Nov 30, 2020
Astronomy Cast Ep. 586: Life As We Know It: Habitable Exoplanets & Extremophiles
by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay
As scientists continue to explore the Earth, they're discovering life, surviving and even thriving in extreme environments. What hints can this give us about what we might find as we search for live on other...
Nov 23, 2020
Astronomy Cast 585: Super Earths, Mini-Neptunes & Gas Dwarfs
by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay
Astronomers are finding even more new extrasolar planets and they're starting to discover entirely new categories. There are classes of planets out there that we just don't have any analog here in the solar system. Let's talk...
Nov 2, 2020
Astronomy Cast Ep. 584: Sample Return Missions From Asteroids
by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay
So with a sample of asteroid Bennu firmly inside OSIRIS-REx's return capsule, it's time to bring this treasure home. So scientists can study the composition and history of the space rock. But it's not the only sample return...
Oct 26, 2020
Astronomy Cast Ep. 583: The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics
by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay
This year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three brilliant researchers who worked out some of the secrets of black holes. Today we're going to talk about the chain of discoveries that led to this award.
Oct 19, 2020
Astronomy Cast Ep. 582: Building Bigger Black Holes
by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay
Did you hear the news? Nobel prizes for Black Holes! Now, we know there are stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes, but how do you get from one to the other? How do black holes get more massive?