Universe Today Podcasts With Fraser Cain

If you’ve watched this channel enough, you might have the impression that I hate Venus. It’s possible, just possible I’ve even suggested that the planet is so terrible it should be pushed into the Sun. The reality, of course, is that it’s an absolutely fascinating world - the closest twin to the Earth that we have in the Solar System. It’s nearly the same mass and has the same surface gravity. While Earth is the beautiful life-filled world we all enjoy, Venus is a tortured hellscape, with temperatures hot enough to melt zinc. With atmospheric pressures more than 93 times what we experience here on the surface of Earth. And I always forget about the sulphuric acid rain. The Soviets sent a series of landers to a horrible demise for a glimpse of the surface of Venus in the 70s and 80s. But nobody’s been back since. There have been new techniques and technologies in development that might make a serious exploration of the surface of Venus possible again. Exploration that could help us understand why the planet

In this week's questions show, I explain why it's probably not time to reconsider the definition of a moon, if we could make artificial gravity with a chunk of a neutron star, and why a supermassive black hole isn't the anchor for an entire galaxy. 00:47 Should we reconsider the definition of a moon? 03:35 Could we make artificial gravity with mass? 05:48 Why didn't the Big Bang collapse back into black hole? 07:47 Why can't a black hole be the anchor of the galaxy? 10:45 How far and how small can we see? 13:37 What is left after a black hole evaporates? 15:00 Could you have a star made out of something else? 16:32 Could a planet orbit a binary star? 18:29 Could aliens Planet 9? 19:24 If aliens are advanced, we're no threat 21:35 How can aliens not exist? 22:30 Why don't they put a microscope in a rover? Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week, and answer them here. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Vie

Scientists have had the opportunity to examine several asteroids in the Solar System now, and what they’ve learned is how much variety is out there, depending on the mass, distance from the Sun and composition. Astronomers currently know of 829,400 asteroids across the Solar System, and they’d love to visit as many of them as possible to learn more about them. Considering the price of a single spacecraft, that’s going to get expensive. Fortunately, there are places in the Solar System that have trapped a large number of asteroids in a way that a single spacecraft can visit several of them as part of a mission. They’re at Jupiter’s L4 and L5 Lagrange points, and this week NASA approved a new mission that’ll explore 7 different asteroids over a 12-year journey. It’s called Lucy. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.univ

In this week's live QA, we talked about rotating space stations, the materials that can be made in space, what telescopes and binoculars I use. And there were a lot of questions about James Webb. 04:15 When will we see a rotating space station? 09:27 Are there materials that can only be made in space? 11:11 What's my telescope? 12:51 What are my binoculars? 13:47 What's the status of the B612 Foundation? 15:16 Could we terraform Venus? 17:52 More on my binoculars 19:19 Should we build a sunshield to offset climate change? 21:43 If SLS is canceled, what happens? 26:42 What happens when there's no mass? 28:45 What are my hopes about James Webb? 31:47 Is there a finite amount of mass in the Universe? 32:07 Is there a backup James Webb? 33:45 How is time affected in zero mass? 34:15 Why launch James Webb from South America? 36:44 Borisov is coming through the ecliptic 37:37 Will LUVOIR get built? 40:35 Will James Webb find Planet X? 41:15 Is the Planetary Society a lobbiest organization? 44:20 Will we migrate to

People always ask me how I think humanity will react if we discover life somewhere out there in the Universe, whether it’s bacteria under the surface of Mars, a biosignature of alien life in the atmosphere of another world, or a radio signal from another civilization. Will our civilization lose its collective mind and have a temper tantrum on a global scale? Will we become one of those purge planets from Rick and Morty? Will the discovery suddenly end all religion, as we wait for guidance from our new alien overlords? Will we gather together as a species to present a common front to whatever cosmic horrors await us beyond the Solar System? In my opinion, if I could sum up the collective response in a single word, it would be: meh. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Play

