Orbital Path

By PRX

What's Orbital Path about?

Astronomer Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.

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Orbital Path episodes:

12.21.2018
Building 29
Orbital Path signs off with a site visit to NASA’s mysterious and extraordinary building 29.
11.30.2018
Hello, Asteroid!
Billion-year-old asteroid dust, coming right up!
10.26.2018
Black Holes from the Dawn of Light
Astronomers investigate a mystery that is 13 billion years old.
09.28.2018
Space Lasers for the Home Planet
NASA develops a futuristic space laser. Launches it into orbit. And aims it directly back at planet Earth.
08.31.2018
Brian Greene goes to 11 — again
Humans! Time to get over your three-dimensional selves.  Brian Greene — world renowned physicist, bestselling author, NOVA host, and serial Colbert guest — explains why.
07.27.2018
The Universe of Leonard Susskind
Has a Bronx plumber’s son become the Einstein of our time?
06.29.2018
Mars Goes Organic
Three billion years ago, there were organic molecules on Mars. But was there life?
03.23.2018
Earth, Desert Planet?
Adults don’t have all the answers — or all the questions. In our second edition of TELESCOPE, Michelle grapples with an 8th-grader’s question about the fate of the Earth.
03.09.2018
Our Darkening Universe
Adam Riess was only 41 when he was named a Nobel Prize winner. The Johns Hopkins distinguished professor of astronomy shared in the award for his work on something called “dark energy” -- a discovery that over the past 20...
02.23.2018
Introducing…Telescope!
Adults don’t have all the answers — or all the questions. So Michelle takes on some astronomical queries from 8th-graders.
02.09.2018
Star Death Tango
In the time of the dinosaurs, two stars spiraled to their deaths. And 130 million years later, they taught humans the origin of gold.
01.26.2018
Ozone Disaster Redux
Science for science’s sake may be luxury we can do all without — until, as happened during the 1980s, it quite literally saves the world we live in.
12.29.2017
Fireside Physics: A Solstice on Saturn?
In this darkest season of the year, Dr. Michelle Thaller and NASA astronomer Andrew Booth curl up by the fire. Gazing into the embers, red wine in hand, they consider the meaning of the winter solstice — on other planets....
12.15.2017
From Another Star
NASA has been on the lookout for rogue asteroids for years. Then astronomers in Hawaii glimpsed a massive, cigar-shaped object — from another solar system.
12.01.2017
Winter’s Night Sky
These days, astrophysicists like Dr. Michelle Thaller use instruments to probe the distant reaches of our galaxy, and far beyond. They use interferometry, the Hubble space telescope, and other technology impossible to imagine when the constellations of the winter...
11.17.2017
Aliens Again!
Almost two years ago, Orbital Path launched with an episode on our fascination with space aliens. But what’s really going on out there on KIC8462852?
11.03.2017
Time and Space in the Kingdom of Bhutan
Physicists are coming to terms with a strange new concept of Time — strange and new, perhaps, to many western minds. But it’s a notion that feels at home in the mountain kingdom of Bhutan.
10.20.2017
The 11 Dimensions of Brian Greene
It’s time we get over out three-dimensional selves.  Brian Greene — world renowned astrophysicist, New York Times bestselling author, NOVA host, and serial Colbert guest — explains why.
09.29.2017
Minisode 5: Scary Math
Michelle and NASA astronomer Andrew Booth retreat to the comfort of the hot tub — and Andrew reveals one of his deepest fears: Mathematics.
09.15.2017
Episode 22: Journey to the Sun
People have dreamed of making this trip for millennia. Next year NASA launches the first ever voyage to the sun.
09.01.2017
Minisode 4: Hot Tub Physics!
NASA astronomer Andrew Booth joins Michelle in the hot tub to drink a glass of chardonnay, and talk weird science.
08.18.2017
Episode 21: First Light
There was a time before planets and suns. A time before oxygen. You could say there was time, even, before what we think of as light. Back in 1989, the Big Bang theory was still in question. But that year,...
08.04.2017
Episode 20: Holy Sheet!
NASA is relying on hi-tech lasers — and some vintage U.S. Navy hand-me-downs — to learn about the polar regions of a remarkable, watery planet. It's located in the Orion spur of our galaxy. NASA scientists have detected mountain...
07.21.2017
Mini-sode 3: Dr. Thaller Helps You Prep for The Eclipse
The big one is coming! That is, the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21. Dr. Thaller shares her wisdom on how best to view the eclipse and its larger implications for science.
06.30.2017
Mini-sode 2: What up, Jupiter?
Recently, we’ve started to get the first images back from Juno, which is on a mission to Jupiter. Host Dr. Michelle Thaller walks us through the results so far and how you can participate in what Juno discovers next.
06.21.2017
Episode 19: We Are Stardust
Dr. Michelle Thaller visits the NASA lab that discovered that meteorites contain some of the very same chemical elements that we contain. Then, Michelle talks to a Vatican planetary scientist about how science and religion can meet on the topic...
05.23.2017
Episode 18: Cassini Countdown
When the Cassini spacecraft blasted into space on October 15, 1997, even the most optimistic scientists would have had a hard time predicting the mission’s success. Dr. Michelle Thaller speaks with the Cassini mission’s Project Scientist Linda Spilker, as well...
04.21.2017
Making (Gravitational) Waves
Nearly 100 years after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves — huge undulations in the fabric of space-time itself — in 2015, detectors here on Earth finally picked up the signal of these massive disturbances. Dr. Michelle Thaller pulls apart...
04.03.2017
Mini-sode 1: NASA’s NICER Mission
Listeners, you requested more episodes, so we present the first of our mini episodes. They’ll arrive two weeks after each monthly regular episode, and include Michelle Thaller’s insight on the latest space news. Enjoy episode one: NASA’s NICER (Neutron star...
03.20.2017
Lessons in Landslides
Space science can help track what's happening on Earth. In this podcast episode, Orbital Path talks landslides and the satellites that monitor them for the third anniversary of the deadliest landslide in US history. On March 22, 2014 a 650-foot...
02.24.2017
Space Robots to Europa!
Galileo discovered Europa, Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, in 1610. In 1977, the Voyager spacecraft buzzed past and we realized it was covered in ice. It took a few more years to understand that it also likely had unfrozen liquid water oceans....
01.23.2017
How the World Came Together to Avoid Ozone Disaster
In 1985, the British Antarctic Survey discovered something that shocked scientists around the world: the ozone layer had a hole in it. And the hole was growing very quickly. When they were presented with the problem, politicians and world leaders...
12.16.2016
Warning: Space May Wreak Havoc on Your Body
Going to Mars is hot right now, just ask Matt Damon. But would you go if you knew your bones would turn into something called "pee brittle"? Former astronaut Michael Massimino reveals the uncomfortable side of liftoff. And Dr. Jennifer Fogarty...
11.19.2016
In Search of Planet 9
An Orbital Path episode all about...an orbital path! Planet 9's, to be exact. The replacement for Pluto as our solar system's ninth planet is out there somewhere, and astronomers can see the ripples it creates, especially at this time of...
10.22.2016
Black Hole Breakthroughs
Scientific discovery can happen in two ways: "Eureka!" moments of sudden understanding, where researchers glean unexpected insight into new phenomena. Or, a slower, less glamorous hunt for truth that happens day-after-day, for years. But both methods can lead to new...
09.30.2016
Done in the Sun
The sun can seem like a friendly celestial body. But just as sun decided when life on Earth could begin, it will also decide when life on Earth will definitely end. We'll hear about the impressive fleet of spacecraft NASA...
09.02.2016
Howdy, Neighbor
When Proxima b's discovery appeared in Nature on August 24, the media breathlessly announced a new Earth-like planet just 4.2 light years away from Earth. Astronomers have, for years, anticipated a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri. Michelle Thaller talks with astrophysicist...
08.22.2016
A Tale of Two Asteroids
The asteroid belt is portrayed in movies as a crowded place with massive rocks bouncing each other like pool balls, capable of sending a mile-wide missile hurtling toward Earth at any moment. The reality is much more fascinating. Host Dr....
07.15.2016
Chasing An Eclipse
Michael Kentrianakis loves eclipses and has seen them from all over the world. Host Michelle Thaller and Mike talk about the stages of the eclipse we can see in his video that went viral few months ago after an Alaska...
06.15.2016
A World Without Boundaries
From space, the view of earth has no boundaries for countries, no barriers to achievement. Michelle Thaller speaks with Aprille Ericcson, a senior engineer at NASA, about her career path and about current challenges recruiting more women and minorities into...
04.29.2016
Michelle & Her Mom
In this special Mother's Day episode, Michelle talks with her mom about what it was like raising a space-obsessed daughter in Wisconsin and watching her grow into a scientist.
04.07.2016
In Praise of Volcanoes
Astronomer Michelle Thaller talks with Ashley Davies, a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about the importance of volcanoes in the creation of Earth and how the study of volcanos in space can help us understand life here. Davies...
02.18.2016
The Most Dramatic Sky
The most rare objects in the night sky are only visible in some extreme places. Dr. Michelle Thaller introduces us to Dr. Anna Moore, a scientist whose trips to Antarctica help us better understand the solar system.
01.15.2016
Mass Extinctions Get Personal
Host Dr. Michelle Thaller talks to Prof. Lisa Randall, a theoretical particle physicist at Harvard, about her new book, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe. The scientists explore what caused the dinosaurs' extinction and the...
12.11.2015
Must Be Aliens
Why are humans so quick to attribute unknowns to the work of aliens? Featuring guest Phil Plait, the "Bad Astronomer".

