Astronomy Behind the Headlines: A Podcast for Informal Science Educators http://www.astrosociety.org/abh A look behind the latest headlines in astronomy and space science from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Feeder 1.5.10(880) http://reinventedsoftware.com/feeder/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:15:41 -0700 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:15:41 -0700 http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/abh/images/podcast-abh144.jpg Astronomy Behind the Headlines: A Podcast for Informal Science Educators http://www.astrosociety.org/abh 144 144 Astronomical Society of the Pacific no Astronomical Society of the Pacific webmaster@astrosociety.org no Episode 12: Science from the Moon http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH12.html Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:15:37 -0700 episode-12-science-from-the-moon In this episode, Dr. Jack Burns talks about lunar exploration and some exciting work his team is planning to do from the surface of the Moon. "What does the Moon mean to you?" is the theme for this year's International Observe the Moon Night on October 8, 2011. Our neighbor in space has always fascinated us, both culturally and scientifically. Starting with the first human steps in 1969, six of 11 Apollo missions landed astronauts on the Moon to do a variety of science experiments, which continue today. For example, the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment still exists, with scientists aiming lasers at reflectors on the Moon to measure its distance from Earth. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LRO, has sent back highly detailed images showing the locations of those first missions and the science lab equipment that was so much a part of humanity's first steps off our home planet. Scientists continue to explore the Moon, to understand its physical structure, and they plan to use it for future research in astrophysics and cosmology. In this episode of Astronomy Behind the Headlines, Dr. Jack Burns, of the University of Colorado's Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR), joins us to talk about lunar exploration and some exciting work his team is planning to do from the surface of the Moon. no Episode 11: The Active Sun http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH11.html Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:08:29 -0700 episode-11-the-active-sun This episode of Astronomy Behind the Headlines introduces us to the energetic atmosphere of our local star, the Sun, and how it can send great gusts of charged particles our way. With Dr. Phillip J. Erickson. This summer, several monster outbursts have erupted from the Sun. They released clouds of plasma that occupy a volume of space hundreds of times bigger than Earth. These blasts -- called coronal mass ejections -- emanate from active sunspot regions. If Earth were in their path, these huge eruptions could have had devastating effects on our power and communications systems, and on our satellites. Our planet dodged the danger, but the outbursts are a reminder we live with a variable star that can get pretty active from time to time. We are now headed into a time of increased solar activity. Scientists now have more capability to study and monitor activity on the Sun, including satellites such as STEREO and the Solar Dynamics Observatory. These space-based solar observatories are helping to revolutionize our understanding of our nearest star, and hopefully anticipate and mitigate the influence it has on our planet -- and our technology. With guest Dr. Phillip J. Erickson, MIT Haystack Observatory. no Episode 10: Galaxies in the Early Universe http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH10.html Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:16:54 -0700 episode-10-galaxies-in-the-early-universe In this episode, we explore the galaxies in the early universe and find out how astronomers know what they know about these very distant objects. With Dr. Rogier Windhorst. The first stars and galaxies began forming several hundred million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers are now able to probe back almost that far – to study the light from these distant objects. Among their major tools of exploration are the images and data in large surveys taken using the Hubble Space Telescope. The upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will be able to look back even farther in time to see the births of those first stars and the creation of the earliest galaxies. In this episode, we explore the galaxies in the early universe and find out how astronomers know what they know about these very distant objects. With guest Dr. Rogier Windhorst, Arizona State University. no Episode 9: Cosmic Chemistry http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH09.html Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:26:01 -0700 episode-8-cosmic-chemistry Astrobiology concerns itself with life in the universe. Astrobiologists and planetary scientists want to know if other planets could support life -- and what the evidence for such life might be. With Dr. David Grinspoon. Astrobiology concerns itself with life in the universe. Astrobiologists and planetary scientists want to know if other planets could support life -- and what the evidence for such life might be. By delving back into cosmic time they can understand how the elements for life originated and how they are distributed throughout the cosmos, creating the chemical origins for life. With guest Dr. David Grinspoon, Denver Museum of Nature and Science. no Episode 8, Part 2: Supernovae http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH08.html From time to time "guest stars" have appeared in the sky, at times shining bright enough to see during the daytime. We now know the "guest stars" are gigantic stellar explosions called supernovae. A supernova is the final explosion of a giant star coming to the end of its life. In a desire to understand supernovae, astronomers seek them out, hoping to learn more about how the universe is seeded with the raw materials needed for new stars, planets, and ultimately life.

