Let Me Explain

There's junk floating all around space, just waiting for a robot cowboy to wrangle it all up. But Europe has a crazy idea to clean it all up. A special capture machine will be sent up to do the space dirty work.

We talk about Carl Sagan a few times in this podcast. First, SETI is looking for some new outside ideas to help with leads into new places to explore in the universe.

The world's best radio telescope has found hundreds of new galaxies, and there's lots more to explore.

AND we're going to be able to hear the wild sounds of Mars. Ever wonder what it sounds like up there? I do. Soon we'll know.

All of this and more on this weeks episode. Follow me on Twitter! @RyanWrecker

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Juno is doing it's thing, and we couldn't be more excited. After a 5 year journey, the spacecraft is ready for a quick adjustment and will be booting up and taking all kinds of interesting measurements of Jupiter. So what's next?

We also look at Mars. You might be surprised to find out the USA isn't the only country in the race to get back there. Several other agencies plan to invade the martian planet.

And all that water we thought we found on the red planet? New research says not so fast...

AND if you can put down the binoculars and stop spying on your neighbors for a few minutes, you might want to look up and observe the moon. Now is the best time to give it a peak.

Reach me on Twitter! @RyanWrcker if there's anything you would like me to cover.

(Photo Supplied/ NASA/JPL-Caltech)

I don't often side with the ACLU, but they doing good work arguing the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. You're probably a felon and don't even know it. There's certain cyber laws that are written so broadly that everyone is guilty... if the government wants you to be guilty.

Have you ever tried to park downtown... only to return to your car and find a ticket on the windshield? There's a new website that uses bots to help fight tickets. Good news is they're beating the system.

We also look at the idea that aliens will be friendly... but given the evidence (human nature), I can safely say an encounter would not go well. But would they really dominate us like the movie Independence Day?

AND some exciting news from Mars. We have evidence of a rich oxygen filled atmosphere. There's no signs of life, but we're learning more and more from our robot friend.

All of this and more -- make sure to reach out to the show on Twitter @RyanWrecker @LetMeExplainPod

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Do you ever get the feeling you're being spied on? Maybe there's aliens 40 light years away that have been listening to us all along. And just maybe we'll start to listen back. But you know how I feel about aliens... they don't exist so... yeah.

We also get a follow up on Juno, the probe that's about to orbit Jupiter. It's about to get so close to the planet that you won't know what to do with yourself. What will we learn, and what will the little Lego characters learn?

PLUS we look at a follow up to Net Neutrality. The White House is now telling the GOP to back off... and they need to listen.

How long before we're all solar powered? With the advancement in the technology, we may find ourselves more and more closer to installing panels everywhere in a mere 15 years. But right now it's just not cost effective.

AND good news if you're not pretty.

Let me know what you want me to talk about in the future -- and let's connect on Twitter: @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplainPod

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In 2011, a bunch of brainy people at NASA spent $700 million dollars of your money to send a satellite to Jupiter... and it's awesome. Or at least, it better be awesome. It's called Juno, and the spacecraft is planned to get into orbit of the planet on July 4th.

After waiting a few years to hitch a ride on the Earth slingshot (and snapping photos), it's been on it's way to the planet and is about to get closer to the gassy giant than ever before. We go over the details of this mission and what to expect from it, including some really awesome photos. But don't expect them for a few months.

Some students think they have cracked the code to talking to aliens, but don't wait by the phone for E.T. to call. They think it will take 1,500 more years before we get a call.

As a bonus (in a follow up from a few podcasts ago), courts here in the United States have upheld Net Neutrality. For now the battle has been won. But now some cable companies are saying that having more competition is harmful for the consumer. Say that again?

It also turns out you can float your new Model S. Not that you should be taking your Tesla into high water, but our friend Elon Musk tweeted out that his car can effectively float on water:

We *def* don't recommended this, but Model S floats well enough to turn it into a boat for short periods of time. Thrust via wheel rotation.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2016

Please don't be dumb enough to do this.

Make sure to connect on Twitter -- @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplainPod

(Photo Source: http://goo.gl/wgyTQw / NASA/JPL-Caltech / )

Will Domino's deliver in space? No, they won't. But they will let you phantom order a pizza and send it your way without even making a call. They might even send a robot to deliver it to you. If only they can find a way to get it to Mars. I hear we'll have people there soon.

Speaking of Mars... will having 3D printing help make space travel more possible? In space, nobody can hear you scream. They'll also scream as the 3D printer takes a day to create a small part.

