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Universe Today Podcast

Fraser Cain
Universe Today Podcast
Latest episode

1526 episodes

  • Universe Today Podcast

    [Q&A+] Moon Atmosphere, Habitable Quasars, Sun's Red Giant Phase

    2026/04/10 | 18 mins.
    BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:22
    Will Jupiter system become habitable? How much atmosphere could the Moon hold onto? Do quasars have a habitable zone? And in Q&A+, is transpirational cooling better than a heat shield?
    00:00 Intro

    00:24 [@Shrouded_Gh05t] Do I think Europa or Titan has life on it?

    03:42 [@GadZookz] If Venus had a moon would it be any different?

    05:17 [@jamesmnguyen] What's the max atmosphere The Moon could hold onto?

    06:44 [@Storm-Krow] Could current students work with James Webb or ELT?

    09:49 [@PhoenixWarp1] Would Jupiter or Saturn become habitable during Sun's red giant phase? 10:49 [@ThexBorg] Do quasars have a habitable zone?

    13:22 [@irwin2335] Transpirational cooling, better than a heat shield?

    15:15 Outro
  • Universe Today Podcast

    [Interview+] What Would It Take to Catch Up With a Meteorite?

    2026/04/08 | 35 mins.
    Earth is hit by meteorites every day. Some are harmless, some could be dangerous. But now we have the most advanced tool to discover and predict them, the Vera Rubin Observatory. Will it be enough to predict a hit with enough precision to catch up a meteorite mid-flight? Finding out in this interview.
    👉 NOIRLab Interview https://youtu.be/VKrpJODdEM0
    🟣 Guest: Ian Chow https://ia-chow.github.io/
    📜 Predictions of Imminent Earth Impactors Discovered by LSST https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05587
    00:00 Intro

    01:54 Working with Vera Rubin

    04:33 Early detections

    14:12 How can we improve

    18:20 Big threats

    22:00 New method to identify asteroids

    27:43 Amateur observations

    31:52 Current obsessions

    33:08 Final thoughts
  • Universe Today Podcast

    [Q&A+] Ring Galaxies' Origin, Project Orion, Comet Hitting The Moon | Q&A 412

    2026/04/07 | 19 mins.
    BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:39
    Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gIOPdaFyjFY
    How did the ring galaxies get their weird shape? Could we redirect a comet to hit the Moon? Could Project Orion ever launch? And in Q&A+, how bad did AI hit astronomy jobs?
    00:00 Intro

    00:23 [@billionsandbillionsofstars] Can we expect a meteor storm in our lifetime?

    02:48 [@CynicExtraordinaire] Will Project Orion ever work?

    05:03 [@PhoboScorpio] Can you power a spaceship with Jupiter?

    09:48 [@vistotutti6037] Could we redirect a comet into the Moon?

    12:33 [@EdSceptic-y2e] How did ring galaxies form?

    13:39 [@ShaanGrilla] How bad the AI is affecting Astro jobs?

    17:42 Outro
  • Universe Today Podcast

    [Interview+] Can Mars Fight Back The Contamination from Earth

    2026/04/06 | 30 mins.
    BONUS PART STARTS AT 18:21
    Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K6LbP3Q1iMM
    Going to Mars means contaminating it with Earth's life. Most probably, we have already done it with our landers. But it appears, things might not be as bad as Mars could have a natural "built-in" protection against contamination. How does it work? Finding out in this interview.
    🟣 Guest: Dr. Corien Bakermans https://altoona.psu.edu/person/corien-bakermans-phd
    📜 ‘Water bears’ reveal potential for adapting, protecting Martian resources https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/water-bears-reveal-potential-adapting-protecting-martian-resources
    0:00 Intro

    01:48 Fantastic Tardigrades and where to find them

    03:25 Martian regolith vs life

    07:13 Earth soil vs Mars regolith

    09:10 Experimental setup

    14:49 Contamination risks for Mars

    17:13 What's next for the research

    18:21 Sub-zero bacteria

    25:08 Current obsessions

    28:56 Final thoughts
  • Universe Today Podcast

    [Space Bites+] Unexpected Comet Behaviour // Artemis 2 Launched // NO-Dark-Matter Galaxy

    2026/04/03 | 25 mins.
    BONUS STORY STARTS AT 20:11
    👉 Interviews on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmnK1xmCRad_8bn0uOcmLiIE
    👉 Interviews on Patreon (free for everyone) https://www.patreon.com/collection/44300?view=expanded
    🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
    Artemis II lifts off for the moon. A comet slows down and reverses its rotation. Galaxies found without dark matter. Anti-matter goes for a ride. And in Space Bites Plus, how humanity is slowing down the rotation of the Earth.
    00:00 Intro

    00:17 Artemis 2 Launched https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-artemis-generation-begins-artemis-ii-launches-for-the-moon

    02:40 Moonfall Drones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsK-ff2Mycg

    04:33 Never Seen Before Comet Behaviour https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-detects-first-ever-spin-reversal-of-tiny-comet/

    06:35 Another Galaxy with NO Dark Matter https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-find-a-third-galaxy-missing-its-dark-matter-validating-a-violent-cosmic-collision-theory

    10:13 AI Helped Finding Hundreds of Exoplanets https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scouring-tess-data-with-ai-reveals-a-hundred-new-exoplanets

    12:12 Transporting Antimatter https://home.cern/news/press-release/experiments/base-experiment-cern-succeeds-transporting-antimatter

    15:04 Vote results

    15:53 Robotic Refueling https://www.china-in-space.com/p/sustain-space-successfully-completes

    17:20 Plants for Mars https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mars-plant-growth-from-cyanobacteria-based-fertilizer

    19:07 Celebrating Spring https://www.universetoday.com/articles/to-celebrate-the-coming-of-spring-nasa-releases-images-of-blossaming-stellar-nurseries

    20:11 BONUS STORY https://www.universetoday.com/articles/we-are-slowing-down-the-planet

    22:28 Interviews

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About Universe Today Podcast

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