In the second part of this special two-part edition of Astronomy Behind the Headlines we talk with Dr. Alex Filippenko about some current research and findings about supernovae.

]]> Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:18:50 -0700 episode-8-part-2-supernovae Episode 8, Part 1 takes a look at gigantic stellar explosions called supernovae. With guest Dr. Alex Filippenko. From time to time "guest stars" have appeared in the sky, at times shining bright enough to see during the daytime. We now know the "guest stars" are gigantic stellar explosions called supernovae. A supernova is the final explosion of a giant star coming to the end of its life. In a desire to understand supernovae, astronomers seek them out, hoping to learn more about how the universe is seeded with the raw materials needed for new stars, planets, and ultimately life. In the second part of this special two-part edition of Astronomy Behind the Headlines we talk with Dr. Alex Filippenko about some current research and findings about supernovae. no Episode 8, Part 1: Supernovae http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH08.html From time to time "guest stars" have appeared in the sky, at times shining bright enough to see during the daytime. We now know the "guest stars" are gigantic stellar explosions called supernovae. A supernova is the final explosion of a giant star coming to the end of its life. In a desire to understand supernovae, astronomers seek them out, hoping to learn more about how the universe is seeded with the raw materials needed for new stars, planets, and ultimately life.

In the first part of this special two-part edition of Astronomy Behind the Headlines we talk with Dr. Alex Filippenko about some current research and findings about supernovae.

]]> Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:18:47 -0700 episode-8-part-1-supernovae Episode 8, Part 1 takes a look at gigantic stellar explosions called supernovae. With guest Dr. Alex Filippenko. From time to time "guest stars" have appeared in the sky, at times shining bright enough to see during the daytime. We now know the "guest stars" are gigantic stellar explosions called supernovae. A supernova is the final explosion of a giant star coming to the end of its life. In a desire to understand supernovae, astronomers seek them out, hoping to learn more about how the universe is seeded with the raw materials needed for new stars, planets, and ultimately life. In the first part of this special two-part edition of Astronomy Behind the Headlines we talk with Dr. Alex Filippenko about some current research and findings about supernovae. no Episode 7: Gamma-Ray Bursts http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH07.html Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:17:44 -0700 episode-7-gammaray-bursts Episode 7 takes a look at gamma ray bursts, or GRBs, which are extraordinarily luminous events visible in only the highest energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum. With guest Dr. Dale Frail from National Radio Astronomy Observatory. First detected in 1967 by satellites searching for the signatures of nuclear weapon detonations in space, gamma ray bursts, or GRBs, are extraordinarily luminous events visible in only the highest energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Since then, scientists have speculated about the origin of these distant and highly energetic events. Recent observations have provided enough information for astronomers to figure out what some of the GRBs are. With guest Dr. Dale Frail from National Radio Astronomy Observatory. no Episode 6: Kepler and the Sun-Like Stars http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH06.html Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:43:58 -0700 episode-6-kepler-and-the-sunlike-stars Episode 6 takes a look at the Kepler mission and its search for the existence of Earth-like planets around distant stars. With guest Dr. Natalie Batalha from San Jose State University. Over the past decade and a half, astronomers have used both ground-based and space-based telescopes to discover more than 400 "extrasolar" planets. The Kepler space-based mission uses a technique called transit photometry to search for these planets. In January 2010 the Kepler mission team announced the discovery of five new planets. Four of them are massive worlds similar in size to Jupiter; the fifth is smaller, more like Neptune or Uranus. The ultimate goal of the Kepler mission is to search out the existence of Earth-like planets. With guest Dr. Natalie Batalha from San Jose State University. no Episode 5: Measuring the Black Hole