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PODCAST

Walkabout the Galaxy

Joshua Colwell, Adrienne Dove, and James Cooney

An irreverent and informative tour of the latest, greatest, and most interesting discoveries in astronomy.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

46:20

Detecting ETs and Intergalactic Baryons

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/10/25

Fast 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 closer to home, JWST is providing tantalizing glimpses of the composition of extrasolar planets, a technique that may one day discover alien life. Join us for these and other discoveries, space news, and

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49:25

Neutron Star Quakes and the Streaming Instability

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/10/18

Images 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 these energetic bursts of radiation may be produced by quakes on neutron stars. Join us for these stories, space news, and space history trivia.

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51:21

Pangaea Ultima, Antimatter Gravity, and the Evection...

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/10/04

The 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 have top quark trivia and a nerd news rant. Join us!

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19:22

Short Take: Asteroid Sample and Dark Matter Hopes

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/09/27

Strange 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 result.

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48:56

Trouble in the Universe: El Gordo and Dinky

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/09/20

There'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, asteroid encounters and more on Walkabout the Galaxy.

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53:41

Ho'oleilana and Weird Spots on Mercury

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/09/13

This episode is about hollows in space on very different scales and for very different reasons. Ho'oleilana is the largest observed structure in the universe, a bubble of sorts defined by great sheets of galactic superclusters whose size is a reflection of acoustic oscillations in the very early universe. Closer to home, we take a look at mysterious hollows on Mercury indicative of some sort of recent geologic activity. Join us to learn about these strange features, space news, radiation trivia and

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47:15

Water in the Solar System - Dragoncon 2023

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/09/07

The astroquarks report from Dragoncon 2023 on the surprisingly diverse distribution of water in the solar system, where it came from, and the prospects for life on other worlds. We are joined by planetary geologist R. Scott Harris for this special episode with a live audience. This episode of Walkabout the Galaxy also features obscure sci-fi trivia, space news, and your hosts in silly costumes.

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47:44

Diamonds, Granite, and Hubble Tension

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/08/30

When we think of all the wonderfully unique things about the Earth as a planet (liquid water on the surface, life, plate tectonics), the existence of lovely granite kitchen countertops doesn’t usually make the list. But it turns out granite is uncommon elsewhere in the solar system. But there’s a big hot blob of it underneath the lunar surface. We’ll explain that, the origin of diamonds on Earth, and take a closer look at the puzzling discrepancy of values of the Hubble constant thanks to JWST. Join

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47:21

The Sun Bounces Gamma Rays and a Muon Surprise

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/08/16

The Sun is showering us with far more gamma rays than anticipated according to new measurements from a Cerenkov radiation detector in Mexico. The way those gamma rays are produced is very cool. Also cool: data continue to suggest a significant problem with the so-called standard model of particle physics. Muons are misbehaving, and it may suggest a fifth, previously undescribed and unknown, force of nature. Check out all that cool stuff, silly sponsors and trivia, and space news on this episode of

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49:03

Rogue Planets Galore and the Age of the Universe

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/08/09

We take a look at two extraordinary astronomical news items in this episode. A deep dive into an astronomical survey has discovered an Earth-sized rogue planet and a Neptune-sized rogue planet. Extrapolating from those discoveries, there may be trillions of Earth-sized rogue planets roaming the galaxy. That's more than the number of stars in the Milky Way! We also explore the question of early galaxies and a model that suggests the universe is older than the standard model. As a bonus, we have some

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45:55

Dark Stars and Water in Hot Places

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/08/02

The JWST has spotted water vapor in the hot inner region of a protoplanetary disk, the same region where rocky planets like are own are expected to form. This suggests water can be incorporated into terrestrial planets during formation, without relying on comet impacts. Much, much further away, a new interpretation of JWST results is consistent with dark stars. They are actually quite bright, but are powered by the annihilation of dark matter rather than by nuclear fusion. Catch up on these

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44:29

X-Rays from Mercury and a Different Kind of...

