Astronomy Cast

For those non-scientists trying to get their original ideas accepted by the scientific community, you've got to have thick skin. It might seem like there's a vast conspiracy, or a general attitude that drives away original, but unorthodox ideas. But that's not true, the reality is that great ideas in science come from everywhere, even amateurs. In this episode we'll help you understand what scientists will be looking for, and the best ways to be taken seriously.

Have you ever wondered how astronomers do their research? How do they go from idea or question, to gathering their data, to publishing the research. What are all the hoops they have to jump through, the paperwork to fill out, and the cool toys they get to use along the way?

In science fiction it's easy to hop into your spaceship and blast off for other stars. But the true distances between stars, and the limits of relativity make interstellar travel almost impossible with our current technology. What would it really take to travel from star to star, exploring the galaxy?

What will we eventually be able to see on extrasolar planets? What does an infinite Universe mean? And what's down there, inside a black hole? If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

If you want to travel into the Solar System, you have to get off the Earth. Traditionally, that meant blasting off in a rocket. But there's another strategy for escaping the Earth's gravity. Climb to the top of an extremely tall tower, and just jump away. That's the idea behind space elevators. Theoretically possible, but practically unfeasible, space elevators have gotten new life thanks to new, super strong materials.

Why was there a difference between the amount of matter and antimatter at the beginning of the Universe? Mathematics lets us travel faster than light speed, so why can't we? And are there stars forming around black holes? If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

We know there's life in the Universe. We see it all around us here on Earth. But is there life anywhere else? By studying the extremes that life can take here on Earth, scientists are learning just how hardy and adaptable life can really be. And if you consider other ways that life might function, the options open up considerably. This week we'll discuss the study of life - extreme life here on Earth, and the possibility of finding life on other worlds.

Why are black holes black? Can a huge mass of humanity make the Earth wobble? And what's so bad about space pollution anyway? If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.

The surface of the Earth feels solid under your feet, but you're actually standing on a plate of the Earth's crust. And that plate is slowly shifting across the surface of the Earth. Over geologic timescales, plate tectonics has totally resurfaced our planet, bringing continents together, and tearing them apart. We know we have plate tectonics here on Earth, but what about other worlds?

Will robots be able to avoid the heat death of the Universe? Can galaxies orbit each other like binary stars? And what are the dangers of space radiation to astronauts on the Moon? If you've got a question for the Astronomy Cast team, please email it in to [email protected] and we'll try to tackle it for a future show. Please include your location and a way to pronounce your name.