Universe Today Audio

There are many hazards out there, eager to disrupt and dismantle the mighty machines we send out into space. How long can they survive to perform their important missions? Every few months, an eager new spacecraft arrives on the launch pad, ready for its date with destiny. If we don’t blow it all to bits […]

Our Sun regularly pelts the Earth with all kinds of radiation and charged particles. Just how bad can these solar storms get? In today’s episode, we’re going to remind you how looking outside of the snow globe can inspire your next existential crisis. You guys remember the Sun right? Look how happy that little fella […]

When humans finally travel into space, where will we live? Will we ever be able to colonize gas giants like Jupiter? NASA and Elon Musk have plans to get your ass to Mars. It’s not impossible to imagine humans living and working on the Red Planet. Maybe they’ll be crusty asteroid miners making their fortune […]

It’s a reasonable question to wonder what the shape of the Universe is. Is it a sphere? A torus? Is it open or closed, or flat? And what does that all mean anyway? The Universe. It’s the only home we’ve ever known. Thanks to its intrinsic physical laws, the known constants of nature, and the […]

We call it the Moon, but… what’s its real name? You know, the name that scientists call the Moon. As of 2015, there are 146 official moons in the Solar System, and then another 27 provisional moons, who are still waiting on the status of their application. All official moons have names after gods or […]

When we think of astronauts, we think of humans. But there have been plenty of animals who have traveled in space as well. When we think of spaceflight, we think astronauts. You’re a human, you perceive the Universe with your human-centric attitudes. You… specist. The reality is that the vast number of living things sent […]

In order to fly in space, astronauts need to make a few sacrifices, like drink their own urine. Yuck? Don’t worry, it’s totally safe. Astronauts are a resourceful bunch. They’re the best of the best of the best of the best. They’re ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done. WHATEVER IT […]

Look up, way up. It’s entirely possible that you’re looking right at a satellite, which is watching you right back. What kind of Earth Observation technology is possible? Feel like somebody’s watching you? Well buckle up Rockwell, because somebody totally is. From space, definitely. And by the spiders. Oh, how the spiders love to watch. […]

Could there be a mirror universe, where everything is backwards – and everybody has goatees? How badly do you need to bend the laws of physics to make this happen? One of the great mysteries in cosmology is why the Universe is mostly matter and not antimatter. If you want to learn more about that […]

Have you ever wondered if the Solar System and the Milky Way line up perfectly, like plates spinning within plates? This is something you can test out for yourself. We love to answer your questions, this one is clearly a fan favorite in the category of the “Wouldn’t it be crazy if…”. Our Solar System […]

Nothing lasts forever, not even black holes. According to Stephen Hawking, black holes will evaporate over vast periods of time. But how, exactly, does this happen? The actor Stephen Hawking is best known for his cameo appearances in Futurama and Star Trek, you might surprised to learn that he’s also a theoretical astrophysicist. Is there […]

When a massive star reaches the end of its life, it can explode as a supernova. How quickly does this process happen? Our Sun will die a slow sad death, billions of years from now when it runs out of magic sunjuice. Sure, it’ll be a dramatic red giant for a bit, but then it’ll […]

We hear that black holes absorb all the light that falls into them. And yet, we hear of black holes shining so brightly we can see them halfway across the Universe. What’s going on? Which is it? I remember back to a classic episode of the Guide to Space, where I provided an extremely fascinating […]

We’ve seen way too many science fiction episodes that show asteroid belts as dense fields of tumbling boulders. How dense is the asteroid belt, and how to spacecraft survive getting through them? For the purposes of revenue, lazy storytelling, and whatever it is Zak Snyder tells himself to get out of bed in the morning, […]

It seems like the good times will go on forever, so feel free to keep on wasting energy. But entropy is patient, and eventually, it’ll make sure there’s no usable energy left in the Universe. Thanks to the donations of generations of dinosaurs and their plant buddies, we’ve got fossils to burn. If we ever […]