Starwhale Stories

A group of migrants need Starwhale's help to decide between two rockets for their journey. As he talks with the rocket builders he learns that one is a failure and the other is not... but what does it mean to fail? And which one of the builders do you consider the failure by the end of the story? 

Themes: 'Failure' as a Key to Progress and Innovation, Iterating, Persevering

A mysterious invitation crosses Starwhale's path, inviting him to one of the 'grandest events this corner of the galaxy." When he arrives he's a VIP guest and given a full agenda of fun activities. But there's a problem with this leisure cruise of a stay and the agenda unravels into a mess of food fights, sloshy pools, cheating card players, and much more. But in the end Starwhale gets to meet the captain and helps untangle the mess the ship and crew have found themselves in. 

Themes: Space Tourism and Hotels, Artificial Gravity, Centrifugal Force, Food Fights in Zero Gravity

At a stargazing convention we learn the story of a little girl and her mother. The two map the heavens together until tragedy strikes, leaving just the girl, her telescope, and her star. When this special star somehow disappears from the sky it takes a raging storm and a dark, dark night to bring back the light of the stars to the girl, and her entire city. 

Themes: Dark Sky Cities, Light Pollution, Types of Stars

On his way to be guest of honor at a planetary alignment festival, Starwhale is sidetracked by a story-telling astronaut miner. Not able to pass up the story he is drawn in and loses track of time a story of ambition, grit, drive, and greed, unfolds. The tragic tale is both unbelievable and cautionary. 

Themes: Planet types, mining planets and moons, black holes and time dilation, greed

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1... BLASTOFF! Welcome to the Intergalactic Rocket Race! Starwhale is right there with the rest of the spectators but he has a special reason for attending. One of these rocketeers is an old friend, an engineer who vowed she'd win an Intergalactic Rocket Race and sail on light through the stars. Will she pull off the upset? It's a close one!

This episode is in honor of Women's History Month

Themes: Rocket and rocket fuel types, Solar Sails, Acceleration, Women in STEM, Heliosphere and Heliopause

It's cold out there in space and Starwhale is in search of a warm blanky to keep warm. He visits a planetary system and notices that each planet has a different type of atmosphere, some too thick and some too thin. When he finally finds one that's just right he learns how important a nice, warm, cuddly blanket--or atmosphere--is. 

Themes: Planetary Atmospheres, Green House Gasses & Effect, 'Goldilocks' Zone

Greatness often begins in the smallest and most insignificant places... the flap of a wing and the flutter of a balloon through the sky. Starwhale's new friend, a scientist grieving the loss of his wife to a tragic storm, is on a mission to predict the weather--something everyone says cannot be done. An initial spark of an idea grows into a stratospheric experiment and a last-minute save comes from an unlikely place (hint, you've got to listen to the previous two episodes, Ep.32, Ep.33). 

Themes: Weather and Climate, The Butterfly Effect, Weather Balloons and Radiosondes, Weather Forecasting

After the success (and failure) of his ballooning experiment (ep.32) it takes time for the sting of failure to fade. But as it fades, the lure of looking into the sky and wondering about the heavens only grows until an unlikely recovery leads to an astounding, and mystifying discovery. While this story seems to wrap up nicely, it's not until the next episode (ep.34) that the full story becomes clear. Stay tuned!

Themes: Wonder, Astrophotography, Weather Balloons and Radiosondes

When a young boy receives a balloon on his birthday it opens up a world of curiosities about the sky and what's up there. The curiosities grow and eventually, he comes up with a (mostly) perfect experiment. His success is short-lived as this part of the story ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, to be explained more in the coming episode 33. 

Themes: Wonder, Looking Up, Weather Balloons

Each planet is an adventure with its surprises. Starwhale knows this and it's what keeps him exploring. And on this expedition, he follows a hunch and dives deep into the atmosphere of a gas giant to discover what treasures await. You'll never guess what he finds!

Themes: Gas Giant Planets, Gravity