Astronomy Cast
Astronomy Cast offers you a fact based journey through the cosmos. Each week Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela Gay (SIUE / Slacker Astronomy) take on topics ranging from the nearby planets to ubiquitous dark matter.
Visit Show Website http://www.astronomycast.com/Recently Aired
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Episode 16: Across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
We see the Universe in visible light with our photon ...
We see the Universe in visible light with our photon detecting eyes. We can feel infrared heat with our photon detecting hands, and we get sunburns with our ultraviolet photon detecting skin (ouch). But there's a whole spectrum of photons out there, from
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Episode 15: Listener Questions Answered
We finally get organized enough deal with several listener questions: ...
We finally get organized enough deal with several listener questions: isn't dark matter just regular stuff we can't see? how can parts of the Universe be expanding faster than the speed of light? what will Betelgeuse look like when it explodes as a supern
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Episode 14: We're All Made of Supernovae
No more suspense. This week we blow the biggest stars ...
No more suspense. This week we blow the biggest stars up. Kaboom. Want more details? Then you've got to listen.
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Episode 13: Where do stars go when they die?
We've celebrated the birth of new stars, but the stellar ...
We've celebrated the birth of new stars, but the stellar lifecycle doesn't end there. Stars like our Sun will spend billions of years fusing together hydrogen and pumping out energy. And when the fuel runs out, their death is as interesting as their birth
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Episode 12: Where Do Baby Stars Come From?
Most parents have had that uncomfortable conversation with their children ...
Most parents have had that uncomfortable conversation with their children at some point. Mommy, Daddy, where do stars come from? You hem and haw, mumble a few words about angular momentum and primordial hydrogen and then cleverly change the subject. Well,
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Episode 11: A Universe of Dark Energy
The discovery of dark energy was one of the biggest ...
The discovery of dark energy was one of the biggest surprises in astronomy. Instead of a nice, predictable expanding Universe, acted on only by gravity, astronomers turned up a mysterious repulsive force accelerating the expansion of the Universe. Fraser
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Episode 10: Measuring Distance in the Universe
You hear distances all the time in astronomy. This star ...
You hear distances all the time in astronomy. This star is 10 light-years away; that galaxy is 50 million light-years away; that Big Bang over there happened 13.7 billion years ago. But how did astronomers actually figure out how far away everything is? I
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Episode 9: Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity
It's all relative. How many times have you heard that? ...
It's all relative. How many times have you heard that? Well, when you're traveling close to the speed of light, everything really is relative; especially the passage of time. This week, Fraser and Pamela give you the skinny on Einstein's Special Theory of
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Episode 8: Meteor Showers. Yes, the sky is falling.
Dress warmly, gather some friends and family, and head outside ...
Dress warmly, gather some friends and family, and head outside to watch sand burn in the upper atmosphere. There's nothing like a good meteor shower. Fraser and Pamela explain this beautiful phenomenon: what causes them, the best storms and showers to wat
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Episode 7: Getting Started in Amateur Astronomy
Got your eye on that $40 telescope at Walmart? Wait, ...
Got your eye on that $40 telescope at Walmart? Wait, hear us out first! Fraser and Pamela discuss strategies for getting into amateur astronomy - one of the most worthwhile hobbies out there. We discuss what gear to get, where to look, and how to meet up
