60-Second Space
Summary: Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of astronomy and space exploration. For a full-length, weekly podcast you can subscribe to Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American. To view all of our archived podcasts please go to www.scientificamerican.com/podcast
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- Artist: Scientific American
- Copyright: 2013 Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Podcasts:
Although the Kepler space telescope's stabilization system is beyond repair, it has produced reams of data that have yet to be fully searched for exoplanets. John Matson reports
The only issue related to the flip of the sun's magnetic field is that it corresponds with the peak of the sunspot cycle, when the sun is prone to launch flares and bursts of plasma into space that can affect satellites and power grids. John Matson reports
Since it landed on Mars on August 6, 2012, the Curiosity rover has done photography, geology and roamed a good kilometer. John Matson reports
A huge cloud of plasma south of our galactic black hole could be evidence of a past feeding frenzy. John Matson reports
Theory said that muon neutrinos could transform into electron neutrinos. A neutrino detector confirms this by catching many more electron neutrinos than it should have otherwise. John Matson reports
The black hole in galaxy NGC 1277 is way more massive than usual. Astronomers hypothesize it was ejected from another galaxy before settling in its new home. John Matson reports
The star WX UMa went from 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit to 30,000 degrees F in less than three minutes. Chris Crockett reports
A reaction between two common molecules occurs much faster at frosty interstellar temperatures than on our toasty Earth due to a cold-stabilized transition and quantum tunneling. John Matson reports
Three teenage Texas model rocketeers beat out teams from France and the U.K. to claim top honors at this year's International Rocketry Competition. John Matson reports
Looking at the Himiko Galaxy as it was just 800 million years after the big bang offers a glimpse at how the most massive galaxies took shape. John Matson reports
Segue 2, one of dozens of "companion" galaxies that orbit the Milky Way, is now the smallest galaxy known. Michael Moyer reports
A side benefit of NASA's Curiosity rover mission is that we now know about how much radiation an interplanetary traveler would face. John Matson reports
Isotopic analysis of water trapped in volcanic glass in lunar samples show that the moon has more water than thought, and the water there and on Earth had the same origins. Karen Hopkin reports
After nine (Earth) years of slowly traversing Mars, Opportunity broke the U.S. off-world rover record held by Apollo 17's lunar buggy since 1972. John Matson reports.
Silicon-rich rocky material was found around white dwarfs in the Hyades star cluster by the Hubble Space Telescope, despite the fact that almost no known planets exist in star clusters. John Matson reports
