Podcasts by Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 213: How Were Ancient Astronomers So Good? from 2023-12-05T12:00

How were ancient people able to predict eclipses so well? How did they make predictions without modern science? What were they able to discover? I discuss these q...

AaS! 212: Where Do All the Elements Come From? from 2023-11-21T12:00

What processes create all the elements? Why are some elements more common than others? How does fusion happen inside and outside of a star? I discuss these questi...

AaS! 211: Will AI Take Over Astronomy? from 2023-11-07T12:00

How long have astronomers been using artificial intelligence? How do computers sift through massive amounts of data? Will AI discover something new about the univ...

AaS! 210: How Does Space Affect the Climate? from 2023-10-17T11:00

What triggers ice ages and other climate events? How are sunspot cycles and orbital motions related to climate patterns? What does Jupiter have to do with all thi...

AaS! 209: What Secrets Are Hiding in Triton? from 2023-10-03T11:00

What’s so cool about Triton? How did it end up in orbit around Neptune, and what can we learn from it? Could we send a mission there one day? I discuss these ques...

AaS! 208: Where Are All the White Holes? from 2023-09-19T11:00

How are white holes different from black holes? What would happen if you were stuck inside of one? Why don’t they appear in the universe? I discuss these question...

AaS! 207: How Far Do We Travel in Our Lives? from 2023-09-05T11:00

What is the combined motion of everything in the universe? How does all of that influence us? Are we just going around in circles, or is there something more? I d...

AaS! 206: What are the Weirdest Names in Astronomy? from 2023-08-15T11:00

What are some wild stories behind names in astronomy and physics? How did we get the jargon words that we did? What are some of the funniest names? I discuss these questions and more in today’s ...

AaS! 205: What's the Difference Between Science and Pseudoscience? from 2023-08-01T11:00

What’s the difference between science and pseudoscience? What is a scientific mindset? How are we able to spot pseudoscience when it’s happening? I discuss these ...

AaS! 204: How did Annie Jump Cannon Bring Order to the Universe? from 2023-07-18T11:00

How was massive astronomy done in the 1800’s? Who were the Harvard Computers? How did Annie Jump Cannon figure out how to classify stars? I discuss these question...

AaS! 203: Is the Universe a Giant Black Hole? from 2023-07-04T11:00

Why didn’t the big bang collapse in a singularity? What would a universe-sized black hole be like? Now that I think about it, do we live inside a giant black hole...

AaS! 202: Could the Earth Leave the Solar System? from 2023-06-13T11:00

Could we nudge the orbit of the Earth to avoid the death of the Sun? Could it get kicked out of the solar system altogether? What are rogue exoplanets? I discuss ...

AaS! 201: How Does Light Slow Down? from 2023-06-06T11:00

If light always travels at the speed of light, how does it slow down when passing through air or water? Does it matter if light is made of particles or waves? Wha...

AaS! 200: What are the Top 5 Mysteries in Astronomy? from 2023-05-16T11:00

What are the biggest mysteries facing modern astronomers? What questions do I wish could be answered in my lifetime? What are most astronomers working on right no...

AaS! 199: What are the Top 5 Discoveries of All Time in Astronomy? from 2023-05-02T11:00

What discoveries and insights made the biggest impacts in astronomy and physics? What were the biggest surprises? What results took the longest to achieve? I disc...

AaS! 198: What's So Weird About Black Hole Shadows? from 2023-04-18T11:00

How does a black hole make a shadow? What can we learn from it? What are we seeing when we look at a black hole? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 197: Which is Better, Human or Robotic Exploration? from 2023-04-04T11:00

What are the advantages of robotic exploration of the solar system? What are the limitations? Is there any situation where human exploration is better? I discuss these questions and more in toda...

AaS! 196: Could We Ever Build a Dyson Sphere? from 2023-03-21T12:00

What are Dyson spheres? What would be involved in building one? How much energy would it cost, and could we ever pay it back? I discuss these questions and more i...

AaS! 195: How Cold Can Space Get? from 2023-03-07T12:00

What’s the temperature of deep space? Can it get any colder than that? How do we even define temperature when there’s nothing around? I discuss these questions an...

AaS! 194: Does the Universe Rotate? from 2023-02-21T12:00

How do we know that the universe doesn’t rotate? Why would it matter if it did? What does all this have to do with time travel? I discuss these questions and more...

AaS! 193: What are the Blue Stragglers? from 2023-02-07T12:00

What are blue straggler stars? How were they first discovered? What do they tell us about star clusters and the evolution of stars? I discuss these questions and ...

AaS! 192: Can Tachyons Exist? from 2023-01-17T12:00

Is it possible for anything to travel faster than light? What about tachyons? How would faster-than-light travel break causality? And just what the heck is causality, anyway? I discuss these que...

AaS! 191: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 9: Both/And) from 2023-01-03T12:00

Part 9! What is the role of consciousness in quantum mechanics, if there even is one? Is there any way at all to develop a coherent view of nature based on quantu...

AaS! 190: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 8: For Nothing is Hidden) from 2022-12-20T12:00

Part 8! What is real in quantum mechanics, and what are mere mathematical tricks? Can the probability waves be real, and what would that mean? What is Pilot-Wave ...

AaS! 189: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 7: Many Worlds, Infinite Possibilities) from 2022-12-06T12:00

Part 7! What is the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics? How does decoherence play a critical role? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this idea...

AaS! 188: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 6: Einstein’s Revenge) from 2022-11-15T12:00

Part 6! What were Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics? Why was he so bothered by non-locality? What is the EPR paradox? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spacem...

