Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet

By Tony Maue, Michael PhillipsScienceNatural Sciences
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Out of the Silent Planet episodes

  • Episode 7 - Doomsday from the heavens—past, present, … and future?

    Was humanity hit with a comet 12,900 years ago? Will we be hit again in a few decades? In today’s episode, we discuss the highly debated argument that a comet struck the Earth in our recent past, causing the global cooling observed during the period known as the Younger Dryas (12,900 to 11,700 years ago). We also discuss the near-Earth asteroid Apophis and its upcoming close encounters with our world that, although unlikely to impact, could enable some opportunistic science. And of course, we give a shoutout to the Perseverance Rover, which just executed an impressive landing on Mars!
     

    • 00:32 - Welcome and a new rover on Mars
      • Watch the Perseverance Rover land on Mars
      • 07:13 - Asteroid Apophis is coming!
      • 39:16 - Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis

        • Links:

        • The Case for Apophis
        • Apophis T-9 Years meeting
        • Apophis composition on SoundCloud
        • The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: a critical review (van Hoesel et al., 2014)
          • 2 hr 1 min
        • Episode 6 - And yet, the Earth moves

          In this episode we discuss the possibility that the Moon drags the Earth’s lithosphere westward, ultimately causing plate tectonics, as well as Alfred Wegener’s first proposition of continental drift way back in 1912, and the possibility of taking a $GME rocket to Pluto…

          • 00:32 - Welcome: gamestonk and Mercury moves,
          • 08:38 - Some background on Wegener and continental drift (Demhardt, 2006),
          • 58:18 - Western migration of plates seen in asymmetric ocean ridges (Chalot-Prat et al., 2017).

            • More links:

            • Space geodesy validation of the global lithospheric flow (Crespi et al., 2007),
            • Tidal modulation of plate motions (Zaccagnino, Vespe, and Doglioni, 2020),
            • Brexit 1.0,
            • Looking for plate tectonics in the composition of stars (Jura et al., 2014) 
              • 1 hr 56 min
            • Episode 5 - Recent Volcanism on Mars, Old River on Venus, and Nature Says Women are Bad Academic Advisors

              In this episode we discuss recently published papers about possible fluvial erosion on Venus and possible recent volcanic activity on Mars, as well as a recent Nature paper that caused a buzz on Twitter for its conclusions that female mentors are bad for the careers of their female protégées.

              • 00:32 - Welcome & discussion on mentorships and gender
              • 17:29 - Evidence of fluvial erosion on Venus
              • 36:35 - Evidence of recent volcanism on Mars
              • 1:43:08 - bonus content just for you

                • Originally recorded November 25, 2020.

                2 hr 18 min
              • Episode 4 - Alien Viruses Caused the Cambrian Explosion, Potential Signs of Life on Mars, and RIP Trebek

                In this episode we talk about a 2016 Nature paper that explores potential biosignatures on Mars, and a 2018 paper about "Cosmic Panspermia".

                0:30 - intro, RIP Alex Trebek

                5:37 - Silica deposits on Mars with features resembling hot spring biosignatures at El Tatio in Chile

                47:11 - Cause of Cambrian Explosion: Terrestrial or Cosmic?

                1:59:58 - continued discussion on cosmic panspermia

                2 hr 27 min
              • Episode 3 - SpaceX Starlink and the perils of space junk

                In this episode we talk about some of the issues astronomers have with planned satellite mega-constellations like Starlink and the increasingly dangerous problem of Earth’s orbital garbage heap, and pontificate on the US presidential election.

                • 0:30 - intro discussion on US politics
                • 25:51 - space junk
                • 57:04 - SpaceX Starlink and its effects on astronomy

                  • Links:

                  • Why Nature supports Joe Biden for US president
                  • The Elusive Peril of Space Junk
                  • Concerns about ground based astronomical observations: a step to safeguard the astronomical sky
                    • 1 hr 50 min
                  • Episode 2 - The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses and Nobel prizes (ig or otherwise)

                    In this episode we talk about how to avoid confirmation bias through use of multiple working hypotheses, the recent winners of the Nobel Prizes in Physics & Chemistry, and also some of the fantastic Ig Nobel Prize winners.

                    Note: Tony’s audio is a little sketchy at first, but improves after about 15 min, so keep listening! We’re still getting the hang of this...

                    • 00:30 - the 2020 Nobel Prizes in Physics & Chemistry
                    • 30:12 - the 2020 Ig Nobel Prizes
                    • 42:30 - The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses
                    • 1:45:22 - The show after the show (igNobel encore)

                      • Links

                      The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics press release

                      The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry press release

                      The 2020 Ig Nobel Prize Winners

                      The Method of Multiple Working hypotheses

                      2 hr 34 min
                    • Pilot Episode - Limits of Life in Planetary Systems, and possible life on Venus?

                      Disclaimer: This episode is a little rough around the edges as we work out some kinks in our first ever recording. Hence, let's call it the Pilot. Give it a listen, but hey, I warned you!

                      In this episode we talk about the recent detection of phosphine in the venusian atmosphere and discuss a review paper on the limits of life in our solar system and beyond.

                      00:30 – Welcome and Intro. 

                      01:50 – Phosphine on Venus = life on Venus? 

                      30:09 – Limits of Life in Planetary Systems

                      2 hr 49 min

                    About Out of the Silent Planet

                    From the publisher's feed

                    Out of the Silent Planet is a podcast hosted by Michael and Tony, two planetary scientists. Our podcast format usually includes a brief introduction, a short (~30 min) opening segment on something either topical or irrelevant, followed by a lengthier (1~2 hr) main segment, usually centered around a paper we've both read. New episodes come out every other Monday.