Ep. 572: Twists in Planet Formation

Astronomy Cast Ep. 617: Hangout-A-Thon Episode 2 - Crowdfunding Science by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Funding for basic science has always been tricky business, coming mainly from universities, government, companies or wealthy individuals. But who knows how many fascinating discoveries were never made because of a lack of funding. And we now live in an era where regular people can come together to fund scientific discoveries.

30 Okt 202136min

Astronomy Cast Ep. 616: Hangout-A-Thon Episode 1 - The Great Observatories by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Well, you're familiar with the Hubble Space Telescope of course, but it's just one of NASA's Great Observatories. After Hubble came 3 more incredible telescopes. Each greater than the last! (That's not true… The first one was the greatest.) But together they would fill in almost the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

29 Okt 202133min

Astronomy Cast Ep. 615: Planet 9 by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay After Pluto lost its planethood we were down to 8 planets. But there's growing evidence of another world or worlds out beyond the orbit of Pluto. Is Planet 9 out there and how will we find it? Could there even be a Planet 10?

18 Okt 202132min

Astronomy Cast Ep. 614: Centaurs, Comets & Asteroids by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay So there are asteroids, and there are comets. But there's an entirely separate class of objects called centaurs. But instead of half human, half horse, imagine an object that's half comet, half asteroid, but 100% interesting!

11 Okt 202127min

Astronomy Cast - Ep. 613: Pluto's Demotion: 15 Years Later by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay It's been 15 years since Pluto was kicked out of the planet club. It also happens to be the topic of our very first episode of Astronomy Cast more than 600 episodes ago. Are there any updates? Does Pluto have a chance of regaining planethood again?

4 Okt 202126min

Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: Hiatus Message by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Fraser & Pamela will return in early September with more episodes of Astronomy Cast. We hope you all have a safe, relaxing and prosperous summer!

12 Jul 20213min

Astronomy Cast Ep. 612: The SETI Renaissance by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about the various ways that astronomers could detect the presence of intelligent civilizations by observing technosignatures. This week we'll give you an update on the state of the search for extraterrestrials. This field has gone from a collection of pariahs to a completely legitimate field of research. What's changed?

5 Jul 202129min

Astronomy Cast Ep. 611: What is Required to Confirm Alien Life: Intelligence Edition by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Last week we talked about what it's going to take to confirm basic biological life across the Solar System and the Milky Way. This week, we'll discuss what it's going to take to detect intelligent life out there in space.

28 Jun 202130min