AaS! 187: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 5: Dreams of Copenhagen) from 2022-11-01T11:00

Part 5! What is the Copenhagen interpretation? How did the debates between Heisenberg and Schrodinger influence later physicists? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the “shut up and calcul...

AaS! 186: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 4: It’s a Quantum, Quantum, Quantum World) from 2022-10-18T11:00

Part 4! What are the basic lessons of quantum mechanics? What does quantum mechanics teach us about the nature of reality? How does a quantum worldview differ from a classical one? I discuss the...

AaS! 185: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 3: There and Back Again) from 2022-10-04T11:00

Part 3! Who developed quantum theory and why? What experiments motivated the creation of quantum mechanics? How was quantum mechanics a total break from classical physics? I discuss these questi...

AaS! 184: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 2: Quantum Mechanics 102) from 2022-09-20T11:00

Part 2! How do physicists understand quantum mechanics? What are the postulates and principles of quantum mechanics? How do the foundations of quantum mechanics compare to other theories? I disc...

AaS! 183: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 1: This Way to the Weird) from 2022-09-06T11:00

Part 1! Where does quantum theory fit in the larger tapestry of physics? What is the domain of quantum mechanics? And most importantly, what are the limits of quantum physics? I discuss these qu...

AaS! 182: Wait, Super-Atoms are a Real Thing? from 2022-08-16T11:00

How do you make a super-atom? What can they be used for? What does this mean for quantum mechanics? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 181: What is the Principle of Least Action? from 2022-08-02T11:00

What makes the principle of least action so important? Who came up with it? Is it all just a bunch of math or does it actually mean something? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...

AaS! 180: How Does Pulsar Timing Work? from 2022-07-19T11:00

What is a pulsar? How can we use them to map gravitational waves? What kind of technology does it take? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 179: What are the Alternatives to Dark Matter? from 2022-07-05T11:00

What are some of the problems with dark matter? What about modified gravity? Are there any other solutions? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 178: How Big Can Planets Get? from 2022-06-21T11:00

How big can a rocky planet get? Can a rocky planet turn into a gas giant? Why are some planets rocky and others gassy? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 177: How Do Black Holes Affect Their Galaxies? from 2022-06-07T11:00

How do giant black holes shut off star formation? How do they turn it back on? Which came first, the black hole or the galaxy? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 176: Why is Gravity So Weak? from 2022-05-17T11:00

How did gravity get so ridiculously weak? Could it be related to extra dimensions? What does string theory and the concept of the “bulk” have to do with it? I discuss these questions and more in...

AaS! 175: Should We Be Afraid of the Dipole Repeller? from 2022-05-03T11:00

What is the dipole repeller? Why is it a dipole? What is it repelling? What is the Bootes Void and how is it connected to dark energy? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spacema...

AaS! 174: What Solves the Twin Paradox? from 2022-04-19T11:00

What does everybody think is the twin paradox? What's the REAL twin paradox? How is the paradox resolved, and what does it teach us about synchronicity? I discuss these questions and more in tod...

AaS! 173: How Does Radioactive Decay Work? from 2022-04-05T11:00

How was radioactive decay discovered? What are the different kinds of decay? How does quantum mechanics make all this happen? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 172: What Are Some Alternatives to the Big Bang Theory? from 2022-03-15T11:00

What makes the Big Bang theory so successful? How were alternatives ruled out? What are the electric universe and steady state theories? Do any other options remain, like conformal cyclic cosmol...

AaS! 171: What are Lagrange Points? from 2022-03-01T12:00

Why are Lagrange points so crucial to astronomy? What makes even simple gravity so difficult? How do you “put” something at a Lagrange point? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a ...

AaS! 170: What’s So Fine About the Fine Structure Constant? from 2022-02-15T12:00

What is the fine structure constant? Where does it come from? Why is it so important? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 169: What Is Loop Quantum Gravity? from 2022-02-01T12:00

Why do we care about loop quantum gravity? Is it a viable path to uniting quantum mechanics and general relativity? What does it mean for spacetime to be discrete? I discuss these questions and ...

AaS! 168: Can We Get Some Love for Globular Clusters? from 2022-01-18T12:00

How are globular clusters so old? Where did they come from, and how are they linked to galaxy formation? What makes them so globular, anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a ...

AaS! 167: Do We Live In a Giant Simulation? from 2022-01-04T12:00

What is the simulation hypothesis? Is it just pseudoscience? How do we grapple with its implications? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 166: What’s the Truth Behind ‘Oumuamua? from 2021-12-21T12:00

Where did ‘Oumuamua come from? What is it made of, and how did it end up here? Is it really an artifact of an alien civilization? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Listen

AaS! 165: What Comes After the James Webb Space Telescope? from 2021-12-07T12:00

What missions will come after the James Webb Space Telescope launches? What new discoveries await us? How long will they take to start? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spacem...

AaS! 164: Where Can We Find Diamond Rain? from 2021-11-16T12:00

How do giant planets make diamond rain? Does it really, you know, rain? Where does diamond rain exist? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 163: Will Our Universe End in a False Vacuum Decay? from 2021-11-02T11:00

What is a vacuum, and what makes a false one? What happened in the early universe to bring about our current physics? Will it happen again? If so, when? I discuss these questions and more in tod...

AaS! 162: What the Heck are Gamma Ray Bursts? from 2021-10-19T11:00

What are the different kinds of gamma ray bursts? What powers them? What do we still have to understand about them? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 161: Is There a Crisis in Cosmology? RELOADED from 2021-10-05T11:00

Is there more to say about the “crisis in cosmology”? What are the fundamental disagreements? Is there any way out of this mess? Why am I talking about it again? I discuss these questions and mo...

