Universe Today Podcasts With Fraser Cain

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This week I was joined by Dylan O'Donnell, an incredible astrophotographer and amateur astronomer from Australia. Dylan's photography has been featured in exhibits and websites around the world, and he's the organizer of the Starstuff Conference in Byron Bay (https://starstuff.com.au/) and has a website featuring all his astrophotography (https://deography.com/) Check out his channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgOf4wBnoGg8WHHHr_h4otQ 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/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--Md

Humans to Mars. That’s the plan right? The problem is that sending humans down to the surface of Mars is one of the most complicated and ambitious goals that we can attempt. It’s a huge step to go from low Earth orbit, then lunar landings, and then all the way to Mars, a journey of hundreds of millions of kilometers and 2 years at the least. But there are two places humans can go which are a stepping stone between Earth and Mars. Base camps that would let us gather our resources in relative safety before dropping down into that gravity well. I’m talking about the moons of Mars: Phobos and Deimos. 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/news

We’re learning more and more about extrasolar planets, and for the first time, astronomers have discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. The planet is located in the habitable zone of its star, so this might even be rain. Of course, it’s not all good news, it’s much more massive than Earth, with higher gravity, and is probably bathed in radiation from its red dwarf star. But, it’s a good start in the search for habitable places in the Universe, places where there might be 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/

In this week's questions show, I talk about searching for life on Venus, trying to get to orbit with a jet, and why NASA probably shouldn't hire me. This episode features special guest SciManDan. Check out his channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRtsZ5Iak9wSLsQLQ3XOAeA 00:20 Could there be life on Venus? 03:30 Could you get into orbit with a jet? 06:31 Should NASA hire me? 08:57 Will junk get trapped in the Lagrange points 10:57 Kerbal 2? 12:23 Are Earth and the planets drifting away from the Sun? 13:44 Are Type III Civilizations a huge leap? 18:29 Could you turn a gas giant into a rocky planet? 19:40 How would a Moon base be powered? 21:02 Why's it hard to go to the Sun? 22:52 Couldn't we dig deep into the Moon or Mars? 25:13 Is the Earth above or below the plane of the Milky Way? 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

Welcome back to Season 2 of my weekly live QA. Your chance to ask me your questions about space and astronomy... live. Sometimes I'll have guests, and sometimes I won't. This week... I didn't. You wanted to know about recent news about astronauts mixing concrete in space, the formation of craters on Titan, and what might be the difficulties of people going to the Moon or Mars? 04:22 Mixing concrete on ISS? 07:44 Could you make shotcrete from regolith? 09:50 Why do some planets spin backwards? 12:22 Formation of Titan's lakes 14:02 Why don't millionaires and billionaires live on the Moon? 18:40 Will SpaceX make electric rockets? 21:21 What if Mars crashed into Jupiter? 23:12 Why are LISA and LIGO only 2-dimensional? 26:13 Could we survive without a pressure suit? 27:24 How is the Planet 9 search going? 28:25 Why hasn't Tim Dodd finished his new video? 29:19 Does gravity move in a different speed through different media? 30:46 Any difficulties in crewed missions to the Moon or Mars? 33:35 What is my opinion on

We’ve reached the third part of our series on Lagrange Points, those stable spots in the Solar System, where you can sort of hover with the minimum amount of fuel. This episode we’re going to look at the L4 and L5 points which share the orbit with a more massive object. Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WN7lS9bpB4 Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgIZgrOZElo Building an artificial magnetosphere https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjFTke8E1jA 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/UCUHI67dh9j

In this week's questions show, I explain what I think the best uses of the Moon might be, why I'm qualified to answer questions about space, and if you could use a black hole as mirror that lets you look back in time. 00:28 What's the best use of the Moon? 03:46 What are my qualifications? 05:44 Could a black hole bend light back to us? 07:12 How can the Moon drift away? 10:18 What are black holes made of? 12:18 Could we search for aliens who have organized their stars? 15:28 Could we build gravity trains? 17:24 What if we find life on Europa? 19:18 The Solar System is the weird one 21:10 Could there be aliens that look like us? 23:36 Will VR get so good we won't want to go to space? 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: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space

