179: Not just a telescope with Dr. Virkki
Dr. Anne Virkki talks about the Arecibo Radio Telescope, which recently sustained severe damage. She talks about the discoveries made at the telescope and explains that it could be rebuilt, if there w...
3 Dec 202023min
178: Light reverberations from supermassive black holes with Dr. Gorjian
Dr. Varoujan Gorjian returns to the show! He explains what supermassive black holes are and how they work. He also tells us about an elegant technique that astronomers use to determine the size of the...
25 Okt 202038min
177: Preventable disasters with Prof. Nugent
The tables are turned! Regular host Professor Carrie Nugent talks about her research with guest host Anthropology Professor Caitrin Lynch. We discuss near-Earth asteroids, and how Prof. Nugent is buil...
20 Sep 202030min
176: Getting curious with Dr. Fraeman
Dr. Abby Fraeman returns to the show to talk about NASA's Curiosity rover. For the past eight years, Curiosity has been exploring Gale Crater on Mars. Dr. Fraeman talks about a discovery she made on t...
23 Aug 202026min
175: Three lunar water mysteries with Prof. Ehlmann
Prof. Bethany Ehlmann returns to the show to talk about the mission she's leading, Lunar Trailblazer. This low-cost mission will hitch a ride to the moon using the extra space in a large rocket. Once ...
19 Juli 202031min
174: How NASA funding works with Dr. Throop
Many of the discoveries you've heard about on this show were funded by NASA. But how do scientists get money from NASA? Dr. Henry Throop returns to the show to explain how NASA program officers evalua...
21 Juni 202015min
173: Last alert system with Dr. Denneau
Dr. Larry Denneau talks about the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS. He talks about how asteroid detection is a data processing problem. Every night ATLAS handles about a quarter...
24 Maj 202020min
172: The whole world to a microbe with Prof. Levy
Prof Joe Levy talks about his research in the dry valleys of Antarctica. These valleys are dry, irradiated, salty, and cold, which makes them similar to parts of Mars. He explains why planetary scient...
26 Apr 202016min
