Astronomy Cast Ep. 715: Total Eclipse of the Science: Experiments During the Eclipse by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live April 1, 2024. NO JOKES! How to watch a solar eclipse and do some science!   The next great eclipse is upon us, with viewers across North America witnessing the moon passing in front of the Sun. It’s an amazing experience, but also an opportunity to do science. Let’s talk about what we can learn from this momentous event.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Polestra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 714: Orbital Resonances by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 25, 2024. Several of the planets and moons in the Solar System are in orbital resonance, orbiting in a geometric lockstep. And not just the Solar System, astronomers have found the same resonances in other star systems.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 713: Solar System Volcanoes by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 18, 2024. Last week was one of the most exciting meetings we’ve seen from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, with hundreds of announcements and discoveries from various missions. One theme kept coming up, the Solar System is more volcanically active than we thought. Today, we’ll explore volcanism on other worlds.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 712: How Peer Review Fails by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 11, 2024.   You’ve probably heard that the best kind of science is peer-reviewed research published in a prestigious journal. But peer review has problems of its own. We’ll talk about that today.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 711: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live March 4, 2024. NASA works on many missions using tried and true technology, but they also invest in creative ideas that could drive the future of space exploration. It’s called NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts or NIAC.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 710: NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 26, 2024. In the olden days, NASA developed its missions using a variety of in-house engineers and external suppliers. As more commercial companies are targeting the Moon, NASA is working with partners to deliver its payloads to the lunar surface. Today let’s talk about NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Program.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 709: Space Weapons by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 19, 2024. [My apologies for Fraser’s audio dropouts. We’re not sure how it happened as it wasn’t happening at his studio. Audio is a black art, IMHO. Rich) Last week we learned that Russia might be planning nuclear weapons to take out satellites in space. What is the current and future possibility of weapons in space and what are the treaties designed to prevent them?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit (rhymes with right) Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 708: What Goes Into Sample Return Missions From Asteroids & Comets? by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Feb 12, 2024. Last week we talked about sample return missions from the Moon and Mars, but scientists have retrieved samples from other objects in the Solar System, including comets and asteroids. What does it take to return a piece of rock from space, and what have we learned so far?   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit ( rhymes with right) Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 707: What Goes Into A Sample Return Mission? Moon & Mars by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 5, 2024. We’ve sent robots to other worlds, but the amount of science we can deploy to another planet can’t compare with the vast science labs we have on Earth. That’s why more and more missions are for a sample return, bringing pieces of alien worlds back to Earth, where we study them with proper equipment.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit ( rhymes with right) Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra Brian Cagle David Truog Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela

Astronomy Cast Ep. 706: China’s Space Program by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 30, 2024. We’re so familiar with NASA’s exploration efforts in space, but you might be surprised to learn that China launches almost as many rockets as the US. They’ve got their own space exploration program that could soon bring humans to the surface of the Moon. Let’s give a brief overview of China’s space exploration plans.   This video was made possible by the following Patreon members: Jordan Young BogieNet Stephen Veit Jeanette Wink Siggi Kemmler Andrew Poelstra David Truog Brian Cagle Ed David Gerhard Schwarzer THANK YOU! - Fraser and Dr. Pamela