AaS! 160: What’s the Best Way to Search for Life? from 2021-09-21T11:00

What kind of signals are we searching for from aliens? What are technosignatures and biosignatures? How are we looking for non-intelligent life? Is there any hope of finding life in our own sola...

AaS! 159: Why Should We Geek Out Over Maxwell? from 2021-09-07T11:00

Why is James Clerk Maxwell so dang awesome? How was he able to unify the forces of electricity and magnetism? Why was his work so revolutionary? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask...

AaS! 158: What’s So Groovy About Gravitational Waves? (Part 2) from 2021-08-17T11:00

Part 2 of 2! How did the observation of a kilonova change astronomy? How did that one observation kill off alternate models of gravity? What’s in store for the future of gravitational waves? I d...

AaS! 157: What’s So Groovy About Gravitational Waves? (Part 1) from 2021-08-03T11:00

Part 1! What are gravitational waves? What makes them? How can we detect them here on Earth, and why is it a big deal? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 156: What are Asteroids Good For? from 2021-07-20T11:00

What are the different kinds of asteroids? What are they made of? How can we send missions to capture them, and what will we do once we get one? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask...

AaS! 155: Who’s Going To Clean Up All That Space Junk? from 2021-07-06T11:00

How did so much junk get up in space? How can we clean it up? How is it making light pollution worse? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 154: Is There REALLY a Crisis in Cosmology? from 2021-06-15T11:00

How do we measure the age of the universe? Why are different methods giving different results? How do we solve this problem? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 153: What is a Black Hole Firewall, and Do They Really Exist?? from 2021-06-01T11:00

What is a black hole firewall? How does it solve some paradoxes when it comes to black holes? Do the firewalls actually exist? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 152: Could We Really Terraform Mars? from 2021-05-18T11:00

What killed Mars billions of years ago? How can we kickstart a warming trend to transform Mars to look like Earth? What kind of technology do we need, and how well will it work? I discuss these ...

AaS! 151: How Do Quantum Computers Work? from 2021-05-04T11:00

What makes quantum computers so powerful? What kinds of problems can they solve? How do we actually build one? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 150: Why Don’t Neutrinos Make Any Sense? from 2021-04-20T11:00

How did we discover neutrinos? What don’t they make any sense? Why do they have mass, and how do they change their identities? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 149: Is the Universe a Fractal? from 2021-04-06T11:00

Is our universe a fractal? How do we test this? Are there any places in the universe that look like fractals? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 148: What’s Outside the Universe? from 2021-03-16T11:00

What is the meaning of the horizon of the universe? Is the Earth in a special place? What’s the “dark flow”? Can this explain dark energy? Why don’t we believe it anymore? I discuss these questi...

AaS! 147: What’s the Deal with the Uncertainty Principle? from 2021-03-02T12:00

What are the origins of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? Is there any way to cheat it? What does this all have to do with waves? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman...

AaS! 146: Astro101 Part 8 - What is the Future of Astronomy? from 2021-02-16T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: What does it take to have a career in astronomy? What does ...

AaS! 145: Astro101 Part 7 - What is the Universe? from 2021-02-02T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: How did the universe begin? How will it end? What’s going o...

AaS! 144: Astro101 Part 6 - What are Galaxies? from 2021-01-19T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: What is a galaxy? What does our own galaxy look li...

AaS! 143: Astro101 Part 5 - What are Neutron Stars, White Dwarfs, and Black Holes? from 2021-01-05T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: What is a white dwarf? What is a neutron star? What is a bl...

AaS! 142: Astro101 Part 4 - What Happens When Stars Die? from 2020-12-15T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we have: What’s the difference between ...

AaS! 141: Astro101 Part 3 - What is a Star? from 2020-12-01T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: What are the different kinds of stars? Why does classificat...

AaS! 140: Astro101 Part 2 - Who lives in the solar system? from 2020-11-17T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: How did the solar system form? ...

AaS! 139: Astro101 Part 1 - Why bother with astronomy? from 2020-11-03T12:00

It’s time for school! The Astro101 series will cover some of the most important questions in astronomy. In today’s lesson, we’ll have: Why did people used to study astronomy? Why do t...

AaS! 138: Could the "emdrive" really work? from 2020-10-20T11:00

What does the “emdrive” claim to do? How does it violate almost all of known physics? What were the problems with the experiments? I discuss these questions and more ...

AaS! 137: What's really at the center of a black hole? from 2020-10-06T11:00

What can possibly replace the singularity? What are Planck stars and Gravastars? What’s it like to fall into a rotating black hole? I discuss these questions and more...

AaS! 136: Can planets survive the death of their star? from 2020-09-15T11:00

When stars die, do their planets die too? What can possibly survive after a supernova explosion? How will the death of the sun affect our solar system? Can zombie planets rise from th...

AaS! 135: Why Aren't There More Black Physicists? from 2020-09-01T11:00

What are the accomplishments of black astronomers and physicists? Why does diversity remain so low in higher education, especially physics? What can we do to prevent bias and discrimi...

AaS! 134: Is there a fifth force of nature? from 2020-08-18T11:00

Are there more than four forces of nature? Is dark matter connected to dark energy? What the heck are dark photons? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask ...

AaS! 133: How do we know the Earth is curved? from 2020-08-04T11:00

Why do people believe the Earth is flat? How do we know it’s curved? Is a debate even worth it? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Listen

AaS! 132: What did Einstein get wrong? from 2020-07-21T11:00

Was Einstein ever wrong? How did he miss out on a major prediction for the universe? What was his major beef with quantum mechanics? How did he go from quantum believer to quantum hat...

