Latest Planetarysciences Podcast Episodes
Cygnus X-3 and a Naked-Eye Nova
Walkabout the Galaxy - June 27, 2024 14:27 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe clock is ticking on T Coronae Borealis which seems primed to undergo a nova explosion this summer. That will make this otherwise faint star as bright as Polaris thanks to a burst of nuclear fusion reactions on the exposed surface of this white dwarf. Another curious binary system, Cygnus X-3...
Primordial Black Holes Make the Galaxy Go 'Round
Walkabout the Galaxy - June 20, 2024 13:13 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsWe take a look at some Beta Pic Disk shots before journeying back to the earliest era of the universe and the possible formation of primordial black holes. Some of these may have been only the size of an atom and would have long since evaporated through Hawking radiation. But they may have left ...
Full Circle to the Origins of Carbon and Exotic Gravity
Walkabout the Galaxy - June 12, 2024 10:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe Astroquarks celebrate their 360th episode with discoveries showing carbon much earlier in the universe than previously thought possible, and an exotic new proposal as an alternative to dark matter. Plus, we have radioactive trivia and a slew of space news with a busy week in rocket and space...
Volcanic Activity on Venus RIGHT NOW!
Walkabout the Galaxy - June 05, 2024 10:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThere is a mountain - or should we say a volcano - of evidence, building that suggests volcanic activity on Venus during the time of the Magellan mission in the 1990s. We’ll dig into that, struggle to get our script right, ponder the Fantastic Voyage, upcoming spaceflight milestones, and much mo...
Watery Erigone and Rogue Stars in the Milky Way
Walkabout the Galaxy - May 30, 2024 13:25 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsNew observations of Erigone, the parent body of an asteroid family, indicate its rocks are juicy with water. That makes it both a potential resource for future missions but also shows that asteroids may have played a big role in delivering water to the early Earth. Watery Erigone: it rhymes! You...
Dyson Spheres and a Molten Planet
Walkabout the Galaxy - May 15, 2024 18:56 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe Astroquarks delve into the possibility of giant alien constructs around stars, and the strange weather on a planet that is unreasonably close to its star. Join us for space news, trivia, and a fun exploration of odd topics in astronomy on Walkabout the Galaxy.
The Low Down on Big G and the Young Moon of Dinkinesh
Walkabout the Galaxy - May 08, 2024 10:00 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsNASA's Lucy mission discovered a surprising moon of the small asteroid Dinkinesh on its way to the orbit of Jupiter. New studies of that moon, a contact binary, suggest it may have a surprisingly young age. Meanwhile, cosmologists continue to wrestle with various seemingly contradictory measurem...
Dark Matter Wins Again
Walkabout the Galaxy - May 01, 2024 19:53 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsA clever test of dark matter and an alternative theory of gravity to explain the motions of stars around galaxies results in another check in the win column for dark matter. Simulations with the modified model of gravity failed to explain the motions in the inner regions of galaxies. Meanwhile t...
Surprises from Bennu and the Milky Way
Walkabout the Galaxy - April 03, 2024 10:10 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsAnalysis of the samples returned from the asteroid Bennu have revealed surprising assemblages of minerals that put new constraints on the origin of the solar system. And once Top Quark Jim Cooney stops giggling, he tells us about the discovery of an itsy-bitsy galaxy, if you can call it that, or...
The Dark Ages of the Universe
Walkabout the Galaxy - March 27, 2024 12:45 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsWe peer back in time both to the murky history of our own solar system and to the dark ages of the universe. The JWST has confirmed that dwarf galaxies were the first to illuminate the universe, putting an end to the dark ages that followed the cooling after the big bang. In our own corner of th...
A Nova Visible this Year?
Walkabout the Galaxy - March 20, 2024 17:08 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsOne of only a handful of recurrent novas, white dwarf stars that undergo a periodic explosive brightening as they accrete material from a neighboring star, is showing signs that it may be ready to blow sometime in 2024! Visible in the northern hemisphere, T CrB may become visible to the naked ey...
Psyche Revisited and Two Giant Black Holes
Walkabout the Galaxy - March 06, 2024 14:54 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe presumed metallic asteroid Psyche gets a new look before the spacecraft of the same name gets there in 2029, and it reveals different spectral characteristics than were observed in previous studies. We discuss the mystery of metallic asteroids and what we might see at Psyche. Top quark educa...
The Tiniest Ocean World and the Brightest Quasar
Walkabout the Galaxy - February 28, 2024 11:00 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsSaturn's so-called Death Star moon Mimas may harbor a global subsurface ocean based on analysis of Cassini data of the tiny moon's orbit and rotation. And in the distant universe, what was previously thought to be a run-of-the-mill star in our own galaxy turns out to be a quasar thousands of tim...
Space Oddities in the Solar System
Walkabout the Galaxy - February 21, 2024 15:23 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsWater molecules have been observed on the surface of an asteroid for the first time, and new studies help explain some of the odd behavior of planetary ring systems, including why they even exist around small objects in the outer solar system. Join us for a clear and fun explanation, the latest ...
When Will We Walk on Mars?
Walkabout the Galaxy - February 07, 2024 14:01 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsIn this special episode recorded live at MegaCon Orlando 2024, we are joined by NPR space reporter Brendan Byrne to take a close look at where we are in the mission to get people to the red planet. We take a look at the next steps in the Artemis program, and the history and future of robotic exp...