http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH05.html Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:47:11 -0800 episode-5-measuring-the-black-hole In this edition of Astronomy Behind the Headlines we talked with Dr. Shep Doeleman at MIT’s Haystack Observatory about his team’s startling measurement of the accretion disk around the black hole Sagittarius A*. The Milky Way Galaxy has a black hole at its heart -- an object called Sagittarius A* (pronounced A-star). We can’t see it visually, but radio astronomers can easily spot it. A group led by Dr. Shep Doeleman at MIT’s Haystack Observatory made a startling measurement of the accretion disk around Sagittarius A*. In this edition of Astronomy Behind the Headlines we talked with Dr. Doeleman about his team’s discovery. no Episode 4: Impact on Jupiter http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH04.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:47:37 -0800 episode-3-impact-on-jupiter In this episode, Dr. Hammel discusses what her team learned from their observations of the 2009 Jupiter collision site using Hubble, Gemini, and Keck cameras. On July 19, 2009, Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley spotted a dark-colored scar high in the clouds over Jupiter’s southern polar region. It looked like the scars left behind by Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 when its shattered fragments crashed into Jupiter in the summer of 1994. Dr. Heidi B. Hammel is one of the astronomers who have studied the aftermath of this latest collision to learn about how Jupiter’s atmosphere responds to such collisions. In this episode, Dr. Hammel discusses what her team learned from their observations of the collision site using Hubble, Gemini, and Keck cameras. no 6:37 Episode 3: Water on the Moon http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH03.html Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:01:40 -0700 episode-3-water-on-the-moon In this episode, we hear about NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) water-hunting expeditions from Brian Day, the education and public outreach lead for the LCROSS mission. When humans return to the Moon to explore and live on its surface, those future lunar inhabitants will need safe habitats and plenty of water. As it turns out, the Moon may have all the water we need, locked away in ice deposits at its poles. Today, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) are allowing scientists to search for water at the lunar south pole. In this episode, we hear about this water-hunting expedition from Brian Day, the education and public outreach lead for the LCROSS mission. no 5:27 Episode 2: Cosmic Debris http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH02.html Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:47:21 -0700 episode-2-cosmic-debris In this episode with guest Dr. Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute, we explore those things that go "flash" in the night sky -- and often are romantically called "shooting stars". We'll also discuss other forms of cosmic debris, such as asteroids. In this episode with guest Dr. Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute, we explore those things that go "flash" in the night sky -- and often are romantically called "shooting stars". In reality, of course, they're not stars but "meteors". Now, meteors are not part of our weather, as people used to think, but are usually caused by pieces of rock that arrive from space at incredibly high speeds and collide violently with the air. These meteoroids can be as small as a grain of sand all the way up to a good-sized boulder and often come from streams of dust particles created by comets as they travel around the Sun. We'll also discuss other forms of cosmic debris, such as asteroids. no 7:56 Episode 1: Astrobiology http://www.astrosociety.org/abh/ABH01.html Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:36:30 -0700 episode-1-astrobiology This episode with guest Dr. Chris McKay from the NASA Ames Research Center talks about astrobiology and the search for life in the universe. This episode with guest Dr. Chris McKay from the NASA Ames Research Center talks about astrobiology and the search for life in the universe. Living things have been found in very extreme environments on Earth, like hot springs, or near underwater volcanoes, or hidden beneath the Antarctic ice pack, or even inside rocks. Could life exist in those same kinds of places on other planets? When we look for signs of life on other worlds, what would we look for? How do we search it out? And, how would we know if what we find is caused by living things -- or some other physical process? no 6:21