AaS! 131: What's so cool about the TRAPPIST-1 system? from 2020-07-07T11:00

Why is the TRAPPIST-1 system so fascinating? Is it really habitable? How are we figuring all this out? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!<...

AaS! 130: What's the most amazing thing about the universe? from 2020-06-16T11:00

What blows me away about the universe? How is it all connected? How does universality give physics the power to explain everything? I discuss these questions and more...

AaS! 129: Did the big bang make black holes? from 2020-06-02T11:00

What kind of crazy physics made primordial black holes? What does that have to do with the LIGO observations of merging black holes? How can we possibly detect them? Listen

AaS! 128: Why are we missing all the baryons? from 2020-05-19T11:00

What is the “missing baryon problem”? How do we know how many baryons there ought to be? What does the cosmic web have to do with it? What the heck is a baryon, anyway? Listen

AaS! 127: What was Newton's big deal? from 2020-05-05T11:00

What was Newton’s genius? Why was his work so controversial? Why are his laws of motion so radical? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Listen

AaS! 126: What's the wildest weather in the solar system? from 2020-04-21T11:00

What makes the Earth’s atmosphere so special? What makes the atmospheres of other planets so special? Why are atmospheres so special anyway? I discuss these questions...

AaS! 125: Does Planet Nine exist? from 2020-04-07T11:00

Why do we think the solar system might have another planet? Why do we think it doesn’t? How do test for something that’s too far away to see? I discuss these question...

AaS! 124: Why is the speed of light the way it is? from 2020-03-17T11:30

Why is the speed of light so important in physics? Why does the value not matter at all? And why does it have the speed that it does? I discuss these questions and mo...

How to Die in Space: Sneak Preview from 2020-03-10T11:00

My next book, How to Die in Space, is coming out June 2020! Here's a special sneak preview reading from the book, and info about how you can get a free autographed copy!

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AaS! 123: What powers a hypernova? from 2020-03-03T12:00

How can a supernova become even more powerful? Why do we have such a hard time studying them, let alone defining them? What happens when you let a giant star unleash its full potentia...

AaS! 122: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 8: An Armageddon of Strings) from 2020-02-18T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 121: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 7: A Correspondence from a Dear Friend) from 2020-02-04T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 120: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 6: We Should Probably Test This) from 2020-01-21T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 119: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 5: Duality of the Fates) from 2020-01-07T13:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 118: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 4: What We Need is a Superhero) from 2019-12-17T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 117: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 3: Dimension is Destiny) from 2019-12-03T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 116: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 2: Tuning the Strings) from 2019-11-19T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 115: Is String Theory Worth It? (Part 1: Unify This!) from 2019-11-05T12:00

How did String Theory get started? What has made the idea so popular over the decades? Can we ever truly have a theory of quantum gravity? What is supersymmetry, the landscape, and th...

AaS! 114: How did spectroscopy revolutionize astronomy? from 2019-10-15T16:00

How did chemists save astronomy? What’s so important about the spectrum, and how are they made? How can we tell what things in space are made out of?Listen

AaS! 113: Is the James Webb Space Telescope worth the wait? from 2019-10-01T11:00

Why is infrared astronomy so hard? How do we fit giant telescopes into tiny rockets? What will the James Webb uncover?  I ...

AaS! 112: Why can't I quantum tunnel myself? from 2019-09-17T11:00

Where does the quantum world begin? Why do we have a hard time fundamentally understanding quantum systems? What connects quantum and classical physics?Listen

AaS! 111: What's it like to fall into a black hole? (redux) from 2019-09-03T11:00

What’s it like to fall into a black hole (again)? What does the outside universe look like? Is there any way to avoid your grisly fate at the singularity? I discuss t...

AaS! 110: Is the universe really predictable? from 2019-08-20T11:00

What is chaos theory? How can something be both deterministic and unpredictable? Is there are hope at all for physics? I discuss these questions and more in today’s A...

AaS! 109: What are the mysterious cosmic strings? from 2019-08-06T11:00

How do cracks appear in spacetime? What does it have to do with symmetry? Could we ever hope to find a cosmic string? I discuss these questions and more in today’s As...

AaS! 108: What do we learn from eclipses? from 2019-07-16T11:00

Why is it so hard to predict solar eclipses? How did Newton and Halley team up to solve it? What have we learned from solar eclipses since then? I discuss these quest...

AaS! 107: Is interstellar travel possible? from 2019-07-02T11:00

How hard is interstellar travel? What are the possible ways to achieve the required energy? Is there anything at all feasible in the works? I discuss these questions ...

AaS! 106: How do we measure the expansion of the universe? from 2019-06-18T11:00

What’s the deal with redshift? How can we actually interpret velocities when it comes to cosmic expansion? And what’s with the recent tension over measuring the expan...

AaS! 105: Is everything a wave or a particle, and why does my head hurt? from 2019-06-04T11:00

Is light made of waves or particles? Is matter made of waves or particles? What does it mean for matter to “wave”, anyway? Why is this so hard to understand? I discus...

AaS! 104: What turned Venus into hell? from 2019-05-21T11:00

What’s so bad about Venus, besides everything? How did it get so bad? And are we next? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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AaS! 103: What's wrong with the cosmic calendar? from 2019-05-07T11:00

What is the “cosmic calendar”? What are some important scales in the universe? Why is it so hard to judge “importance” of events? I discuss these questions and more i...

AaS! 102: What are the mighty clusters of galaxies? from 2019-04-16T11:00

What are galaxy clusters made of, besides galaxies? How can we use them to understand dark matter? And how can we make pretend ones on a computer? I discuss these que...