Large Cosmological Structures and JWST Spies a Binary TNO
Walkabout the Galaxy - January 31, 2024 11:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThere's another claim for a violation of the cosmological principle - that all parts of the universe are basically the same on large scales - but Top quark Jim Cooney explains all is not lost for the standard model of the universe, and more observations are needed. The JWST is providing amazing ...
Trojan Mysteries and Titan Snowbergs
Walkabout the Galaxy - January 24, 2024 11:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsStrange disappearing islands in the hydrocarbon lakes of Saturn's giant moon Titan may be fluffy icebergs of hydrocarbon snow. If you're on Titan, definitely don't eat the snow, yellow or not. As the Lucy mission heads towards the Trojan asteroids, questions remain about how this strange populat...
Agents of Chaos and Iron Snow
Walkabout the Galaxy - January 10, 2024 11:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsWhat role has Jupiter played in the existence of our warm and cosy home planet? Has it been bravely using its gravity to keep the inner solar system calm, or did we luck out and escape getting hurtled out of the solar system or dashed to bits in a giant collision? We’ll discuss new research that...
Globular Clusters and Life in Enceladus
Walkabout the Galaxy - December 21, 2023 16:30 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsNew analysis of Cassini data suggests more complex hydrocarbons are part of Enceladus's global sub-surface ocean. We discuss the prospects for life on this tiny moon. The JWST continues to deliver scientific bonanzas, now providing direct observations of globular clusters in very distant galaxie...
Pluto Cryovolcano and a Cosmological Supervoid
Walkabout the Galaxy - December 13, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsAt Pluto’s frigid temperatures, even what we breathe is frozen. This can give rise to unusual cryovolcanism, and new research suggests a super cryovolcano tens of kilometers across on the ninth planet (yes, we went there). Speaking of super things, we also review the argument that we are located...
Mysterious Cosmic Ray and Martian Airglow
Walkabout the Galaxy - December 06, 2023 11:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe second most energetic cosmic ray (really a particle) ever observed smashed into the Earth a couple of years ago, raising more questions about the origins of these incredibly energetic particles. Solar wind particles meanwhile smash into the planets, and now a green glow from Mars' atmosphere...
Ethical Dilemmas in Space Exploration
Walkabout the Galaxy - November 22, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe astroquarks are joined by Dr. Erika Nesvold, astrophysicist and author of “Off Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space” to explore some of the surprising problems people need to think about when going to space. We’re busy littering already, but that’s just the tip o...
The Origin of Supermassive Black Holes
Walkabout the Galaxy - November 15, 2023 13:36 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsJWST data confirm early formation of supermassive black holes, less than 500 million years after the big bang. This early formation suggests these monsters start off very large and form with the initial formation of the galaxy. We also take a closer look at the exciting results from the Lucy spa...
Dinky and the S8 Tension
Walkabout the Galaxy - November 08, 2023 11:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe Lucy spacecraft had its first asteroid encounter, revealing Dinkinesh to be a binary asteroid. In cosmology, a new simulation with a terrible acronym leaves the "S8 Tension" intact. Models of the expansion of the universe starting with our observations of the cosmic microwave background are...
The Surprising Interiors of Mars and Venus
Walkabout the Galaxy - November 01, 2023 13:40 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsNew research suggests that Venus, Earth’s twin gone bad, may have started off with tectonic plate activity, like Earth. This will help us understand the evolution of Earth-like planets and why they become hothouses like Venus. Our other planetary next-door neighbor, Mars, may have a deep molten ...
Detecting ETs and Intergalactic Baryons
Walkabout the Galaxy - October 25, 2023 10:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsFast Radio Bursts are back, this time providing a crucial measurement of the amount of normal matter in the universe. Top quark Jim Cooney explains how the interaction of light from very distant gamma ray bursts reveals the otherwise invisible matter sprinkled in the intergalactic void. Somewhat...
Neutron Star Quakes and the Streaming Instability
Walkabout the Galaxy - October 18, 2023 10:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsImages of the distant Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth add more weight to the pebble accretion model of planetesimal formation via the streaming instability. If that sounds strange, then you'll really love the story about comparing Fast Radio Burst statistics to earthquakes. This study suggests that ...
Pangaea Ultima, Antimatter Gravity, and the Evection Resonance
Walkabout the Galaxy - October 04, 2023 10:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThe next supercontinent could spell bad news for mammals. The equivalence principle passes another test, with antimatter atoms falling just like normal matter atoms, and Josh gets excited about the evection resonance and the role it may have played in the formation of Saturn’s rings. Plus, we ha...
Short Take: Asteroid Sample and Dark Matter Hopes
Walkabout the Galaxy - September 27, 2023 13:26 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsStrange and Top discuss the return of the sample from the asteroid Bennu and an intriguing measurement from a dark matter detector in Italy in this, our first Short Take episode. Sadly, the measurement has not been reproduced. Yet. A new detector in Australia will try to confirm the Italian resu...
Trouble in the Universe: El Gordo and Dinky
Walkabout the Galaxy - September 20, 2023 10:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 109 ratingsThere's more tension in the standard model of the history of the universe. Giant superclusters of galaxies formed early than we thought they could. These collosal structures trace their origins to quantum fluctuations in the early universe. Find out what it all means, plus chthonian planets, ast...
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