ScienceAstronomyEarth Sciences

Spacepod

Carrie Nugent

Hear stories about the alien moons orbiting our Sun, of cold stars, and the future of space exploration. Every week, scientist Dr. Carrie Nugent chats about an amazing part of our universe with an expert guest. Spacepod is the podcast that gives you an inside look into space exploration. Learn more: http://listentospacepod.com

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241 episodes
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Avg 20 min
English

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#81
Jan 22, 2017 · 26 min
81: The era of precision astronomy with Dr. Rich
Dr Jeff Rich stops by the show to talk about variable stars. Some variable stars change brightness dramatically over several hours, and certain types can be used to measure distances. Jeff also explains what it's like to propose for, and get, time on the Hubble Space Telescope.
#80
Jan 15, 2017 · 29 min
80: Places where people can have adventures with Br. Consolmagno
Brother Guy Consolmagno shares a Coke and talks about the Vatican Observatory, a discovery that got him in trouble with the Voyager team, and why being next to a dairy farm was convenient when he wanted to measure the properties of meteorites.
#79
Jan 8, 2017 · 18 min
79: LIGO's high quality (factor) fibers with Dr. Robertson
Dr. Norna Robertson shares a drink from her home country and talks about a specific part of LIGO. She explains that LIGO's eighty-pound mirrors are suspended by four, incredibly thin, silica fibers that were developed just for this project.
#78
Jan 1, 2017 · 16 min
78: Signals traveling through the fabric of spacetime with Dr. Kanner (Part 2)
Dr. Kanner explains how gravitational waves could teach us about the big bang, and how we might be on the cusp of discovering new phenomena that are so unusual, theorists haven't even predicted their existence.
#77
Dec 25, 2016 · 18 min
77: Signals traveling through the fabric of spacetime with Dr. Kanner (Part 1)
Dr. Kanner talks about gravitational waves, which were detected for the first time by LIGO last year. He explains how studying neutron stars with gravitational waves can tell us how everyday elements like gold came to be.
#76
Dec 18, 2016 · 18 min
76: Mars' teenage robot with Dr. Fraeman
Dr. Abby Fraeman returns to the show to talk about Opportunity, the rover that won't quit. Along with its sister rover, Spirit, Opportunity has discovered Mars rocks that could have only formed in the presence of water.
#75
Dec 11, 2016 · 12 min
75: Looking for trouble with Eric Rice
Eric Rice talks about systems engineering and we drink what turns out to be the most disgusting beverage yet. He talks about what it is like to control a spacecraft, and explains why predicting what can go wrong with a spacecraft is a lot simpler than predicting what can go wrong at a wedding.
#74
Dec 4, 2016 · 14 min
74: Asteroid families with Dr. Masiero
Dr. Joe Masiero returns to the podcast to talk about asteroid families, which are groups of asteroids that astronomers think are fragments from ancient collisions. He describes how he identifies these families, and how this work can help us understand how the solar system used to be millions of years ago.
#73
Nov 27, 2016 · 28 min
73: Earthquake early warning systems with Dr. Weiser
Dr Debbie Weiser explains the importance of building an early warning system in the US before a major earthquake hits. Even a few seconds warning is enough to stop elevators, pause surgery, and give peace of mind to everyday folks experiencing aftershocks. To support this program, contact the California Governor's office or your congressional representatives.
#72
Nov 20, 2016 · 21 min
72: Perturbing the Earth with Dr. Weiser
Dr. Debbie Weiser talks about human-made earthquakes on my favorite planet, Earth. She explains how seismologists try to distinguish between natural earthquakes and those caused by human activity, and why the earliest seismometers in California were installed by astronomers.
#71
Nov 13, 2016 · 9 min
71: Rovers on an asteroid with Dr. Takir
Dr. Driss Takir stops by the show. He explains how he looks for water that's molecularly bound up in the rocks on asteroids. He also tells us about the Hayabusa-2 mission, which will put rovers on the the surface of asteroid Ryugu.
#70
Nov 6, 2016 · 15 min
70: Every crater tells a story with Dr. Scully
Dr Jennifer Scully talks about the geology of Ceres and Vesta, two large asteroids in the main belt that have been visited by NASA's DAWN mission. She's talks about the experience of getting to know each and every crater, and why the first images from Ceres surprised some people.
#69
Oct 30, 2016 · 11 min
69: Pinging passing asteroids with Dr. Naidu
Dr. Shantanu Naidu tells us about planetary radar. Using large telescopes in California and Puerto Rico, he bounces radio waves off of asteroids and "listens" for the return signal. With this technique, he's discovered moons on several asteroids.
#68
Oct 23, 2016 · 15 min
68: Building a new instrument with Dr Hosseini
Dr. Sona Hosseini talks about spectroscopy, a technique that allows scientists to determine what celestial bodies are made of. She's developing new spectrometer that will allow her to look at an entire planet, or comet, all at once.
#67
Oct 16, 2016 · 22 min
67: The most ambitious measurement ever made, with Dr. Reitze (Part 2)
Dr. Dave Reitze, the Executive Director of LIGO, talks about how each source of noise at LIGO must be meticulously accounted for— from wolves howling, to tidal flexing of the Earth's surface, to the motion of the atoms in the observatory's mirrors.
#66
Oct 9, 2016 · 15 min
66: The most ambitious measurement ever made, with Dr. Reitze (Part 1)
Dr. Dave Reitze, the Executive Director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) talks about the extraordinary detection of gravitational waves earlier this year, and the incredible engineering that made it possible.
#65
Oct 2, 2016 · 18 min
65: Black holes don't suck with Dr. Gorjian
Dr. Varoujan Gorjian thoroughly debunks a misconception he hates— the idea that black holes suck. Find out what would happen to the Earth if our Sun was suddenly replaced with a black hole of the same mass, and why is is so challenging to send a probe to Mercury.
#64
Sep 25, 2016 · 15 min
64: Hubble's Tuning Fork with Dr. Seidel
Dr. Marja Seidel stops by the show to talk about galaxy evolution. She also talks about a unique outreach effort she co-founded, called Cielo y Tierra, that shares science with remote communities.
#63
Sep 18, 2016 · 20 min
63: Deciphering dark matter with Dr. Benson
Dr. Andrew Benson talks about dark matter, the mysterious stuff that makes up most of the mass of the universe. Andrew explains how we can learn about dark matter, even though we don't yet know what it is.
#62
Sep 11, 2016 · 20 min
62: Exoplanets and the fate of Earth with Dr. Schlaufman
Dr. Kevin Schlaufman tells us about exoplanets that orbit around their stars in an unusual manner. He also explains what his research says about the Earth's fate when our sun dies, billions of years from now.

Showing 161–180 of 241 episodes