1967 Outer Space Treaty & More! by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Ga Streamed live on Feb 13, 2023. The Universe was inaccessible for most of human history, but the first tentative steps to space in the 20th Century made humanity realize that science fiction was becoming science reality. New rules would have to be written to govern how we used this limitless expanse. Today we'll talk about the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Jeanette Wink Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 669: Challenges to Dark Energy by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 6, 2023. It's been over 20 years since astronomers first discovered that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating thanks to dark energy. And in these decades, astronomers still don't have much evidence for what could be causing the increased expansion rate. Maybe there's something else going on to explain it. This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Jeanette Wink Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 668: The Crisis In Cosmology by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 30, 2023. Astronomers have made extremely accurate measurements of the expansion rate of the Universe and come up with different results. And the error bars for the observations don't overlap, so there's something strange going on. What's the answer and how can the Crisis in Cosmology be resolved? This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: David Burry Gowen Stephen Veit Jordan Young Venkatesh Chary Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela