Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder13 Sep

Dyson Spheres: The Heat Has to Go Somewhere

What if the first evidence of an advanced alien civilization isn’t a message, but a star whose energy books don’t quite balance?

This week, we explore the strange history and surprisingly real science of Dyson spheres, from Olaf Stapledon and Freeman Dyson to the unforgettable Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Relics.” We’ll learn why a vast swarm of orbiting collectors makes more sense than a solid shell, and how astronomers search for the missing starlight and excess infrared heat such a civilization might produce.

We also examine Project Hephaistos and its search through millions of nearby stars, the James Webb observations that unmasked two promising candidates, and a recent proposal suggesting that hyper-efficient alien computers could create a much colder, and harder to find, form of waste heat.

Then, in the night sky report, the Moon visits brilliant Venus, Antares and the Teapot of Sagittarius. Venus reaches peak brightness, Saturn rules the evening sky, and International Observe the Moon Night gives everyone a reason to spend Saturday evening looking up.

Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social

If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page!

Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(124)

Rivers Through the Dark

Galaxies carry the evidence of their past. When the Milky Way captures a dwarf galaxy or tears apart a globular cluster, it leaves behind long, ghostly ribbons of stars called stellar streams. These s...

6 Sep 27min

Little Red Dots at Cosmic Dawn

The James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered hundreds of tiny red points in the early universe. They are extraordinarily compact, unexpectedly bright and strangely quiet in the X-ray and radio wavelen...

30 Aug 27min

Did the Milky Way Flip?

The Milky Way looks permanent from our place inside it, a great band of stars stretching across the night sky. But new research suggests our galaxy may once have been oriented in a completely differen...

16 Aug 35min

When Black Holes Twist Spacetime

What happens when a black hole spins? According to general relativity, it doesn't simply rotate in space, it actually drags spacetime around with it.This episode explores the strange phenomenon known ...

2 Aug 38min

Listening to the Heartbeat of the Milky Way

Most amateur astronomers spend their nights collecting light. But what if you could study our galaxy without looking through a telescope at all?In this episode, we sit down with amateur astronomer and...

19 Juli 27min

Is there a Black Hole in Our Backyard?

What if the mysterious "Planet Nine" isn't a planet at all?In this episode, we journey to the distant frontier of our Solar System to explore one of astronomy's strangest modern hypotheses: the possib...

5 Juli 21min

How Jupiter Almost Destroyed the Solar System

For generations, we've pictured the Solar System as a stable and orderly place: planets forming where they are today and quietly orbiting the Sun for billions of years. But what if that picture is wro...

21 Juni 23min