Podcasts sobre Fraser Cain

We finally have the SgrA* supermassive black hole image by the Event Horizon Telescope, China announces their plans to launch a space telescope, and Russia threatens to leave the ISS. 00:00 Intro 00:20 Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole https://www.universetoday.com/155874/this-is-it-meet-the-supermassive-black-hole-at-the-heart-of-the-milky-way/ …

Edward Balaban is a research scientist at NASA Ames and the principal investigator of the Fluidic Telescope Experiment, or FLUTE. The idea is to create a giant lens in space out of a fluid that could maintain its shape in microgravity. The technology was recently tested during the Axiom-1 mission to the International Space Station. https://www.nasa…

Dr. Kevin Cannon is an assistant professor of geology and geological engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Cannon has been studying the properties of lunar regolith, developing techniques that could help to mitigate its dangers during long-duration lunar exploration missions. https://geology.mines.edu/project/cannon-kevin/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE:…

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain why we don't see much stuff in space unfolding in real time, how long will Musk's Tesla be a recognizable object, and what are some feasible structures we could build to help send payloads to space. 00:00 Start 03:38 [Tatooine] Why don't we see space stuff in real time? 07:40 [Coruscant] When wil…

Rocket Lab almost catches their Electron booster with a helicopter, China building an asteroid redirection mission, NASA gives out awards and astronomers find a new type of space explosions. 00:00 Intro 00:35 Rocket Lab Almost Caught a Booster with a Helicopter https://www.universetoday.com/155706/they-did-it-rocket-lab-uses-copter-to-catch-and-rel…

My guest today is Dr. Sam Howell, a planetary scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Sam studies the interiors of icy worlds, like Europa and Enceladus and is pioneering methods to explore their subsurface oceans. https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/showell/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com…

My guest today is Dr. Franck Marchis, a senior planetary astronomer and chair of the exoplanet group at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute and Chief Scientific Officer and Founder at Unistellar. Franck helps develop adaptive optics systems for research observatories and helped develop the fully automated eVscope telescope which helps amate…

Every day about 100 tonnes of space dust strikes the Earth's atmosphere. Most of these space rocks vaporize, but some fall to the Earth at meteorites. Did you know that there are particles from space falling on the roof of your house? My guest today is Scott Peterson. Scott collects micrometeorites from his house and takes pictures of them using a …

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain why James Web still can't see the Big Bang, if black holes can "unblack hole" later in life and what is the cutest nebula in the Universe? 00:00 Start 03:17 [Tatooine] Can Webb see back to the Big Bang? 08:20 [Corusant] Could antimatter destroy a black hole? 10:06 [Hoth] Why can't the aliens be h…

NASA extended 8 space missions, EHT has groundbreaking announcements on the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, James Webb shows first images, SOFIA telescope is getting shut, Starship evaluation gets another delay, and more space news. 00:00 Intro 00:37 EHT announced ‘groundbreaking Milky Way results’ https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann2…

My guest today is Dr. Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist who specializes in planetary migration and orbital mechanics. Dr. Malhotra and her team have discovered that Pluto's orbit is surprisingly chaotic at small timescales and yet surprisingly stable at larger timescale. We'll talk about her research and the science of orbital mechanics that led…

In this week's questions and answers show, I talk about supermassive black hole nucleosynthesis, the threat of grabby aliens and why would we ever bother building Von Neumann Probes. 00:00 Start 01:00 [Tatooine] Are elements being formed in quasars? 03:50 [Corusant] What will the coverage of the Moon landings be like? 06:39 [Hoth] How close will Co…

Planetary Science Decadal Survey recommends a mission to Uranus, SLS is set for another delay, Perseverance sees a Phobos solar eclipse, all Hubble's images in a single picture and other most important space and astronomy news of the week. 00:00 Intro 00:43 Planetary Science Decadal Survey is out https://www.universetoday.com/155519/planetary-decad…

My guest today is Dr. Margaret Meixner, the Director of Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Science Mission Operations. Previous to this role, Dr. Meixner was a Distinguished Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and a Project Scientist at James Webb Space Telescope. https://www.sofia.usra.edu/about-sofia/…

My guest today is Dr. Slava Turyshev, a physicist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He helped to solve the Pioneer Anomaly, and is developing a mission that could use the Sun's gravity as a natural lens to focus the light from distant objects. https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Turyshev/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ htt…

My guest today is Celeste Keith, a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Celeste and her team are searching for ways to detect the presence of primordial black holes, leftover from the Big Bang. These could be an explanation for dark matter and other phenomena in the Universe. https://astrophysics.uchicago.edu/people/profile/celeste-keith/…

In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I provide the exact number of alien worlds that could detect the Earth, are we made of heavier elements made in other galaxies, will lasers remain perfectly parallel in space? And more... 00:00 Start 01:15 [Tatooine] Could any aliens see us by the transit/radial velocity method? 04:05 [Corusant] Are w…

Perseverance found its parachute, JWST cooling down its experiments, Standard Model once again in danger, Space Force releasing data to scientists, yet another approach for expensive space tourism and more top news stories of this week. 00:00 Intro 00:52 Space Force is Releasing Decades of Tracking Data on a Thousand Bright Meteor Fireballs https:/…

Particle physicists have announced an exciting discovery about the W Boson particle that challenges the Standard Model of Physics. To help me understand what was discovered and what it means for physics, I've invited Dr. Paul Sutter back to explain it. Paul is a fantastic science communicator and has a PhD in particle physics. The perfect person to…

My guest today is Dr. Surjeet Rajendran, a physics professor at Johns Hopkins University. In addition to his teaching, Dr. Rajendran's research is in theoretical physics, with a strong focus on what comes after the standard model. What could dark matter be? How can gravity be merged with quantum mechanics? https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/director…

In this week's questions show, I explain how other planets can have geostationary orbits, if sending tardigrades to the Moon is a violation of the Outerspace Treaty, and why everything orbiting the Sun is in perfect balance. Here's a link to our Discord server: https://discord.gg/3nk8kAARUm 00:00 Start 00:53 Does Venus have a geostationary orbit? 0…

My guest today is Dr. Thayne Currie, an astrophysicist at NASA-Ames Research Center and the Subaru Telescope. Dr. Currie was part of a team that directly imaged a newly-forming planet, providing evidence of another way large planets can form, and could have formed here in the Solar System. https://subarutelescope.org/staff/currie/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ══…

My guest today is Dr. Robin Hanson, an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. Dr. Hanson is famous for writing a paper describing the Great Filter, a theory that explains why we don't see aliens across the Universe. https://www.overcomingbias.com…

My guest today is Chris Prophet, a freelance writer who has been covering the rise of SpaceX. He has written several books, including SpaceX from the Ground Up. His new book is called SpaceX Evolution and explains some of the company's long-term strategies to create a sustainable human civilization on Mars and beyond. https://www.goodreads.com/auth…

In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I explain how big black holes are, what coordinate system astronomers use to map objects in the sky, and what could have collapsed clouds of hydrogen to form the first stars? 00:00 Start 00:42 How big are black holes? 03:15 What coordinate system do astronomers use to map objects in space? 06:50 What …

In this week's questions and answers show, I answer the question: could we build a star? How far will humans realistically explore within the Solar System? Is there any way we can escape the heat death of the Universe? 00:00 Start 01:03 Could we create a new star? 04:17 How far will humans explore in the Solar System? 08:59 Can we escape the heat d…

In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I explain how a more powerful rocket could reduce the need of a heat shield, if we could detect objects beyond the edge of the observable Universe through their gravity, and what are the largest objects (or spacecraft) that could hang out at a Lagrange Point? 00:00 Start 00:13 Why do we even need heat…

My guest today is Dr. Jason Hofgartner, a planetary scientist specializing in icy worlds of the Solar System. Jason wrote a recent paper about the nature of Neptune's moon Triton, first discovered by Voyager 2 back in 1989. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason-Hofgartner 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universe…

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how astronomers use the Doppler Effect to know if objects are moving towards or away from us, I give my thoughts on Starlink as a user, and I suggest ideas on how to become a better writer. 00:00 Start 01:50 How do we know light is red or blue shifted? 04:24 What do I think of Starlink? 08:07 Why…

My guest today is Matthew Campbell, a Mechanical Engineer, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. He's a member of the Bargatin Group, researching nanomaterials and their applications. https://bargatin.seas.upenn.edu/people/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════…

In this week's episode, I explain how we could use Jupiter as a source of fuel for our fusion reactors, what it means to say there's a scientific consensus, and if gravitational waves can trigger earthquakes. 00:00 Start 01:26 Could we mine Jupiter for hydrogen? 03:24 What does "scientific consensus" mean? 07:04 Could gravitational waves trigger ea…

My guest today is Dr. John Mather, Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Mather received a Nobel Prize for his influential cosmology work, helping to confirm the Big Bang. He's been involved in almost every major astronomy mission in the last few decades, including Hubble, and of …

My guest today is Dr. Elena D'Onghia, an associate professor at the University of Wisconson--Madison's Department of Astronomy. Her research is focused on the dynamics of galaxies through simulations, theory, and observations. https://www.madastrodynamics.com/team#elena 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.c…

In this week's questions show, I explain how astronomy would be different if we didn't have space telescopes, what was the Universe like shortly after the Big Bang?, and what if James Webb detects oxygen in the atmosphere of another planet? 00:00 Start 00:45 What if we couldn't build space telescopes? 05:01 Did the Universe act like a big star afte…

My guest today is Dr. Chenoa Tremblay, a Post Doctoral Researcher at the SETI Institute. Dr. Tremblay and her team used the Murchison Widefield Array to scan the core of the Milky Way for any sign of signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. https://twitter.com/chenoachem 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universeto…

In this week's questions and answers show, I explain why people might see extraterrestrials as a threat. What could we learn about astronomy if we lived at the center of a supervoid, and how far away are we from the Big Bang? 00:00 Start 01:10 Why do we assume extraterrestrials are evil? 07:40 Could we see anything from within a supervoid? 09:40 Wh…

In this week's episode, I explain why James Webb is actually the perfect telescope for detecting advanced civilizations, could we hide the Earth from snooping aliens, could spacecraft go into polar orbit around the Sun? And more... 00:00 Start 00:39 Could James Webb Detect a Type 2/3 Civilization? 05:31 How can Earth hide from aliens? 07:10 Polar o…

My guest today is Dr. Andrei Lobanov, a staff astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Bonn, Germany. Dr. Lobanov was part of a team that just took the highest resolution image ever seen of a blazar, using a network of space and ground-based radio telescopes. https://www3.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/staff/alobanov/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ══════════…

My guest today is Dr. Jillian Scudder, a PhD astrophysicist and assistant professor at Oberlin College. In addition to her teaching and research work, Dr. Scudder also answers space and astronomy questions on her blog and in her newly updated book: Astroquizzical. https://www.jillianscudder.com/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ h…

In this week's QA, I talk about how we can see individual stars in a galaxy like Andromeda, how we know the Universe is bigger than we can observe, and whether black holes are solid objects or infinitely dense singularities. 00:00 Start 01:07 Can we see the stars in Andromeda? 03:21 How do we know the Universe is bigger than we can see? 09:24 Are b…

In this week's episode, I talk about the possibility of a copy of the Hubble Space Telescope, if satellites could relay information like a mesh network, and if it's even possible for plants to survive on the surface of Mars. 00:00 Start 01:22 Could we launch a copy of Hubble? 03:34 Could satellites relay information like a mesh network? 06:17 Could…

In this week's Questions Show I explain why James Webb doesn't have any cameras on board, what the Universe is expanding into, and what is the point of building big telescopes when we're trapped in the Solar System? 00:00 Start 06:35 Why build big telescopes? 00:35 Are there cameras on board James Webb? 04:17 What is the Universe expanding into? 09…

My guest today is Andreas Hein, Executive Director, Chairman Technical Research Committee of the Initiative for Interstellar Studies. Andreas is part of a team working to develop practical missions for interstellar exploration. https://i4is.org/ 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ════…

My guest today is Dr. Joanna Barstow, a Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at University College London. Dr. Barstow specializes in planetary science, studying the atmospheres of planets both inside and beyond the Solar System. She's also a member of the ARIEL science team, an upcoming mission that will categorize the atmospheres of exoplan…

In this week's final 2021 QA, I explain why landing on the Moon could make it difficult for other spacecraft to land, if binary planets could exist, and if there are plans to do a JWST version of the Hubble Deep Field. 00:00 Start 00:29 Can spacecraft land on the Moon or Mars without a landing pad? 03:29 Could binary planets exist? 06:25 Will we ev…

In this week's Questions and Answers show, I explain how an infinite Universe could be the ultimate answer to the Fermi Paradox, where the energy for tidal heating comes from, and why are there always so many asteroid scare stories in media? 00:00 Start 00:43 Can a satellite remain in one spot? 03:56 Does an infinite Universe solve the Fermi Parado…

My guest today is Dr. Michael Zemcov, an associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Zemcov has proposed putting a telescope out beyond the orbit of Saturn to capture the clearest possible view of the Universe, away from the light-polluted inner Solar System. https://theconversation.com/a-small-telescope-past-saturn-could-solv…

My guest today is Andrea Lin, a graduate student at the Eberly College of Science at Penn State University. Andrea is working with the NEID Spectrograph, a brand new instrument that will eventually be capable of detecting Earth-sized worlds orbiting sunlike stars. https://science.psu.edu/astro/people/apl5194 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ═════════════════════════…

In this week's live questions and answers show, I explain why NASA doesn't build standardized rovers, how we know the Universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old, and which are the best (and worst) entry-level telescopes to get. Mars Magnetosphere story https://www.universetoday.com/153368/an-absolutely-bonkers-plan-to-give-mars-an-artificial-…

In this week's live questions and answers show, I speculate what kind of civilization could be permanently stuck on the surface of their planet, if rival nations could shoot down each other's spacecraft, and how do I really feel about the Space Launch System? 00:00 Start 01:01 How much gravity makes spaceflight impossible? 04:40 Could a rival shoot…