The 365 Days of Astronomy

Hosted by Avivah Yamani, our Director. What are constellations? Explore their history, science, and cultural meanings across civilizations, including how we see them from Indonesia.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com...

Hosted by Dr. Paul M. Sutter. What did the Universe do to make so many defects? What happens when they get trapped? And could they be hiding right in front of our noses? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!   Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books   Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, an...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGx1NvLO8FA Hosted by: Fraser Cain ( @frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay ( @CosmoQuest ) Streamed live April 17, 2026. Even though humanity has returned samples from a fraction of the worlds in the solar system, the cosmos has delivered many more without us having to lift a finger. Meteorites. We have meteorites from the Moon, Vesta and even Mars! What have we learned about these rocks from other worlds? Space missions to other worlds cost millions to billions of dollars, and if we want to know exactly where space...

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From October & November, 2025 Today's 2 topics: - Scientists are using many approaches to understanding the nature and history of 3I/Atlas the third known interstellar traveler in the night. At a hyperbolic velocity of 130,000 mph it is the fastest interstellar visitor ever measured.   - On a recent clear night my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Hannes Groller was asteroid hunting with the S...

Episode 531. Just a reminder for people to write in with their questions for David Nagler. Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan who enjoy teaching astronomy classes and showing the public views through their telescopes. actualastronomy@gmail.com Some binocular astronomy targets: - M40 - 9.6 Magnitude 1.7' This is a pair of faint stars located in Ursa Major. They are a tough find in binoculars, and you will be challenged to split them with binoculars. In telescopes, they appear to be an identical...

From Wednesday, April 15, 2026. This week, in the first of our new shorter and more frequent episodes, we are going to take a look at the interplay of plate tectonics, geology, climate, and life. Specifically, we're looking at the interplay between super volcanoes and us! Did you know Naples is on a supervolcano? Also, in this episode: human sperm get lost in space.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmtCX-TBgfE The Plans For a Mars Sample Return Mission. Hosted by Fraser Cain. From Aug 28, 2019. 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 S...

Cheap Astronomy investigates why light moves at light speed in a vacuum. Hosted by Steve Nerlich. Shining a light! Dear Cheap Astronomy – Why does a photon travel at speed c, part1 It may sound a bit strange to ask why light travels at the speed of light, but that's because c isn't really the speed of light – it's really a measure of the relationship between distance (or space) and time. It's become customary to call c the speed of light, but in reality light moves at different and slower speeds through air...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBHzV4y7G5A Hosted by Tony Darnell. From May 23, 2025. The COSMOS-Web dataset represents the deepest look into our universe done by #JWST.     We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ <...

http://www.astronomycast.com/archive/ From October 26, 2009. Launching a rocket into space requires a big effort on the ground. Space agencies have built up huge infrastructures to store, prepare and launch rockets. Let's take a look at what's involved on the ground at a place like Cape Canaveral. What happens before, during and after a launch.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! ...

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From October 2025. Today's 2 topics: - The Lagrange point L4 is 60° ahead of Mars whereas L5 is 60° behind Mars on the red planet's orbital path about the Sun. An object placed at either of these locations is trapped gravitationally and is likely to remain there indefinitely. The Mars L4 and L5 locations could provide a permanent place for staging and resupply missions to Mars and wo...

Astronomers have discovered one of the most chemically primitive stars ever identified — an ancient stellar relic that preserves the chemical imprint of the very first stars in the Universe. In this podcast, Dr. Ani Chiti discusses the discovery of this ancient star and what it tells us about star formation in the early Universe.    Bios:  - Rob Sparks is in the Communications, Education and Engagement group at NSF's NOIRLab in Tucson, Arizona. - Dr. Anirudh Chiti is a Brinson Prize Fellow at Stanford University, interested in the formation of the first stars...

From April 1, 2026. No foolin'! Once again, we're going to attempt to get you up to date with what is going down at NASA. In addition to NASA updates, we have stories of science that comes in twos. From 2 planets forming in a disk to 2 stars coming together to shine brightly, to two asteroids that together orbit the Sun a bit faster, to two planets that collided, … it is a week for pairs.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visi...

https://spacescoop.org/en/scoops/2602/a-rule-breaking-supermassive-black-hole/ Astronomers have spotted a supermassive black hole, or SMBH, that is breaking all the rules! Well, one rule anyway. It's called eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey, or eFEDS, J084222.9+001000. Whew! It is also called ID830, don't ask me why, so that's what I'll call it. Way easier!   Anyway… Most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their center. They grow by sucking down clouds of gas & dust nearby - like a powerful vacuum cleaner in space. As the black hole, uh, eats, the gas swirls inw...

Paul Hill and Dr. Jenifer "Dr. Dust" Millard host.  Damien Phillips, John Wildridge and Dustin Ruoff produce. This episode Paul and Jeni look at a possible gravitational wave solution to the Hubble tension, NASA's new nuclear deep space engine, Hubble telescope boosting, and more news on the destruction of British science. There is also our monthly skyguide to to get you looking up.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and don...

Hosted by Dr. Paul M. Sutter. What makes the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas so weird? Why are we finding so many interstellar visitors recently? How are they made, and where do they come from? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!   Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/PaulMSutter Read a book: https://www.pmsutter.com/books   Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, ph...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me0MNCIuLs8 Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed live on Mar 30, 2026. A star like the Sun only lasts about 10 billion years and it becomes a red giant and finally a white dwarf. This is catastrophic for some of the planets, consumed by the expanding red giant star. But most survive. What happens next in the long, slow cooling to the background temperature of the Universe?   This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast ...

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From October 2025. Today's 2 topics: - The planets, millions of asteroids, tens of thousands of comets, distant icy worlds, and countless other bits and pieces of material orbit the Sun. A group of such co-orbiting objects is called the Taurid complex or swarm. It consists of Comet 2P/Enke, a number of near Earth asteroids, and the meteor stream which produces the Taurid meteor shower...

Hosted by Avivah Yamani, our Director. What's up in the equatorial sky this month? April 2026 brings a spectacular alignment of Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, forming a tight celestial triangle just before sunrise. We also track the journey of the 'Evening Star' Venus as it meets the Seven Sisters, and prepare for the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower under dark, moonless skies. Plus, don't miss the rare occultation of asteroid Strenua, a must-see event for observers in Java, Sumatra, and beyond.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to s...

From Wednesday, March 25, 2026. In this special episode, funded by the National Science Foundation, we're taking a break from the headlines to share the background story of comets. Today, we'll focus on the origin of comets and their basic anatomy, and in future episodes, we'll dive deep into how comets are discovered, what we can learn from them, and how they can literally and figuratively impact our world.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365Da...