Lagrange Points. Stable spots in space that you just can’t stop thinking about. What spacecraft work best in which places? What are some amazing ideas that could utilize these regions across the Solar System? In the last episode, I gave an overview of the Lagrange points, and then went into the details of spacecraft missions sent to L1, the perfect place to constantly observe the Sun, the Earth, or to block radiation coming from the Sun. The best place for a lunar elevator, or a spot to put a space station at the Moon. This week, we’re going to talk about L2 and L3, the other meta-unstable spots that you can park a spacecraft at. 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:

In this week's questions show, I introduce Ona, by request. I explain why I don't think going to space is going to fix the big challenges that humanity faces, and how do astronomers figure out how big a planet is? Talking about existential threats with Phil Torres https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKYTrKapyrs 00:00 Meet Ona 02:00 Will going to space fix our evil humanness? 04:40 Sparks under the space shuttle main engine 05:27 How do we know how big a planet is? 07:23 Can we push the Earth outward? 10:03 Why make so many telescopes? 11:50 Will we see less of the Universe in the future? 13:16 Will we have space colonies in my lifetime? 15:50 Is life beyond the scope of our ability to observe? 17:56 What about planets with long orbital periods? 19:57 What would happen if magnetars collided? 21:44 What will the CMB look like in billions of years? 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.

Thanks to gravity, there are places across the Solar System which are nicely balanced. They’re called Lagrange Points and they give us the perfect vantage points for a range of spacecraft missions, from observing the Sun to studying asteroids, and more. Various spacecraft have already visited Lagrange Points, used them for some or all of their missions, and there are fascinating plans in the works that could put new missions and even space colonies into these balanced places in the Solar System. Let’s explore the Lagrange Points. 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-Kkl

One of the great accomplishments of the Apollo missions was to bring home hundreds of kilograms of lunar rock. Suddenly, geologists had a lifetime’s worth of lunar samples captured from several different spots across the Moon. These rocks and dust have been under continuous analysis since the Apollo 11 astronauts came home over 50 years ago. And they’re still making discoveries. Scientists have samples of the Sun’s solar wind, particles from a comet’s tail, a few grams from an asteroid, with more coming shortly. But there’s one world, the focus of so much scientific study, which has never had a sample returned: Mars. NASA and the European Space Agency have been making plans to bring a sample home from Mars for decades, and now, missions could fly in the next few years, finally bringing a chunk of the Red Planet home to Earth for us to study directly. 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

As I’ve mentioned in several episodes now, humanity is in a bit of a transition period, a time when it makes sense to launch material up and out of Earth’s gravity well into orbit, and beyond. But it’s really expensive, costing up to $10,000 per pound you want in orbit, and 10 times if you want it on the Moon. But over the coming decades, more and more of our space-based infrastructure will be built in space, manufactured out of materials that were mined in space. The only thing that’ll actually need to leave the Earth’s clingy gravity well will be us, the humans, the tourists, wanting to visit all that space infrastructure. Of course, in order to achieve that space future, engineers and mission planners will need to design and construct the technology that will make this possible. That means testing out new prototypes, technologies and methodologies for mining and space-based manufacturing. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version:

In this week's questions show, I explain why all the planets astronomers have found are so bizarre. Couldn't we use laser highways to go faster? Is the lunar gateway really a lunar tollbooth? 00:14 Why do planets orbit so quickly? 02:33 What about laser highways? 03:57 Is the Lunar Gateway a Lunar Tollbooth? 07:15 How much artificial gravity is needed for human health? 08:43 Will Titan turn into Earth as the Sun expands? 10:14 Could Mars colonists work at night? 11:41 How do we know the temperatures of exoplanets? 13:00 Does the Moon affect satellite orbits? 14:50 Where will we find life first? 16:24 What's happening in real time? 17:57 Could we predict when something will crash into Sgr A* 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: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-t

