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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Ep. 314: Acceleration
Put that pedal to the metal and accelerate! It's not ...
Put that pedal to the metal and accelerate! It's not just velocity, but a change in velocity. Let's take a look at acceleration, how you measure it, and how Einstein changed our understanding of this exciting activity.
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Ep. 313: Precession
The Earth is wobbling on its axis like a top. ...
The Earth is wobbling on its axis like a top. You can't feel it, but it's happening. And over long periods of time, these wobbles shift our calendars around, move the stars from where they're supposed to be, and maybe even mess with our climate. Thank you
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Ep. 312: Inverse-Square Law and Other Strangeness
Why don’t we have insects the size of horses? Why ...
Why don’t we have insects the size of horses? Why do bubbles form spheres? Why does it take so much energy to broadcast to every star? Let’s take a look at some non-linear mathematical relationships and see how they impact your day-to-day life.
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Ep. 311: Sound
Shhhh, shhh. You can stop screaming. That’s because nobody can ...
Shhhh, shhh. You can stop screaming. That’s because nobody can hear you … in space. But why not? How does sound work here on Earth, and what would it sound like on other planets?
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Ep. 309: Creating a Scienc-y Society
Our modern society depends on science. It impacts the way ...
Our modern society depends on science. It impacts the way we eat, work, communicate and play. And yet, most people take our amazing scientific advancement for granted, and some are even hostile to it. What can we do to spread the love of science through e
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Ep. 308: Climate Change
When it comes to carbon dioxide, just a little goes ...
When it comes to carbon dioxide, just a little goes a long way to warming the planet. Unfortunately, we’ve been dumping vast amounts into the atmosphere, recently passing 400 parts per million. Let’s look at the science of the greenhouse effect, and how i
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Ep. 307: The Pacific Ring of Fire
The Pacific Ring of Fire wraps around the Pacific Ocean, ...
The Pacific Ring of Fire wraps around the Pacific Ocean, including countries like Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Chile. And the inhabitants within those countries are prone to… oh… killer earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Let’s chat about the history o
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Ep. 306: Accretion Discs
When too much material tries to come together, everything starts ...
When too much material tries to come together, everything starts to spin and flatten out. You get an accretion disc. Astronomers find them around newly forming stars, supermassive black holes and many other places in the Universe. Today we’ll talk about w
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Ep. 305: The Spacecraft That Wouldn't Die
Last week we explored the various ways spacecraft can die. ...
Last week we explored the various ways spacecraft can die. But this week, we explore the spacecraft (and the scientists) who never give up, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. We’ll look at clever solutions to potential spacecraft catastrophes.
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Ep. 304: Death of a Spacecraft
In the end, everything dies, even plucky space robots. Today ...
In the end, everything dies, even plucky space robots. Today we examine the last days of a series of missions. How do spacecraft tend to die, and what did in such heroes as Kepler, Spirit, and Galileo (the missions... not the people).
