Good Heavens! The Human Side of Astronomy

The Heavens are Full of Surprises! Ultima Thule and Beyond!

April 23, 2019 02:49 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MB

Earlier this year, the New Horizons Probe which unveiled the splendors of Pluto for the first time also found another enigmatic wonder astronomers have called Ultima Thule. What in the wide world of the heavens is this thing? What does it tell us about the solar system? Why all the fascination with it? Come along with Wayne and Dan as they explore this new discovery and what it can tell us about the nature of our solar system and the One who created it all. Image credit: NASA/New Horizons

Creation, J.R.R. Tolkien, & Middle-earth with Dr. Holly Ordway

March 30, 2019 22:49 - 1 hour - 47.2 MB

Join Dan on this episode of Good Heavens! for a fascinating chat with J.R.R. Tolkien scholar, professor of English and Christian apologist Dr. Holly Ordway on creation as seen through the mind and imagination of Tolkien. Holly helps us to see how Tolkien's vision of what Christ has created can help us see and appreciate the heavens and the earth afresh. You can find out more about Holly's work on her own personal website.

Good Heavens! It's Pluto!

February 24, 2019 14:20 - 39 minutes - 27.1 MB

Join Wayne and Dan as they explore all the wonderful mystery behind what was formerly once known as our ninth planet. What is Pluto? Where is it? Why all the excitement? Why is it not a planet anymore? Come be encouraged and delight two old guys trying to figure out how should we think "Christianly" about the wonder of the dwarf planet with a big heart! Dan also butchered pronouncing names as usual, including Ultima Thule. Dava Sobel's book. (SO-bel, not So-BEL, as Dan mispronounced he...

Good Heavens! Wayne is Back and Gives Fine Tuning a Whirl!

February 10, 2019 03:41 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MB

Wayne is back and gives us some of his insights into fine tuning! This is part five of our series on fine tuning. Is fine tuning dependent on the Big Bang? Do you have to believe in the Big Bang to accept fine tuning? Tune in and find out what Wayne has to share!

Science and the Mind of the Maker - an Interview with Melissa Cain Travis!

January 30, 2019 02:39 - 56 minutes - 38.5 MB

Dan has the distinct pleasure of viewing author Melissa Cain Travis about her new book, Science and the Mind of the Maker. We talk about the universe, mathematics, Johannes Kepler and even Donald Duck! A delightful conversation about why the universe has "deep intelligibility" - Good heavens you can't miss this episode!

The Eucatastrophe of Fine Tuning (#4)

January 30, 2019 02:36 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MB

J.R.R. Tolkien, Job, and the Man of Sorrows. What must it have been like for the Creator of the universe to be "despised and rejected" by His own creation? What was God's response to Job's suffering and complaint? Why would Jesus bother fine tuning a planet for life that would eventually put Him to death? Come and see the "eucatastrophe" of fine tuning on this episode of Good Heavens!

Balloons, Don Quixote and More Fine Tuning! (#3)

January 30, 2019 02:33 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MB

Come along with Dan as he continues his conversation with Allen Hainline about the fine tuning of the cosmos. This is part 3 of our series. In this episode Allen and Dan briefly discuss some skeptic objections to fine tuning and Dan "tries on" Mambrino's Helmet and talks about helium balloons on the ceiling. Good heavens, you don't want to miss this one! (Part 3 of 5)

Part 2 of What in the World is Fine Tuning? With Allen Hainline

January 27, 2019 00:16 - 29 minutes - 19.9 MB

Has someone really "monkeyed" with the physics of our world? Join Allen Hainline and Daniel Ray as they continue to explore the wonders of gravity, neutrons, fundamental forces, sun spots, a physicist who became an Anglican priest, the oddities of light, Albert Einstein's famous "blunder", how God used fine tuning to help Allen with his faith, and how it all might remind us of Christ. (Part 2 of 5)

Good Heavens! What in the World is Fine Tuning?

January 27, 2019 00:12 - 21 minutes - 14.9 MB

This is first part in a series of five short podcasts on the Fine Tuning of the Universe. Dan Ray interviews Allen Hainline about the question, is our universe finely tuned to allow for living things? Is the universe designed for us? In this episode Allen unpacks a few of the basic aspects of Fine Tuning for us. We hope it will encourage you to find out more about it.

Good Heavens! Weird Stars!

January 05, 2019 22:46 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MB

There are billions of stars out there. Billions and billions. So Wayne and Dan took a while to pick out just a few of them! And here they are, a handful of celestial mysteries which remind us of the glory of God. We hope they will do the same for you! Keep your eyes peeled for a new book coming out later in 2019, called The Story of the Cosmos! Dan and Wayne are both contributors along with a number of other authors writing about various topics relating astronomy to the glory of God and t...