AaS! 101: What is the black hole information paradox? from 2019-04-02T11:00

What is “information” in physics? Why do we think it’s preserved, and what happens to information when it falls into a black hole? Why is this a problem? I discuss th...

AaS! 100: Why avoid the cosmic voids? from 2019-03-19T11:00

How do cosmic voids form? What do they teach us about dark energy? What did the early universe look like? What does all this have to do with cupcakes? I discuss these...

AaS! 99: Do we live in the multiverse? from 2019-03-05T12:00

What’s the difference between the universe and the multiverse? How can cosmic inflation make bubble universes? Do those universes get different physics? If I travel f...

AaS! 98: Who's in charge of the quantum world? from 2019-02-19T12:00

How did Max Planck accidentally discover quantum mechanics? Why is his constant so special? What happens at the quantum level? I discuss these questions and more in t...

AaS! 97: What makes the strong force so strong? from 2019-02-05T12:00

Why is the strong force better known as the “color force”? What’s the best way to think about protons and quarks? What do the Three Musketeers have to do with anythin...

AaS! 96: Hey, who took all the antimatter? from 2019-01-15T12:00

Why are matter and antimatter symmetric? What happened in the early universe to make matter win? Do we have any clue as to why? What do puppies have to do with it? I ...

AaS! 95: Does light experience time? (and other mysteries) from 2019-01-01T12:00

What does ‘time’ mean for light? What is the real lesson of the twin paradox? How can we all agree on the true age of the universe? Why is it all so technical? I disc...

AaS! 94: How did we figure out that stuff is made of atoms? from 2018-12-18T12:00

How and when did we realize that atoms exist? How did we learn to understand their properties? How was Ernest Rutherford hogging all the science for himself? I discus...

AaS! 93: Does the Oort Cloud Exist? from 2018-12-04T12:00

Where is the Oort Cloud and what is it made of? Why do we think some comets come from there? If the Oort Cloud exists, how did it form? I discuss these questions and ...

AaS! 92: I give up, what is time? from 2018-11-20T12:00

What makes time so hard to understand? Why is it so different from the spatial dimensions? Is time in any way connected to that most difficult of concepts, entropy? I...

AaS! 91: Could we blow up a star? from 2018-11-06T12:00

How much energy is needed to blow up the sun? How is this connected to the idea of binding energy? Where is all the energy in the universe? I discuss these questions ...

AaS! 90: Why are brown dwarf stars so weird? from 2018-10-16T11:00

What do brown dwarfs teach us about stars? What do they teach us about planets? What keeps them warm, and how long do they live? And are they really brown? I discuss ...

AaS! 89: What makes all the light? from 2018-10-02T11:00

What are the many sources of light in the universe? Why is a spectrum so important? What’s the difference between synchrotron and Cherenkov radiation? What’s the best...

A Reading from the Book of Paul from 2018-09-25T11:00

Today I'm reading a sample from my new book, Your Place in the Universe!

I'm also sharing details about how you can a) buy the book, b) Listen

AaS! 88: Is the Drake Equation useful? from 2018-09-18T11:00

What does the Drake Equation teach us about extraterrestrial civilizations? What does it NOT teach us? What complexities does it hide? Is it even science? I discuss t...

AaS! 87: How do magnets work? from 2018-09-04T11:00

What’s the connection between motion and magnetism? How can something like a black hole have a magnetic field? What’s the connection to quantum mechanics? How did Ein...

AaS! 86: Why do we need cosmic inflation? (Part 2) from 2018-08-21T11:00

Part 2! What was going in the very early universe? How does inflation provide the seeds of larger structures? How can we possibly test this? I discuss these questions...

AaS! 85: Why do we need cosmic inflation? (Part 1) from 2018-08-07T11:00

Part 1! What are some weaknesses with the standard Big Bang model? What are the horizon and flatness problems? How does accelerated expansion ...

AaS! 84: How does dark energy accelerate the universe? from 2018-07-17T11:00

What is the cosmological constant? How is the expansion of the universe related to quantum fields? How does a vacuum energy produce accelerated expansion? I discuss t...

AaS! 83: Can entangled particles communicate faster than light? from 2018-07-03T11:00

What is a quantum state? How can two particles share the same state? What is entanglement, and does it really allow for faster-than-light communication? I discuss the...

AaS! 82: What awoke the cosmic dawn? from 2018-06-19T11:00

Were the dark ages really dark? What is a perturbation, and how did they grow in the early universe? When the first stars awoke, what happened? I discuss these questi...

AaS! 81: How do you build a rocket-ship? from 2018-06-05T11:00

What does momentum have to do with rockets? Why are nozzles so dang important? What is a “potent mixture”, anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a...

AaS! 80: What made the "OMG Particle" so special? from 2018-05-15T11:00

What is the so-called “OMG Particle”? Where could it possibly come from, and how are magnetic fields involved? How can we detect these cosmic rays? I discuss these qu...

AaS! 79: Seriously, what is gravity? (Part 3) from 2018-05-01T11:00

Part 3! How did Einstein develop General Relativity? What does it mean for different kinds of masses to be equivalent? How does gravity do what it does? Why is curvat...

AaS! 78: Seriously, what is gravity? (Part 2) from 2018-04-17T11:00

Part 2! How did Einstein develop General Relativity? What does it mean for different kinds of masses to be equivalent? How does gravity do what it does? Why is curvat...

AaS! 77: Seriously, what is gravity? (Part 1) from 2018-04-03T11:00

Part 1! How did Einstein develop General Relativity? What does it mean for different kinds of masses to be equivalent? How does gravity do what it does? Why is curvat...

