List of 2008 Astronomy Cast episodes
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Astronomy Cast
episodes released in 2008, with links to relevant Wikipedia articles.
Astronomy Cast
Astronomy Cast is an educational nonprofit podcast discussing various topics in the field of astronomy. The specific subject matter of each episode shifts from week to week, ranging from planets and stars to cosmology and mythbusting...
episodes released in 2008, with links to relevant Wikipedia articles.
| Episode | Subject | Date |
|---|---|---|
| #70 | How to Win a Nobel Prize Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895... |
January 7, 2008 |
| #71 | Gravitational wave Gravitational wave In physics, gravitational waves are theoretical ripples in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in 1916 on the basis of his theory of general relativity, gravitational waves theoretically transport energy as... s |
January 14, 2008 |
| #72 | Cosmic ray Cosmic ray Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation... s |
January 21, 2008 |
| #73 | Question Show #8: Adding antimatter into a black hole, information not being able to escape a black hole, the Moon moving away from the Earth, physics of gravity assist, speed of gravity | January 21, 2008 |
| #74 | Antimatter Antimatter In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles... |
February 4, 2008 |
| #75 | Stellar Populations Metallicity In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium... |
February 11, 2008 |
| #76 | Lagrange points | February 18, 2008 |
| #77 | Where is the Center of the Universe? | February 25, 2008 |
| #78 | What is the Shape of the Universe Shape of the Universe The shape of the universe is a matter of debate in physical cosmology over the local and global geometry of the universe which considers both curvature and topology, though, strictly speaking, it goes beyond both... ? |
March 3, 2008 |
| #79 | How big is the Universe? | March 10, 2008 |
| #80 | Craters Impact crater In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body... |
March 17, 2008 |
| #81 | Questions on the Size, Shape and Center of the Universe | March 24, 2008 |
| #82 | Space junk | March 31, 2008 |
| #83 | Wave particle duality | April 7, 2008 |
| #84 | Getting Around the Solar System Spacecraft A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo.... |
April 14, 2008 |
| #85 | Detectors Particle detector In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify high-energy particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a... |
April 21, 2008 |
| #86 | The End of the Universe Future of an expanding universe Observations suggest that the expansion of the universe will continue forever. If so, the universe will cool as it expands, eventually becoming too cold to sustain life. For this reason, this future scenario is popularly called the Big Freeze.... Part 1: The End of the Solar System |
April 28, 2008 |
| #87 | The End of the Universe Part 2: The End of Everything | May 5, 2008 |
| #88 | The Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared... |
May 12, 2008 |
| #89 | Adaptive Optics Adaptive optics Adaptive optics is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effect of wavefront distortions. It is used in astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of atmospheric distortion, and in retinal imaging systems to reduce the... |
May 19, 2008 |
| #90 | The Scientific Method Scientific method Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of... |
May 26, 2008 |
| #91 | The Search for Water on Mars | June 2, 2008 |
| #92 | Missions to Mars Exploration of Mars The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s... , Part 1 |
June 9, 2008 |
| #93 | Missions to Mars, Part 2 | June 16, 2008 |
| #94 | Humans to Mars Manned mission to Mars A manned mission to Mars has been the subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century... , Part 1 - The Scientists |
June 23, 2008 |
| #95 | Humans to Mars, Part 2 - Colonists | June 30, 2008 |
| #96 | Humans to Mars, Part 3 - Terraforming Terraforming Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a... |
July 8, 2008 |
| #97 | Galaxies Galaxy A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a... |
July 15, 2008 |
| #98 | Quasars | July 22, 2008 |
| #99 | The Milky Way Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky... |
July 28, 2008 |
| #100 | Rockets Rocket A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction... |
August 4, 2008 |
| #101 | Advanced Propulsion Systems Spacecraft propulsion Spacecraft propulsion is any method used to accelerate spacecraft and artificial satellites. There are many different methods. Each method has drawbacks and advantages, and spacecraft propulsion is an active area of research. However, most spacecraft today are propelled by forcing a gas from the... |
August 11, 2008 |
| #102 | Gravity | August 18, 2008 |
| #103 | Electromagnetism Electromagnetism Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation... |
August 25, 2008 |
| #104 | Science Fiction Science fiction Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities... at Dragon*Con With Plait and Grazier |
September 1, 2008 |
| #105 | The Strong and Weak Nuclear Forces | September 9, 2008 |
| #106 | The Search for the Theory of Everything | September 15, 2008 |
| #107 | Nucleosynthesis Nucleosynthesis Nucleosynthesis is the process of creating new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons . It is thought that the primordial nucleons themselves were formed from the quark–gluon plasma from the Big Bang as it cooled below two trillion degrees... : Elements Chemical element A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements... from Stars |
September 24, 2008 |
| #108 | The Life of the Sun Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields... |
September 29, 2008 |
| #109 | The Life of Other Star Star A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth... s |
October 6, 2008 |
| #110 | The Search For Extra Terrestrial Intelligence SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life... |
October 14, 2008 |
| #111 | Nebulae | October 21, 2008 |
| #112 | Death from the Skies, Interview with Phil Plait | October 27, 2008 |
| #113 | The Moon Moon The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more... , Part 1 |
November 3, 2008 |
| #114 | The Moon, Part 2 - Exploration of the Moon | November 10, 2008 |
| #115 | The Moon, Part 3 - Return to the Moon | November 17, 2008 |
| #116 | Molecules in Space | November 24, 2008 |
| #117 | Time Time Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects.... |
December 1, 2008 |
| #118 | Sky Surveys | December 8, 2008 |
| #119 | Robots in Space | December 15, 2008 |
| #120 | The Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days... Star |
December 22, 2008 |
| #121 | Spacesuits | December 29, 2008 |