And if we're going to start to populate Mars, we need to figure out it's weather patterns. There's a lot of dust storms that roll across the surface of the rusty planet, and if we're ever going to live on there, we need to be able to predict the storms for our own safety. AND if the job of space meteorologist is still open, please accept my resume.

The New York Times ran a piece about alien life at some point existing. They say the number of confirmed exoplanets fit into the Drake equation, and if you have your pocket calculators handy... you'll see it is very possible that trillions of civilizations have at one point existed.

PLUS a report says Google is watching you sleep manipulating search results to favor certain political candidates. However they say there's no man behind the curtain.

You can reach me on Twitter: @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplainPod

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Do real life super villains exist? He doesn't have super powers, but he does have a lot of money and wants to nuke Mars. His name is Elon Musk.

If you're not familiar with Elon, we'll look over his history and how he worked his way to the top of the tech industry.

A few things to point out is that in 2015 he suggested we should nuke Mars (the planet not the candy in a microwave) in order to help build up a the average temperature on the planet. It's a bold suggestion, but does he have the resources to make it happen?

He has the money, he as the government contracts, and I'm guessing he has the evil lair where he develops weapons.

He also thinks we live in a computer simulation.

And he wants to travel in space. Nothing strange about that, just wanted to mention it.

So who is Elon Musk? Find out in this podcast. You can react on Twitter -- @RyanWrecker and also @LetMeExplainPod

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I’m for keeping the internet free and open, and you should be to.

If you’re not familiar with the idea of Net Neutrality, it’s important that you understand it and become an advocate of it. Allowing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) the digression to limit, discourage and throttle commerce on the internet is not based on your best interests.

Right now there’s another battle in the U.S. Government, and this time Congress is trying to force the FCC to drop the Net Neutrality fight in order to be funded. This completely undermines the entire public input process they went through just a year ago.

Net Neutrality has been attacked over and over again. What’s new is trying to get around the regulation by just not funding it. Congress is essentially saying you’re voice is not important, especially after many spoke up during public hearing and public input period.

Since we cover space stuff, we also looked at new designs for a military space craft. Too bad it has nothing to do with Star Wars.

We also look at the Faint Young Sun Paradox, which has some scientists puzzled.

You can reach me on Twitter @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplainPod

If you have any input or comments on Net Neutrality, I would love to hear it.

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Is it open season on drone hunting? There's a good piece by the Wall Street Journal that gives both sides of the story regarding done flight in your neighbors of your private property.

I think you should have to get prior consent to fly a drone over private property... and if I catch someone trying to spy on me with one of these devices, you better believe I'm going to use something like a high pressured hose to scare it away. It's not worth having those annoying things over your private property doing anything it wants.

Gizmodo has a good write up on Facebook and what is considered trending. As it turns out, Facebook Trending is more of a suggestion than it is a literal thing.

What's the universal language among aliens? A meeting of the minds in Puerto Rico think it's less about wavelengths and more about what drives procreation. The scientific term, "it's all in the hips" means something completely different than what it means in golf.

Could we detect an alien megastructure around a far distant star? You'll have so shell out 100K to find out.

And are you holding back the electric car industry? You know, but not buying one since they're terribly inefficient? Some experts think the cost of electric cars will go down by 2020, but then again, it might not.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter! @RyanWrecker and @LetMeExplain -- and if you want to help me out, take the minute to rate us on iTunes and tell a friend about us.

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You'll never catch me in a self driving car. I just can't get past the idea that a machine could make one wrong calculation and I'm driving into a lake. That's not to mention the probability hackers could control my car, or a computer chip fails mid-drive. No thank you.

This week we look at Google now hiring "drivers" for their self driving cars. So I guess there is a price you can put on your life -- it's $20/hour.

We also find out that the FBI can neither confirm nor deny they are spying on you through devices like the Amazon Echo. Either they are or they're trying to, but they're not saying.

We're also looking to get boots on the Mars soil in the next 20 years. Is that a job you want? NASA is looking, and you might be the right candidate. But at least for the current Mars rover, they're looking to give the odometer a break and start doing more drilling and scooping instead of driving and traveling.

There could be a snag in getting someone to Mars, and that snag is the US Government. In particular there's members of Congress who are chipping away at NASA's budget for an exploration trip to Mars, making it harder for them to scrap enough cash together to make it a successful mission.

AND Hubble caught a really cool view of Comet 252P/LINEAR that passed within 3.3 million miles of Earth. That may seem like it was pretty which (which it is), but it's the closest we've seen a comet via the telescope.

All of this and more, you can reach me on Twitter @RyanWrecker and also @LetMeExplainPod

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