AaS! 76: Iceland Question Bonanza! from 2018-03-20T12:00

Where did all the monopoles go? Do other planets have auroras? Can binary stars host planets? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! A very spe...

AaS! 75: Why is Iceland so warm? from 2018-03-06T13:00

What makes Iceland so warm despite its high latitude? What powers everything from glaciers to geysers? How are the aurora connected to volcanoes? I discuss these ques...

AaS! 74: Why are small stars such a big deal? from 2018-02-20T12:00

Why are small stars red? Why are small stars so common? Why are small stars so interesting for the hunt for life? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

Support the...

AaS! 73: Why should we believe the big bang? from 2018-02-06T12:00

What did Hubble really discover? Why does redshift imply an expanding universe? Why is the night sky dark? Why is there so much hydrogen, and how is that conn...

AaS! 72: How does gravity make a lens? from 2018-01-16T12:00

How does gravity bend the path of light? Does it seriously act like a lens or is that just a metaphor? What does it take, and how do we know? What can we learn from t...

AaS! 71: Who lives in the particle zoo? from 2018-01-02T12:00

What strange creatures inhabit the so-called “particle zoo”?  Why is it a zoo instead of something simpler? Is there anything that connects the forces and particles of our universe? I discuss th...

AaS! 70: Can we have some quark stars, please? from 2017-12-19T12:00

How does degeneracy pressure work? What kinds of particles exist below the level of neutrons? Can they hold up a star against gravity?Listen

AstroTour: Atacama Dark Sky Retreat from 2017-12-08T12:53:32

Join me for an all new AstroTour adventure, one that I'm personally very excited about: a trip to the Atacama Desert of Chile to spend a week at an all-inclusive stargazing resort! The trip is p...

AaS! 69: What makes a blazar blaze so brightly? from 2017-12-05T12:00

What powers a quasar? Just how strong is a blazar? What’s the connection to giant black holes?  I discuss these questions a...

AaS! 68: Do we live in a hologram? from 2017-11-21T12:00

What’s the idea behind the holographic principle? What does it have to do with black holes and the early universe? Does this…mean something?Listen

AaS! 67: Why can't I be an astrophysicist? from 2017-11-07T12:00

Why is it tough to become a scientific researcher? What are some of the barriers in the field? Are there any other options? I have a PhD - now what? I discuss these q...

AaS! 66: What in the world is metallic hydrogen? from 2017-10-17T11:00

What in the world is metallic hydrogen? What does it even mean? Where does it exist in nature, and can we make it in the lab? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 65: How does one become an astrophysicist? from 2017-10-03T11:00

How does one become an astrophysicist? What are the challenges and rewards of that kind of career? Are there even any jobs? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

S...

All about the "Sea and the Stars" AstroTour from 2017-09-26T11:00

Fraser Cain and I are leading another starry-eyed adventure, this time to the beautiful caribbean on a 7-day cruise, featuring tours of the Kennedy Space Center, star viewing every night, at-sea...

AaS! 64: What fate awaits the Voyagers? from 2017-09-19T11:00

Why were the Voyager missions so important? Where are they now, and where are they going? What is their ultimate fate? And that Golden Record…good idea or bad idea? I discuss these questions and...

AaS! 63: How are we to understand quantum spin? from 2017-09-05T11:00

What does it mean for an electron to spin? Why do we have such a hard time measuring it? And why doesn’t Paul Dirac get any attention anymore, anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today...

AaS! 62: Why do some stars blow up? from 2017-08-15T11:00

What’s the balancing act happening inside stars? Why is iron the fusion limit? How long does it take for a star to blow? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

Supp...

Update and Space Radio Preview from 2017-08-08T11:00

A quick update on Patreon, Astrotours, and a preview of the new Space Radio show! 

Space Radio: http://www.SpaceRadioShow.com

AaS! 61: Where do giant magnetic fields come from? from 2017-08-01T11:00

How does the universe generate giant magnetic fields? Is it astrophysical or primordial? How do we find them anyway? Why am I not talking about Maxwell? I discuss these questions and more in tod...

AaS! 60: What's the Deal with Time Crystals? from 2017-07-18T11:00

What’s the deal with time crystals? Do they break physics as we know it? Or are they merely…neat? What do symmetries and the conservation of energy have to do with it? I discuss these questions ...

AaS! 59: Do Black Holes Exist? from 2017-07-04T11:00

Do black holes exist, or are they merely theoretical constructs? What’s the evidence? And what about the singularity, surely that doesn’t happen, right? I discuss these questions and more in tod...

AaS! 58: Is time travel possible? from 2017-06-20T11:00

Does everyone have the same clock? Can we skip forward into the future? What about the past? Why does it appear to be forbidden in our universe? I discuss these quest...

AaS! 57: What's the matter with dark matter? from 2017-06-06T11:00

How is the bullet cluster the “smoking gun” for dark matter? Why aren’t alternate theories of gravity satisfactory? Could dark matter just be a bunch of black holes? ...

AaS! 56: What is the "Axis of Evil"? from 2017-05-16T11:00

Just how mediocre are we? I’ve heard there’s an “axis of evil” in space - what’s up with that? Is there anything special about our position within the universe? I dis...

AaS! 55: Does dark energy exist? from 2017-05-02T11:00

How do we measure the expansion history of the universe? Why are supernovae so dang useful? Come on, what’s with this “dark energy” business? I discuss these question...

AaS! 54: What happens when galaxies collide? from 2017-04-18T11:00

What happens during a galaxy merger event? Is dark matter involved? How do we use simulations to learn about these processes that last hundreds of millions of years?<...

AaS! 53: Why is the Higgs boson important? (Part 2) from 2017-04-04T11:00

Part Two! What’s the relationship between the Higgs Boson and mass? What does that even mean, and how do we go about detecting it? I discuss these questions and more ...

AaS! 52: Why is the Higgs Boson important? (Part 1) from 2017-03-21T11:00

Part One! What does the Higgs Boson mean? What role does it play in the forces of nature? What makes it so special? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask ...

AaS! 51: What has New Horizons learned about Pluto? from 2017-03-07T12:00

What has New Horizons taught us about Pluto so far? What’s going on under the ice? Why does the “heart” of Pluto still beat? I discuss these questions and more in tod...

AaS! 50: What's up with Saturn's rings? from 2017-02-21T12:00

How (and when) did the rings of Saturn form? How are we to understand the complex systems of rings and gaps? How do the moons influence their shape? I discuss these q...

AaS! 49: What were the most clever experiments of all time? from 2017-02-07T12:00

What are the most clever physics and astronomy experiments of all time? What did we learn from them, and what made them so dang clever? I discuss these questions and ...

AaS! 48: Why are Kepler's Laws important? from 2017-01-17T12:00

Why are Kepler’s Laws important? What was Kepler trying to understand? What connection did Kepler think he was making? I discuss these questions and more in today’s A...

AaS! 47: What's the universe made of? from 2017-01-03T12:00

What’s the universe made of? How is this connected to its age? What’s the connection between dark matter and dark energy? I discuss these questions and more in today’...

AaS! 46: How to describe astronomy to the blind? from 2016-12-20T12:00

How can the night sky be described to someone who can’t see it? What’s it like to do astronomy? What kind of feelings come into play? I discuss these questions and mo...

AaS! 45: Wormholes - deal or no deal? from 2016-12-06T12:00

Are wormholes real or what? How did we even start thinking of them? If we could build one, would it be possible to actually, you know, use it? I discuss these questio...

AaS! 44: How does the sun get spots? from 2016-11-15T12:00

How do sunspots work? What do magnetic fields have to do with it? Who was Zeeman and why was his splitting so important? I discuss these questions and more in today’s...

AaS! 43: What's the Shape of the Universe? from 2016-11-01T11:00

What’s the shape of the universe? What does it even mean for the universe to have a “shape”? If you traveled far enough, would you end up where you started? I discuss...

AaS! 42: Where do "weird" radio signals come from? from 2016-10-18T11:00

Where do “weird” radio signals come from? Is this the first time we thought something weird was happening in space? Why does it make the news so much? I discuss these...

AaS! 41: How do (regular) novas work? from 2016-10-04T11:00

How do regular non-super-novas work? What’s the connection to white dwarves? Where do they happen and why should we care? I discuss these questions and more in today’...

AaS! 40: Do black holes die? from 2016-09-20T11:00

What’s the deal with Hawking Radiation? Does it really mean what we think it means? How do black holes form in the first place? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 39: Is there life on Europa? from 2016-09-06T11:00

What’s going on under the ice of Europa? What keeps it so warm down there? Are the oceans pure or have the right chemistry for life? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!...

AaS! 38: How do we see beyond the visible? from 2016-08-16T12:00

How do we make observations beyond visible light? What exactly is a telescope? And what’s up with NASA adding colors to images? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 37: What is the cosmic microwave background (Part 2)? from 2016-08-02T12:00

Part 2 of What is the cosmic microwave background? What causes those bumps and wiggles? What does it tell us about the early universe, and the universe we have today? What does the universe have...

AaS! 36: What is the cosmic microwave background? (Part 1) from 2016-07-19T12:00

What is the cosmic microwave background? How was it discovered? What did it have to do with the great debate between Big Bang theory and the Steady State model? I discuss these questions and mor...

AaS! 35: What are "virtual particles"? from 2016-07-05T12:00

What are virtual particles? What do they have to do with waving fields around? And why can’t physicists use meaningful jargon words? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!...

AaS! 34: What is the Great Attractor? from 2016-06-21T12:00

What is the so-called Great Attractor? What’s the Zone of Avoidance, and is it scary? What makes galaxies move in the first place? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Listen

AaS! 33: What if the moon disappeared? from 2016-06-07T12:00

What would happen if the moon disappeared tomorrow? What makes it so special in the first place? Does it really *do* anything useful? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman...

AaS! 32: Where do nebulae come from? from 2016-05-17T12:00

How are nebulae formed or created? Where do they go when they’re done being nebulae? How is it linked to the formation of stars? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

AaS! 31: How can the universe expand faster than light? from 2016-05-03T12:00

How can the universe expand faster than the speed of light? What does it mean for Special Relativity to be “local”? Is there a conflict between General and Special Relativity? I discuss these qu...

AaS! 30: 2nd-Grade Question Bonanza! from 2016-04-19T12:00

It’s a BONANZA, featuring a bunch of questions from second-graders! Including: Where’s the edge of the universe? How many rings does Saturn have? Are there Martians? And so much more in today’s ...

AaS! 29: Why does E=mc^2? from 2016-04-05T12:00

Why does E=mc^2? Where does it come from? What’s the significance of that famous equation? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

Follow all the show updates at Listen

AaS! 28: What's the point in talking about science? from 2016-03-15T12:00

In this very special episode, I discuss the importance of communicating science, a cool new project I’m working on (songofthestars.org), and how arts ...

AaS! 27: How does gravity make waves? from 2016-03-01T13:00

How did Einstein develop General Relativity? What does it mean for space to be curved anyway? And just how do these gravitational waves work, anyhow? I answer these questions and more in today’s...

AaS! 26: Wolf-Rayet Stars: Sci-Fi or What? from 2016-02-16T13:00

What’s so special about Wolf-Rayet stars? Do we even know how they work? And what does this all have to do with Paris? I answer these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

Follow ...

