Astronomy Cast

Some astronomers are control freaks. It’s not enough to buy a telescope, they want to craft every part of the experience with their own hands. If you’re ready, and willing to get your hands dirty (and covered in glass dust), you can join thousands of amateur telescope makers and build your own telescope from scratch.

AstronomyCast 327: Telescope Making, Pt. 1

by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay

Why pick up a low quality, wobbly telescope from the department store when you can craft your own - just like Galileo, and all the great astronomers from history. For a minor investment, you can build a worthy telescope out of spare parts and high quality kits.

AstronomyCast 326: Atmospheric Dust

by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay

When you consider the hazards of spaceflight, it’s hard to get worked up about dust bunnies. And yet, atmospheric dust is going to be one of the biggest problems astronauts will face when they reach the surface of other worlds. Where does this dust come from, and what does it tell us about the history of other worlds, and what can we do to mitigate the health risks?

The Universe is filled with hot fusion, in the cores of stars. And scientists have even been able to replicate this stellar process in expensive experiments. But wouldn’t it be amazing if you could produce energy from fusion without all that equipment, and high temperatures and pressures? Pons and Fleischmann announced exactly that back in 1989, but things didn’t quite turn out as planned…

AstronomyCast 325: Cold Fusion

by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay

Comets can spend billions of years out in the Oort Cloud, and then a few brief moments of terror orbiting the Sun. These are the sun grazers. Some survive their journey, and flare up to become the brightest comets in history. Others won't survive their first, and only encounter with the Sun.

AstronomyCast 324: Sun Grazers

by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay

AstronomyCast 323: Isotopes

by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay