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PODCAST

Astronomy Cast

Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay

Take a fact-based journey through the cosmos. Tune in to hear weekly discussions on astronomical topics ranging from planets to cosmology. Hosted by Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (Planetary Science Institute), this show brings the questions of an avid astronomy lover direct to an astronomer. Together Fraser and Pamela explore what is known and being discovered about the universe around us. Astronomy Cast is supported thru patreon.com/AstronomyCast.

science astronomy

All Episodes

30:30

Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomy

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/12/29

Astronomy Cast Ep. 776: The Matter - Antimatter Dichotomy By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 22, 2025. Shortly after the big bang there were almost exactly the same amounts of matter and antimatter in the Universe, but there was just enough of a difference that we live in a matter-dominated Universe. But it didn't have to be that way! Explaining this mystery has been one of the great mysteries in astronomy, and today we'll see if there's been any progress! Why is the Universe the

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34:34

Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/12/22

Astronomy Cast Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 15, 2025. Atomic hydrogen is the raw material for stars, but there's a problem. It's cold & dark, but it can do a very rare trick, releasing a photon in a very specific wavelength, known as the 21 centimeter line. And thanks to this wavelength astronomers have mapped out star forming regions across the Milky Way, the Universe and into the Dark Ages! This forbidden transition of Hydrogen has led to

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37:14

Ep. 774: How Does Bad Science Happen?

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/12/08

Astronomy Cast Ep. 774: How Does Bad Science Happen? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 8, 2025. Scientific expertise is under attack on all fronts with concerns coming from politicians and the public. While most of this is unwarranted and politically motivated, there can be germ of truth. Bad science does happen, but how? How is it that papers that very few believe still make it through peer review and to publication? Why do professors at prominent universities get quoted saying

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31:51

Ep. 773: What Would You Do With $1 Billion For...

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/12/01

Astronomy Cast Ep. 773: What Would You Do With $1 Billion For Astronomy? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 9, 2025. We are powerless fans of space exploration. But what if some fool gave us the authority and funding to make our space dreams a reality? Someone asked us what we'd do with a billion dollars. What missions? Which telescopes? But what if we had more? 100 Billion! A trillion! All the monies! You keep asking, and this week we answer you! Come hear what Fraser and Pamela

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31:47

Ep. 772: 2025 Gift Guide

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/11/24

Astronomy Cast Ep. 772: 2025 Gift Guide By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 9, 2025. It's time once again for our annual gift-giving guide. We've got recommendations for books, movies, TV shows, games, and of course astronomy gear to satisfy the space nerds in your family. The Christmas season is almost upon us, and with it comes excuses to inject science into the lives of those you love... or ask for them to give you that book, lens, or art print you already know you'll love. In

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32:32

Ep. 771: Comet Tails

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/11/17

Astronomy Cast Ep. 771: Comet Tails By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 8, 2025. With the arrival of the comet 3I/Atlas (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System), the world is getting a crash course in comets, their behavior, and of course their tails. Today we're going to talk about comets and their tails, why they exist, how they grow, why they can be different colors and how they can be sometimes point AT the Sun. Comets are one of the most animated and ephemeral targets

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41:51

Ep. 770: The Ethics of Mars Exploration

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/11/10

Astronomy Cast Ep. 770: The Ethics of Mars Exploration By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 3, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. It is arguable that humanity now has the technological ability to live on Mars. It would be done at enormous expense and sacrifice, and there are some tricky problems that we haven't solved yet. Although we could live on Mars, should we? There is a famous quote from Jurassic Park: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not

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30:40

Ep. 769: Little Red Dots

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/10/27

Astronomy Cast Ep. 769: Little Red Dots By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 20, 2025. New instruments bring new mysteries, and when James Webb came on line it uncovered a collection of strange, compact, bright objects shifted deeply into the red end of the spectrum. These were dubbed "Little red dots" or LRDs. And the astronomical community continues to puzzle over what they are. When JWST first peered into the distant past, it discovered the early universe had a rash of little red

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31:00

Ep. 768: Comets' Unpredictability

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/10/20

Astronomy Cast Ep. 768: Comets' Unpredictability By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 13, 2025. So it’s been decades since we’ve seen a bright comet in the sky. And actually there was a pair — Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake. And then, silence! And unmet promises by the Universe to give us a bright comet. Comets are unpredictable, and they arrive precisely when they intend to. Is it time again for a bright comet? If you asked us in January if 2025 was going to have any outstanding comets

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30:57

Ep. 767: Black Holes in Extreme Circumstances

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/10/13

Astronomy Cast Ep. 767: Black Holes in Extreme Circumstances By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay Streamed live on Oct 6, 2025. You can only describe a black hole by its mass and its spin. And maybe it’s charge. But allow us to propose a new criteria: the personal experience. Some black holes have seen things… Experienced the laws of physics at their most extreme. And today we’ll tell their stories. The more of the sky we observe, the more bizarre situations

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30:28

Ep. 766: How Spacecraft End

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/10/06

Astronomy Cast Ep. 766: How Spacecraft End By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay End-of-Life Planning for Your Spacecraft! Streamed live October 1, 2025. Your spacecraft has reached the end of its mission. You’ve done everything you can to keep it operational, but now it’s time to say goodbye. How do space agencies deal with spacecraft to shut them down gracefully, protect future missions and life on other worlds. So, the time has come to see your mission across the Rainbow Bridge. How exactly do you say

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35:18

Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/09/29

Astronomy Cast Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 22, 2025. We don’t launch a lot of rockets every year, so their impact on the environment is minimal compared to other forms of transportation. But that number is steadily increasing with rates that we’ll have to take seriously. What’s the current and future impact of rockets on the environment Rocket facilities are often surrounded by wildlife preserves and they always fly through our atmosphere

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33:03

Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch!

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/09/22

Astronomy Cast Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live September 17, 2025. This week, we look at the process behind rockets getting licensed to launch, and everyone around the pad getting notified to stay away as T-0 approaches. (Can you say "errant boat"?) We have a saying around here: “One does not simply book a return trip from a rocket launch.” That’s because they are an intensely complex chain of events that need to go right before it’s wise to let that rocket

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30:11

Ep. 763: Interstellar Comets

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/09/15

Astronomy Cast Ep. 763: Interstellar Comets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Sep 8, 2025. Welcome to the first episode of our 19th season! This week we look at objects coming from other solar systems that come passing on by our Sun. During the summer hiatus the 3rd interstellar object was discovered: Comet 3I/ATLAS! So now we have 3 different interstellar interlopers to compare & contrast. What are we starting to learn about other star systems from this small sample size and how will

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48:09

Ep. 762: Science in Crisis - NASA’s New Budget

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/07/07

Astronomy Cast Ep. 762: Science in Crisis - NASA’s New Budget By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 30, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay Normally we try to end the season on a high note. But there’s unfolding news that we just HAVE to cover before we leave you for the summer. NASA’s new budget is here, and it’s 25% smaller. We’ll cover what the changes are and try to understand the implications. It's a bad decade to be a researcher. We're going to look at why, and

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30:31

Ep. 761: It's Here! The Vera Rubin Observatory

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/06/30

Astronomy Cast Ep. 761: It's Here! The Vera Rubin Observatory By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 25, 2025. The time has come. The mighty Vera Rubin Observatory has finally come on line and delivered its “first light” images. And by Pamela’s rules that means we get to talk about it! So let’s do that! After decades of waiting, we have images from Vera Rubin Observatory! SUPPORTED BY YOU This Episode is made possible thanks to our Patrons on Patreon. Join at the Galaxy Group level or

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28:59

Ep. 760: What to Look For This Summer

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/06/23

Astronomy Cast Ep. 760: What to Look For This Summer By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 16, 2025. It’s almost time for our annual summer hiatus, but before we go, we wanted to direct you towards all the fun and space stuff we’ll be enjoying this summer. We’ve got meteor showers, planets, rocket launches, TV shows, movies! Here’s what’s good. In a couple of weeks, we'll go on hiatus, but we want to make sure you are ready for stuff we can anticipate happening. SUPPORTED BY YOU

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35:06

Ep. 759: The Commercial Space Program

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/06/16

Astronomy Cast Ep. 759: The Commercial Space Program By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 9, 2025. Humanity has turned its focus back to the Moon, sending a fleet of spacecraft to the lunar surface. Some are run by the government, but there’s a whole new group of commercial landers bearing instruments to the lunar surface. Is this the future of lunar exploration? Space used to be a place occupied by government-funded and military missions, but today, we're seeing the rise... and fall

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31:03

Ep. 758: Non-Roving Rovers

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/06/02

Astronomy Cast Ep. 758: Non-Roving Rovers By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 26, 2025. Some of our favorite robots are rovers currently roving around the surface of the Moon & Mars. But there’s some pretty tricky terrain out there and engineers are scheming up clever ways to explore other worlds inspired by life that crawls, slithers, hops and flies. As we explore more surfaces and more complex surfaces throughout the solar system, mission teams are designing robot explorers that

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33:13

Ep. 757: CubeSats

Astronomy Cast ·

2025/05/26

Astronomy Cast Ep. 757: CubeSats By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 19, 2025. Computers are getting smaller, faster and more capable, which has enabled an entirely mew class of satellites: CubeSats. A mission small enough that you can hold it in your hands, and yet powerful enough to even travel to other planets and send messages home. Every year, our electronics seem to get smaller and more powerful, with today's smart watches being more fully featured than the computers Pamela

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