AaS! 25: How do we know how far away stuff is...far away? from 2016-02-02T13:00

How do we measure distances to…well, distant objects? What the heck is a Cepheid, and why is it useful? Standard candles? Standard rulers? Standard spheres? It all seems a bit much, don’t you th...

AaS! 24: What's the beef with quantum gravity? from 2016-01-19T13:00

Why doesn’t quantum mechanics agree with general relativity? Will we ever have a quantum picture of gravity? What are some candidates? What does it have to do with cuss words?

Follow all ...

Aas! 23: What's up with exoplanets? from 2016-01-05T13:00

What’s up with exoplanets? What’s the variety, and how do we detect them? How did Hot Jupiters get so hot, anyway?

Follow all the show updates at ask...

AaS! Transient Special: What was the Christmas star? from 2015-12-22T13:00

It’s a special “transient” edition! What was the Christmas Star?

Follow all the show updates at askaspaceman.com and support the show at  Listen

AaS! 22: Question Bonanza! from 2015-12-15T13:00

It’s a BONANZA! Featuring many questions from a live event, including: Is time travel possible? Can a galaxy eat itself? Will we ever run out of stars? And so much more!

Follow all the sh...

AaS! 21: Are we really made of stars? from 2015-12-01T13:00

Are we really made of stars? How do we know? What does it mean for us? Ask a Spaceman!

Follow all the show updates at askaspaceman.com, and help ...

AaS! 20: How much light is in the universe? from 2015-11-17T13:00

How much light is in the universe? What’s a “photon”? What’s the brightest thing out there? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Follow all the show updates at Listen

AaS! Special: What did you think of The Martian? from 2015-11-12T13:00

It’s a super-special episode, featuring a discussion with me, my “Space in your Face” co-hosts Wayne Schlingman and Anna Nierenberg, and...

AaS! 19: How do planets get magnetic fields? from 2015-11-03T13:00

How do planets get their magnetic fields? What’s a dynamo? What do magnetic fields have in common with plate tectonics? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Follo...

AaS! 18: Is the universe dying? from 2015-10-20T12:00

Is the universe dying? What is the ultimate fate of the universe? Will it transform into something else? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Follow all the show ...

AaS! 17: What banged the Big Bang? from 2015-10-06T12:00

What’s the history of the universe? What is the big bang? What came before? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Follow all the show updates at Listen

AaS! 16: How do spiral galaxies form? from 2015-09-15T12:00

How do spiral galaxies form? How do galaxies form in the first place, anyway? What’s so special about spirals that make them look so cool? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spa...

AaS! 15: Will we colonize Mars? from 2015-09-01T12:00

Will we ever actually colonize Mars? Why is it so hard to get to space? What are the challenges specific to Mars? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Follow all ...

AaS! 14: What is spacetime? (Part 2) from 2015-08-18T12:00

How are space and time related? How long would it take to travel the Milky Way? What other tricks can you play with Special Relativity? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spacem...

AaS! 14: What is spacetime? (Part 1) from 2015-08-04T12:00

What is spacetime? What was the breakthrough idea that led Einstein to develop Special Relativity? Who was right: Newton or Maxwell? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!...

AaS! 13: What the heck is a magnetar? from 2015-07-21T16:00

What’s the difference between a neutron star and a magnetar? How do you make a neutron star? How do they get so magnetic? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Kee...

AaS! 12: Is life possible around binary stars? from 2015-07-07T16:00

Is Tatooine from Star Wars possible? What kind of binary stars are allowed? What would life be like around binary stars? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Keep...

AaS! 011: What do we do in space? from 2015-06-16T16:00

What kind of experiments do we do in space? Why do we even bother? Is there any benefit to having telescopes in orbit instead of on the ground? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask ...

AaS! 010: How do black holes form? from 2015-06-02T16:00

How do black holes form? Why are there only two sizes (Small and Big Gulp)? How do we know black holes exist, and what purpose do they serve in the universe? I discuss these questions and more i...

AaS! 009: How big is the universe? from 2015-05-19T16:00

How big is the universe? What’s outside the universe, and what are we expanding into? Can it even be put into words? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!

Keep tho...

AaS! 008: Will a comet kill us all? from 2015-05-05T16:00

What are the chances of a comet hitting the earth? What other stuff can fall from space? What would the effects be, and how much do we need to worry? I discuss these questions and more in today'...

AaS! 007: How do we know that dark matter exists? from 2015-04-21T16:00

How do we know that dark matter exists? Are you sure that scientists aren't just making things up because they're lazy? What makes it dark anyway? I discuss these questions and more in today's A...

AaS! 006: When did the first stars appear? from 2015-04-07T16:00

When did the first stars appear in the universe? How long did they live? Was it awesome when they blew up? Are there any around today? Did the universe go through puberty? I discuss these questi...

AaS! Transient Special: When is the next eclipse? from 2015-03-27T16:00

It’s a special “transient” episode featuring the questions of Finn and Zakk from Dr. Batchelder’s class in Corbridge, England. They are celebrating a partial solar eclipse and asked: Where will ...

AaS! 005: Where did the oceans come from? from 2015-03-20T16:00

Where did the oceans come from? Yeah, the answer is space, but are there any more details? Where does water come from anyway? Did the oceans come along with the earth or did they come later? Do ...

AaS! 004: Are there aliens...out there? from 2015-02-20T17:00

Are there aliens...you know, out there? What are the chances of life appearing somewhere, anywhere, in the universe? Will we get to say "hi" and have a chat? Is there any life in our own solar s...