What's Orbital Path about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Orbital Path episodes:

Building 29

Hello, Asteroid!

Black Holes from the Dawn of Light

Space Lasers for the Home Planet

Brian Greene goes to 11 — again

The Universe of Leonard Susskind

Mars Goes Organic

Earth, Desert Planet?

Our Darkening Universe

Introducing…Telescope!

Star Death Tango

Ozone Disaster Redux

Fireside Physics: A Solstice on Saturn?

From Another Star

Winter’s Night Sky

Aliens Again!

Time and Space in the Kingdom of Bhutan

The 11 Dimensions of Brian Greene

Minisode 5: Scary Math

Episode 22: Journey to the Sun

Minisode 4: Hot Tub Physics!

Episode 21: First Light

Episode 20: Holy Sheet!

Mini-sode 3: Dr. Thaller Helps You Prep for The Eclipse

Mini-sode 2: What up, Jupiter?

Episode 19: We Are Stardust

Episode 18: Cassini Countdown

Making (Gravitational) Waves

Mini-sode 1: NASA’s NICER Mission

Lessons in Landslides

Space Robots to Europa!

How the World Came Together to Avoid Ozone Disaster

Warning: Space May Wreak Havoc on Your Body

In Search of Planet 9

Black Hole Breakthroughs

Done in the Sun

Howdy, Neighbor

A Tale of Two Asteroids

Chasing An Eclipse

A World Without Boundaries

Michelle & Her Mom

In Praise of Volcanoes

The Most Dramatic Sky

Mass Extinctions Get Personal

Must Be Aliens

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