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/07/26

We think of aurora as an atmospheric phenomenon, but what happens when high energy particles from the Sun directly impact a planetary surface? Mercury reveals another cool planetary twist with auroral-like emission from its surface. Meanwhile, Jim and and Josh are gobsmacked by the old news of a big gravitational potential hump in the Indian ocean caused by upwelling of low-density magma far below. Catch up on all the cool space news with the astroquarks.

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52:43

The Rumble in the Universe

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/07/12

Nature has provided us with exquisitely accurate clocks in the form of pulsars, those rapidly rotating neutron stars whose beams of radiation act like high-powered lighthouses across the galaxy. We discuss the amazing discovery of a deep, low, rumble of gravitational waves across the universe by analyzing the periods of 79 of those pulsar lighthouses. Closer to home, there's evidence for a major climate shift on Mars 400,000 years ago that lines up with changes in Mars's spin. Check it all out on

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50:14

All Things Dark: Matter, Energy, and More

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/06/28

Top quark has a field day in this episode with a model for fuzzy dark matter, new data that could shed light on dark energy, and a cool x-ray echo from the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. Closer to home, we take a look at how JWST is helping us determine if exoplanets have comfortable greenhouse effect atmospheres. Plus, we have a surprising spaceship trivia question and a space travel stumper.

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50:30

Earth's Pebble Accretion and the Boring Billion

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/06/21

New analysis of radioisotopes of meteorites and the Earth suggest the Earth formed in only a few million years via a process called pebble accretion. This may mean the Earth’s water was incorporated early and gradually rather than through late impacts. Recent determinations of the historical length of the Earth’s day suggest it stalled out at 19 hours for a cool billion years, and we still have a ways to go to get to 25 hours when we can all sleep in. Find out about the Earth’s history, supermassive

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46:32

Supernovae Near and Far

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/06/14

There’s a bright supernova in a nearby galaxy, and a very distant supernova made brighter by the beauty of gravitational lensing. In another galaxy, a gargantuan black hole is revealed to be orbited by another supermassive black hole, resulting in a gamma ray flares as it rips through the main black hole’s accretion disk. Closer to home, we learn about new asteroid missions and a rapidly warming planet (hint: it’s ours). Plus: Harrison Ford and Leonard Nimoy trivia!

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50:40

Is the Universe Left or Right-Handed?

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/05/31

Lefty astroquark Jim Cooney leads us on an exploration of what it means for the universe to have chirality. In other words, is there a break in parity in the way galaxies are distributed, or would the universe look the same if we saw its mirror image? The answer and its possible explanation are fascinating. And Josh gets to once again talk about one of his favorite topics, Saturn’s rings, and new results on their age.

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48:33

Scary Things That Can Happen To Planets

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/05/24

We take a deep dive into the origin of Mars’s moons and whether they are chips off the old block. There’s no research to explain the mystery of why Mars and the rest of the planets are even here after billions of years, when the solar system seems to be inherently unstable. And astronomers may have caught a star in the act of gobbling up a planet in the first stages of the star’s death throes. Catch up on these scary things that can happen to a planet, space news, and Top quark trivia.

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50:39

Crazy Rings, Watery Moons, and Ancient Black Holes

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/05/10

We explore the strange ring system of dwarf planet Quaoar, and discuss a new study that suggests that Uranus's four largest moons (which aren't really very large!) may have subsurface salty oceans. In the astrophysical realm, black holes may have emerged from the chaotic soup of energy during the inflation era when the universe was not even minutes old. Add to that some nerdy computer trivia and you've got yourself another episode of Walkabout the Galaxy!

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49:37

The Impact of Impacts on Water on Mars

Walkabout the Galaxy ·

2023/04/26

New calculations show how large impacts onto Mars may have boosted its greenhouse effect, helping explain how it was warm enough for all those rivers and lakes billions of years ago. If that explains Mars' early warm climate, it could be bad news for potential for life there. Futher from home, dust has been observed star forming regions in the Small Magellanic Cloud where the abundance of planet-building raw materials is low. Check out these stories, space news, and special top quark trivia.

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361 results

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