Mars is the place that most of our spacecraft, landers and rovers are studying, searching for any evidence that life ever existed somewhere else in the Solar System. But talk to planetary scientists, and they’re just as excited about the ocean worlds of the Solar System; the moons, asteroids, dwarf planets and Kuiper Belt objects where there could be vast oceans of liquid water under thick shells of ice. The perfect environment for life to thrive. We’ve only had tantalizing hints that these oceans are there, but NASA is building a spacecraft that will study one of these worlds in detail: the Europa Clipper. And they’re not the only ones. The European Space Agency is building their own mission, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. 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

On Tuesday, July 30th, NASA announced 19 different partnerships with 13 different companies to use their expertise to help them develop space technologies, from advanced communications systems to new methods of entry, descent and landing. Instead of contracting out specific projects, NASA will make its employees, facilities, hardware and software available to these companies, for free. One of the most notable of these partnerships will be with SpaceX and NASA’s Glenn and Marshall Centers to help advance the technology of transferring propellant in orbit. In other words, NASA is going to help SpaceX figure out how to refuel a spacecraft while it’s in space. And if they can figure this out, it could completely change the way missions are launched and flown. Everyday Astronaut - Raptor Engine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbH1ZDImaI8 Article from Ars Technica about the ACES Program https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08/rocket-scientist-says-that-boeing-squelched-work-on-propellant-depots/ Our Book is out! ht

In this week's questions show, I answer if techno optimism is blinding us to the challenges of spaceflight, why there aren't spacecraft at all the planets right now, could the Great Attractor be dark matter? And more... Links to various raw images Cassini - https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/raw-images/raw-image-viewer/?order=earth_date+desc&per_page=50&page=0 Curiosity - https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/#/?slide=2496 Dawn - https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/dawn/galleries/images/?page=0&per_page=25&order=created_at+desc&search=&tags=dawn&condition_1=1%3Ais_in_resource_list&category=51 00:33 Is techno-optimism blinding us to challenges of spaceflight 04:17 Why aren't there spacecraft at all the planets right now? 06:22 What if the Universe wraps? 08:39 Could the Great Attractor be dark matter? 10:21 What's the biggest telescope that could be built on the Moon? 11:50 Open your mind to crop circles 13:59 How do you steer a solar sail? 16:25 Twin planets in L3 Lagrange Point

It’s amazing to think there are telescopes up in space, right now, directing their gaze at distant objects for hours, days and even weeks. Providing a point of view so stable and accurate that we can learn details about galaxies, exoplanets and more. And then, when the time is up, the spacecraft can shift its gaze in another direction. All without the use of fuel. It’s all thanks to the technology of reaction wheels and gyroscopes. Let’s talk about how they work, how they’re different, and how their failure has ended missions in the past. 06:49 Scientists May Have Figure Out Why So Many Spacecraft Were Failing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KibT-PEMHUU 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

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Telescope launched back in April, 2018. After a few months of testing, it was ready to begin mapping the southern sky, searching for planets orbiting stars relatively nearby. We’re just over a year into the mission now, and on July 18th, TESS has shifted its attention to the Northern Hemisphere, continuing the hunt for planets in the northern skies. As part of this shift, NASA has announced a handful of fascinating new planets turned up by TESS, including a couple of worlds in categories which have never been seen before. Farewell Kepler, Welcome TESS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiBqpsedsHE 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: h

In this week's questions show, I answer a question about solar sails, what geologists might learn from lunar rocks, if Earth could survive inside Jupiter, could gas giants be closer to the Sun, and more. Dark Site Finder: https://darksitefinder.com/map/ Videos mentioned: What is an Electric Sail? Another Exotic Way to Explore the Solar System - https://youtu.be/-pIl_cv3OkA Oldest Rock From Earth Was Found On The Moon (Of All Places) - https://youtu.be/0h_ckjhGdjs What are Globular Clusters? Relics of the Early Universe - https://youtu.be/BjzptXhpsz8 Timecodes: 00:15 Solar sails to the outer Solar System? 01:57 What could geologists learn from more lunar rocks? 04:01 Could Earth survive inside Jupiter? 05:49 Would gas giants change if they were closer to the Sun? 08:01 What if aliens have different laws of physics? 10:19 Best places to put a telescope 12:03 Difference between globular clusters and dwarf galaxies 13:31 Water shielding for a rover 15:16 Do I play RPGs 17:32 Should science be outcome-based? 19:33