Wayne's Worlds - Exoplanets Part 2

December 29, 2018 15:05 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MB

Wayne and Dan talk about some of Wayne's favorite exoplanet worlds and all the glory we believe they entail. Grab your favorite area rug and come and see whole new worlds, new horizons to explore. We hope to take you exoplanet by exoplanet, "over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride." So come and hear the story on these worlds orbiting other stars: WASP-18b, HD 189733b, PSR B1257+12 b, c, & d, Epsilon Eridani b (aka HD 22049), Gliese 667C

Good Heavens! Exoplanets

December 29, 2018 14:59 - 44 minutes - 30.8 MB

Come along with Wayne and Dan as they explore the wonders and weirdness of exoplanets. What are they? How do we know they exist? What might the Bible have to say about them? Is there life on these worlds? How do they point to the glory of God? And why was Jesus mentioned into a 2017 book on exoplanets written by secular scientists? Wayne and Dan try to address these interesting questions and more on this episode of Good Heavens!

Apollo 8 - 50 Years Later

December 24, 2018 16:31 - 45 minutes - 26.2 MB

Good Heavens! Fifty years ago Christmas Eve (1968), Jim Lovell, Bill Anders, and Frank Borman became the first human beings to orbit the Moon. Join Wayne and Dan for coffee as they chat about the achievement, the space race, and the role of Christian faith in space exploration.

By Jove! The Juno Mission to Jupiter

December 18, 2018 03:48 - 46 minutes - 26.6 MB

Where does the expression "by Jove!" come from? What is the Juno mission to Jupiter about? In this program, Dan and Wayne talk about the myths, legends, and mysteries of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. Join us for a kingly adventure with the king of the planets.

The Gloriously Odd Couple of Astronomy

December 09, 2018 04:37 - 44 minutes - 30.8 MB

After Martin Luther helped reform the way we see the kingdom of the heavens on Earth, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler began reforming the way in which we view the celestial heavens. In this episode, Wayne and Dan explore the personalities of astronomy's most unusual duo and discover that these men are not exactly the sort of fellows you would think would forever change our perception of the heavens! If God can make revolutionary astronomers out of a man with bad eyesight and a gent with most...

Making Models of the Heavens

December 03, 2018 03:55 - 38 minutes - 22 MB

In this episode, Wayne and Dan discuss the process of scientific model building, especially related to a new theory on the outer planets of our solar system. As human beings we explore grand ideas yet we have many limitations in our knowledge.

Good Heavens! How did the solar system form?

November 17, 2018 03:28 - 53 minutes - 30.4 MB

On this episode, Wayne and Dan discuss the possible recipes for how the planets were baked. Believe it or not, the formation of the solar system is still one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in astronomy today, with lots of possible theories having been put forth. Given the recent discovery of thousands of planets outside our own solar system, it seems our little planetary neighborhood is a lot different than we first imagined!

C.S. Lewis and the Empty Universe

November 12, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MB

In this podcast Dan Ray interviews Dr. Michael Ward, a C. S. Lewis scholar from Oxford. Dan speaks with Dr. Ward about Lewis's thoughts on how modern cosmology seems to empty the heavens of meaning.

Good Heavens! Are there things too big for the Big Bang?

November 07, 2018 13:59 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MB

How big is big? Come along with Wayne and Dan as they try to wrap their heads around the biggest known things in the universe - so far! Come and be enlightened by the supermassive luminosity of the cosmos! Listen in to find out how big galaxy clusters get in the universe.

Mama Bear Apologetics, Modern Physics, and Postmodernism

November 05, 2018 04:32 - 1 hour - 47.3 MB

Good Heavens! Wayne and Dan team up with Rebekah from Mama Bear Apologetics. Far ranging discussion including book projects. https://mamabearapologetics.com/

The Mystery of Oumuamua

November 05, 2018 00:05 - 39 minutes - 22.5 MB

The surprisingly true story of a messenger from another world. You'll have to listen to find out what the mystery's all about!

How do stars form?

November 04, 2018 20:09 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MB

What does science say about how stars form? Do astronomers really see stars forming? (from February 2018)

Stories of star navigation

November 04, 2018 03:58 - 34 minutes - 64 MB

Join Wayne and Dan as they explore the wonder of how stars have guided birds, outrigger canoeists and Apollo astronauts, plus ancient Vikings, Phoenicians and the modern United States Navy! Good Heavens indeed! This podcast is also available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GoodHeavens

Good Heavens! The Human Side of Astronomy

Episodes