Astronomy Cast

Astronomy Cast Ep. 646: Our Long Term Future in Space by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We always say that we're living in golden age of space and astronomy, but it feels like things are just accelerating. Space travel is happening! What does the long-term future hold for our place in the Universe?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 645: The Future of the ISS by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The International Space Station has been continuously inhabited for over 20 years now, serving as a peaceful collaboration between space-faring nations. But it's a machine, and it's getting old. In addition, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made things, complicated. What's the future for the ISS?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 644: Is Earth… Normal? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We've now discovered thousands of exoplanets, we're learning more and more about the kinds of planetary systems there are out there across the Universe. But are planets like Earth unique or totally rare?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 643: Sagittarius A* by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay All the waiting is over, we've finally seen the image of the event horizon from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way. Different shaped blobs! And a black circle in the middle. What are we looking at? Today we're going to explain the picture, and what's next for the Event Horizon Telescope.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 642: Is the Sun... Normal? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay We've always assumed that we lived in a perfectly normal star system with a normal star and normal planets. It's all... normal. But with our modern understanding of billions of stars, just how normal is our Sun, anyway?

Astronomy Cast Ep. 641: Can Planets Be Alive? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay The Earth is teeming with life, but the upper atmosphere to kilometers underground. There's no question that our planet has life. But is our planet itself alive? This is a question posed back in the 1970s as the Gaia hypothesis, and it got its share of criticism. Some new ideas have been proposed to bring this hypothesis to the modern era as we search for exoplanets.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 640: Survey Science: Newest Projects & Results by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay There are general-purpose telescopes and missions that astronomers can use to study specific objects. And there are the survey missions that look at the entire sky, which astronomers can use to answer questions about the Universe. We've talked about surveys in the past, but the landscape is changing quickly so it's time for an update.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 639: Big Qs Update: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Etc. by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Knowledge moves forward, and so, we must move with it. Today we'll give you an update on some of the most fascinating, fast-changing topics in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology.

Astronomy Cast Ep. 638: Simulating Space Missions by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Although humans have never actually been to Mars, explorers have simulated many aspects of Mars missions here on Earth. There are missions under the ocean, on the tops of volcanoes, in the harsh Canadian north, and even in bed that simulate the limitations of spaceflight, and teach us many of the lessons to prepare us for the real thing

Astronomy Cast Ep. 637: Machine Learning in Astronomy by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Computers are a big part of astronomy, but mostly they've been relegated to doing calculations. But recent developments in machine learning have changed everything, giving computers the ability to do jobs that humans could only do in the past.