In this week's questions show, I explain why we'll never know which stars have no planets. How we could prevent a catastrophe to Earth, and why aliens might still be a threat to us. Check out more of Dustin Gibson's photographs at: https://www.instagram.com/gibsonpics/ 00:48 How many stars don't have planets? 02:29 Could we prevent a catastrophe? 05:16 No aliens would be a threat to us 07:38 Can I have any name for Patreon? 08:20 Why not put a laser on the solar sail spacecraft 09:40 How can neutrinos go faster than light? 10:45 How do you calculate exposure times for Hubble? 14:32 What would cause stars to collide 17:19 Why don't we track asteroids? 18:55 How do magnetars form? 20:36 How could we destroy the planet? 22:45 Can a brown dwarf become a star? Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week, and answer them here. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version:

No guest this week, just a live QA with me and the audience about all things space and astronomy. People had questions about how planets can capture asteroids to turn them into moons, what rocket James Webb will use to fly to space, and why you can't use antimatter to destroy a black hole. 05:45 How can a planet capture an asteroid? 07:21 Why are quasars so far from us? 09:26 How could you make a black hole of photons? 11:25 Would I rather live a year on the Moon or Mars? 12:46 What will JWST launch on 14:08 What's the limit on a planet's mass for rocketry? 17:06 Do I prefer to observe alone? 18:55 Why doesn't antimatter destroy black holes? 20:43 Will we get space engines from The Expanse? 24:05 Shouldn't we solve our problems here on Earth? 26:30 What happens to us when the Sun dies? 28:28 Why aren't there video cameras on Mars? 30:00 How do we learn about what things are made of with radio waves? 32:00 Are there any metals in space that can't find on Earth? 33:12 How do we measure distances to stars? 35:16

Even as the first rockets were launched into space decades ago, aerospace knew it was a wasteful process. Rocket stages, motors, and complex equipment crashed into the ocean or burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Could spaceplanes bring the costs down? Flying to orbit with a combination of jet engines and rockets and then safely re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere again. Single-stage to orbit spacecraft and spaceplanes have always seemed out of reach, and actually not that practical. But what about a two-stage, fully reusable spaceplane? Exodus Space Corporation has been secretly working on this concept for a decade now, and what they’re proposing is pretty revolutionary. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428Bc

While we’re all waiting for James Webb to launch - which it will - the Extremely Large Telescope to be constructed, and LUVOIR to get approved. (Please get approved, please get approved.) We’re going to need a way to pass the time. So let’s have our imaginations take flight, out into the Universe, and consider some of the most incredible ideas suggested for telescopes. Unless you’ve been crawling through scientific journals like me, I guarantee you’ve never heard of any of them. But when I’m done, you’re going to want to fund all of them. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/chan

In this week's questions show, I explain why Starship probably won't contribute to human carbon emissions, if there's a galactic Prime Directive, and if SpaceX has finally perfected the single-stage to orbit. Featuring Tony Darnell from Deep Astronomy and the Space Junk Podcast https://www.youtube.com/user/tdarnell https://optcorp.com/blogs/podcast 00:30 Won't Starship cause global warming? 02:33 Do we live in a Galactic Zoo? 04:45 Has SpaceX perfected SSTO? 07:17 How will Starship's thermal protection work? 09:54 How will asteroid mining companies prospect? 11:57 What could cause binary stars to collapse? 13:48 Can tidally locked planets have a tilt? 15:16 Find Mars meteorites on the Moon 16:22 Can Hubble record video? 17:29 Can we avoid a runaway greenhouse effect? 19:05 How do we know what's happening now? Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week, and answer them here. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimat

This week I was joined by astronaut Ron Garan to talk about his new book "Floating in Darkness". Ron is an accomplished F-16 pilot, flying combat missions during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He flew to space twice, first aboard STS-124, and then a six-month stay on board the International Space Station as part of Expedition 27. Learn more about his new book: https://publishizer.com/floating-in-darkness-/ Follow Ron on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Astro_Ron Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel

After decades of research, including multiple landers and orbiters, science can definitively say: Venus sucks. Seriously, that place is the worst, with its boiling temperature, intense pressure, sulfuric acid rain, and more. But was it always this bad? According to new research from NASA and various universities in Sweden and the US, Venus might have actually been the first habitable world in the Solar System. And it might have maintained a reasonable climate for billions of years, finally rolling over into a runaway greenhouse effect just a few hundred million years ago. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hang

