Cheap Astronomy Podcasts

114. The Moon does not spin on its axis - 19 May 2011

19 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Heresy and controversy on the cheap.

113. Private space - 5 May 2011

05 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

It's about time we outsourced.

112. Our inferred universe - 28 April 2011

28 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Mind you, we are pretty sure it exists.

111. AWAT - Brown dwarfs are magnetic too - 21 April 2011

21 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

It's the little ones you should watch out for.

110. Testing Einstein - 7 April 2011

07 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

It takes astronomy to really test Einstein.

109. Arms around the galaxy - 17 March 2011

17 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

If it wasn't for ice skaters pulling their arms in, astronomers would really struggle with this.

108. Carnival of space #187 - 10 March 2011

10 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

A podcast where other people write the script. Yay.

107. Situation cloudy - 3 March 2011

03 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

You don't always need a telescope to find an astronomical conundrum.

106. Forbidden planets - 24 February 2011

24 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Exo no no.

105. AWAT - Time freeze - 17 February 2011

17 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Can you really make time stand still? Nnnnnnn....

104. Alien biology 2of2 - The case for carbon - 3 February 2011

03 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

If we ever meet anything we can shake hands with, it will probably be carbon-based.

103. Alien biology 1of2 - The case for water - 27 January 2011

27 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Life? Just add water.

102. Superluminal motion - 20 January 2011

20 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kind of, sort of, but not really faster than light.

101. Untangling the entanglement - 8 January 2011

08 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Is all this indeterminant killing of cats really necessary?

100. Episode 100 - 30 December 2010

30 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

We might be cheap, but we are persistent.

99. Black holes 2of2 - The supermassive ones - 16 December 2010

16 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Lots of galaxies have SMBHs at their centres. Coincidence?

98. Black holes 1of2 - Everyones favorite physics problem - 9 December 2010

09 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

You can say any old todge about what's inside a black hole - and no-one can prove you wrong. OK then.

97. 21st century thinking - 2 December 2010

02 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

A kind of decadal survey - done on the cheap of course.

96. The origin of the oceans - 25 November 2010

25 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Surfs up.

95. AWAT - Warp drive on paper - 18 November 2010

18 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Pretty much anything can be made to work on paper. The trick is to get it off paper.

94. Powering deep space missions - 8 November 2010

08 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Unless you have a very long extension lead, these are your current options.

93. Jets - 4 November 2010

04 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Puzzling protrusions.

92. Dishes - 28 October 2010

28 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

More proof that everything is linked to astronomy. This time - death rays and geometry.

91. Getting it together - 14 October 2010

14 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

It's the small things that matter.

90. Space elevators - 7 October 2010

07 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Going up?

89. AWAT - Bringing the planetology home - 30 September 2010

30 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Let's try a change of perspective.

88. More Australian archaeoastronomy - 21 September 2010

21 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

A story about a couple of crows and a supernova impostor.

87. Wurdi Youang - 16 September 2010

16 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Few things in astronomical research are ever set in stone.

86. Supernovae 2of2 - Nucleosynthesis - 9 September 2010

09 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Now this is creation science.

85. Supernovae 1of2 - The types - 2 September 2010

02 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Destruction comes in many forms.

84. AWAT - More than meets the eye - 26 August 2010

26 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Funnily enough, this is a story about astronomy without a telescope.

83. The robots are coming - 19 August 2010

19 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

What was that first law of robotics again?

82. Astronomy for non-human life forms - 10 August 2010

10 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

OG from Brains Matter engages in a cheap discourse on animal astronomy.

81. Its all downhill from here - 5 August 2010

05 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Things can only get blander.

80. The Venera missions - 29 July 2010

29 Jul 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Never say nyet.

79. AWAT - Much ado about nothing - 8 July 2010

08 Jul 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Trial run of an emergency back up podcast - just think of it as a stitch in time.

78. My favorite Space Shuttle missions - 27 June 2010

27 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

A brief retrospective with help from Nancy Atkinson of Universe Today.

77. Off-world weather report - 24 June 2010

24 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Now that we've found exoplanets, let's think about exo-weather.

76. The other Lagrange points - 17 June 2010

17 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Most people get Lagrange point 1 - the others, not so much.

75. Hyabusa - 10 June 2010

10 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

JAXA is in our inexpensive spotlight again.

74.1 Two minute promo - 28 May 2010

28 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

This is just cheap, shoddy advertising.

74. Watch this space - 28 May 2010

28 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy is skeptical that this podcast will be a hit.

73. Cheap Astronomy - Live in Andalucia! - 27 May 2010

27 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Vamos a Cordoba.

72. In transit - 20 May 2010

20 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

What a cheap astronomer does after 24 hours flying economy class.

71. A multiple payload - 13 May 2010

13 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

It's not all about NASA.

70. How to build a solar system - 6 May 2010

06 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

The secret is to bang the rocks together.

69. The shape of things - 29 April 2010

29 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

The shapes that things can become are surprisingly limited.

68. The solar cycle - 22 April 2010

22 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

The things you see when you look at a star up close.

67. A planetary defence system - 12 April 2010

12 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Incoming!

66. The shape of space 2of2 The mathematics of De Sitter space-time - 8 April 2010

08 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Einstein admitted he got it wrong - but, here in the 21st century, have we really got it right?

65. The shape of space 1of2 Dark energy or geometry? - 1 April 2010

01 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

A plausible alternative to the elephant in the room of cosmology.

64. What can the dark matter be? - 23 March 2010

23 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy tries to shine a light on dark matter - but that doesn't seem to achieve much.

63. The interplanetary transport network - 18 March 2010

18 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Want to tour the solar system on the cheap?

62. The stay-at-homes guide to the galaxy - 11 March 2010

11 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Tour the galaxy at 220 kilometres a second from your own backyard.

61. The Mars Science Laboratory - 4 March 2010

04 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Cats beware.

60. Ceres - 27 February 2010

27 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Dwarf planet or very big asteroid?

59. On being a black hole - 18 February 2010

18 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Now you can't see it - now you don't.

58. Light 2of2 Wibbly-wobbly spacey-timey stuff - 11 February 2010

11 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

All this happens before your very eyes.

57. Light 1of2 Light and a bit of dark - 4 February 2010

04 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

We don't call it electromagnetic radiation for nothing.

56. The Dreamtime meteor crater - 29 January 2010

29 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

An interview with Duane Hamacher.

55. Spacecraft navigation - 21 January 2010

21 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

It's not rocket science - oh hang on, actually it is.

54.1 Blooper - 14 January 2010

14 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

A very brief out-take from next week's podcast - made me laugh.

54. How far is far? - 14 January 2010

14 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

My telescope might be cheap, but it can look back in time.

53. Stellar archaeology 2of2 Digging deeper - 7 January 2010

07 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

OK, so your spade keeps melting - but it's interesting.

52. Stellar archaeology 1of2 - 31 December 2009

31 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

A podcast for people who really dig astronomy.

51. Galaxy Formation - 18 December 2009

18 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Astronomy podcast, special guest star. It makes sense.

50. Anomalies - 15 December 2009

15 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Things that keep rocket scientists up at night.

49. Your stellar neighbourhood - 10 December 2009

10 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes it's good just to take stock, see where we are and put things in context.

48. Critical density - 3 December 2009

03 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Not too much, not too little - just critical.

47. Finishing the ISS - 26 November 2009

26 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

The science fiction movie 2010, released in 1984, had people flying to Jupiter... for the second time. Oh well, at least we'll have nearly finished th...

46. Go up and turn right - 22 November 2009

22 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Planning a mission to Mars is a piece of cake on paper. Actually doing it - well, not so much.

45. The week after Carl Sagan Day - 16 November 2009

16 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Billions and billions.

44. Greenhouse Earth 2of2 The restless planet - 12 November 2009

12 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

On Earth, the only thing constant is change.

43. Greenhouse Earth 1of2 The inconstant sun - 5 November 2009

05 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

More proof that pretty much everything in life is linked to astronomy.

42. The Deep Space Network - 29 October 2009

29 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

When our plucky robot ambassadors, out there exploring the solar system and beyond, need to phone home - who's there to listen?

41. The TDRS system - 25 October 2009

25 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

You know how you can just go 'Ah Houston...' and there's a team of people with PhDs ready to solve all your problems? This is how that works.

40. Galileoscope - 15 October 2009

15 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy checks out the latest contender for the title of world's cheapest telescope.

39. The outer limits - 8 October 2009

08 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

We're only just starting to learn what's out there near the back fence.

38. Kepler's laws of planetary motion - 1 October 2009

01 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Go on, there's only three of them.

37. Old balding astronomers feel good knowing mnemonics - 24 September 2009

24 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Often banal and factually greivous kitsch message.

36. Ed White's glove - 19 September 2009

19 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

What goes around comes around, or is it what comes... Anyway this is all about coming and going - around.

35. The celestial sphere - 17 September 2009

17 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Up above the world so high.

34. Project Constellation 2of2 The manned spacecraft - 10 September 2009

10 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Really hoping some of these things might fly one day.

33. Project Constellation 1of2 The launch systems - 3 September 2009

03 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

A peek under the hood of Project Constellation finds a mix of do-able and aspirational components.

32. The ups and downs of space advocacy - 27 August 2009

27 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy rants about space advocacy and tries to tell a joke to an alien.

31. Analemmas and the equation of time - 20 August 2009

20 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

What sounds like a great title for a Doctor Who episode ends up being a podcast about sundials.

30. STS 127 - Just another Space Shuttle mission - 13 August 2009

13 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Is there really such a thing as just another space shuttle mission?

29. No place like home - 06 August 2009

06 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

If there was a planet somewhere in the universe able to support life, what would it be like? Hmmm...

28. A sidewalk astronomer - 30 July 2009

30 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

A long overdue podcast about the world's most famous cheap astronomer.

27. The Southern Cross - 25 July 2009

25 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Up above down under.

26. Apollo 11 3of3 Getting back again - 24 July 2009

24 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Reunited, the three intrepid explorers turn their ship for home.

25. Apollo 11 2of3 The landing - 20 July 2009

20 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Everything is going just great... that is, until Neil and Buzz attempt the landing.

24. Apollo 11 1of3 Getting there - 16 July 2009

16 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing - Neil, Buzz and Mike get strapped in for a re-run of their historic mission.

23. Making things shorter and slower - 09 July 2009

09 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding special relativity is as easy as taking a train ride.

22. Cosmos 1 - 02 July 2009

02 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy puts a baseball cap on backwards and goes sailing on the seas of space-time.

21. A hard rains a-gonna fall - 25 June 2009

25 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

We review recent theories about dinosaur extinction and finds more smoking guns than a Dallas motorcade.

20. Webb, James Webb - 18 June 2009

18 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Just who the heck is James Webb and why are we naming an infra-red space telescope after him?

19. GPS - 11 June 2009

11 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

If that gadget on your dashboard doesn't instantly get you thinking about astronomy, you're not thinking hard enough.

18. Why we need neutrino telescopes - 03 June 2009

03 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy says 'yes we can' to all those skeptics who doubt the universe's one second old baby photo can ever be observed directly.

17. Cheap Astronomy - Live in LA! - 28 May 2009

28 May 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Cheap Astronomy visits La-La land and goes all starry eyed.