On Saturday, September 28th, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stood in front of an audience in Boca Chica, Texas, and presented the fully assembled SpaceX Starship, 50 meters tall and made from shiny stainless steel. As part of his presentation, Musk showed off the history of the company’s developments so far and gave us an updated view of what Starship and its first stage Superheavy booster will look like when they’re fully operational. It was actually a pretty short presentation, and there weren’t a lot of details. But he stuck around to answer questions from many space journalists, and we’ve got a much better idea about Starship and what happens next. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly emai

My guest this week was Professor Sean Carroll from Caltech. Sean's a theoretical physicist, author of many books, and podcaster. His newest book, "Something Deeply Hidden" has just been released, presenting his ideas about the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Learn more about Sean Carroll here: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/ Subscribe to his podcast: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ Follow Sean on Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanmcarroll Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.c

In 2017, Elon Musk laid out his grand sweeping plans for the future of SpaceX, the company that would take humanity to Mars. Over decades, tens of thousands of Starship flights would carry a million human beings to the surface of the Red Planet, the minimum Musk expects it’ll take to create a self-sustaining civilization. The number of details in an effort like this is mind-boggling. What about the reduced gravity, radiation exposure, and space madness? What about return flights? Replacement parts? Building materials? What’s everyone going to eat? Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.c

One of my most requested guests is Dr. Robert Zubrin, engineer and founder of the Mars Society. It was Dr. Zubrin's "Case for Mars" that helped inspire me to get into space journalism in the first place. We had a wide-ranging interview that updated the Case for Mars, looked at what comes next, and how current efforts are stumbling in their efforts to return humans to the Moon, and then on to Mars. Visit the Mars Society here: https://www.marssociety.org/ https://twitter.com/robert_zubrin Case for Space https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42046662-the-case-for-space Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: htt

In this week's questions show, I explain how scientists know that meteorites came from Mars, is it dangerous to look for alien civilizations, what citizen science projects to get involved in, and more. Featuring Professor Nick Cowan from McGill University. 00:20 How do we know a meteorite came from Mars 02:27 Why look for aliens? 05:20 Observational bias finding big planets? 08:03 What projects can software engineers get involved in? 09:50 Why bother thinking about superhabitable worlds? 11:31 Shouldn't Earth be turned in the wrong direction? 13:00 Can we communicate with gravity waves? 14:19 Would electronics survive a journey of thousands of years? 16:28 Could we set up a system to communicate with Voyagers better? 18:14 What gear setup do we use? 21:13 What will enable deep space travel? 22:57 Habitable zones on a tidally locked planet? Professor Nick Cowan https://msi.mcgill.ca/~cowan/ Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week, an

This week I was joined in a livestream with Dr. David Kipping from Columbia University. We had a great interview about his research into exomoons, what new observatories will do for this field. We also talked about his idea of the Terrascope, using the Earth's atmosphere as a lens to study the Universe. And we talked about how scientists can better use the internet to communicate directly with the public about their research. Subscribe to Dr. Kipping's YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGHZpIpAWJQ-Jy_CeCdXhMA Learn more here: http://user.astro.columbia.edu/~dkipping/index.html Or follow David on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/david_kippingSupport Universe Today Podcast

I’ve said many times in the past that the Earth is the best planet in the Universe. No matter where we go, we’ll never find a planet that’s a better home to Earth life than Earth. Of course, that’s because we, and all other Earth life evolved in this environment. Evolution adapted us to this planet, and it’s unlikely we could ever find another planet this good for us. However, is it the best planet? Are there places in the Universe which might have the conditions for more diversity of life? Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https

In this week's questions show, I explain that life on Earth has less time than you think, if there could be multiple supermassive black holes inside the Milky Way, and what would we see if Mars replaced the Moon. Featuring Anton Petrov from WhatDaMath. Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCciQ8wFcVoIIMi-lfu8-cjQ 00:29 When will the Earth be unlivable? 03:00 Are there more supermassive black holes inside the Milky Way? 04:48 What if Mars replaces the Moon? 06:32 Can bed bugs handle space travel? 07:37 Let's use the Moon's resources 09:25 Other methods of finding gravitational waves? 12:01 Could we put a Voyager to sleep for a long time? 13:58 Could we jump off Phobos or Deimos? 15:35 Could Alpha Centauri see the Earth? 17:24 Why refuel in space? 19:22 Are quasars dangerous? Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week, and answer them here. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cos