List of 2009 Astronomy Cast episodes
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Astronomy Cast
episodes released in 2009, 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 2009, with links to relevant Wikipedia articles.
| Episode | Subject | Date |
|---|---|---|
| #122 | How old is the Universe? Age of the universe The age of the universe is the time elapsed since the Big Bang posited by the most widely accepted scientific model of cosmology. The best current estimate of the age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.13 billion years within the Lambda-CDM concordance model... |
January 5, 2009 |
| #123 | Homogeneity Homogeneity (physics) In general, homogeneity is defined as the quality or state of being homogeneous . For instance, a uniform electric field would be compatible with homogeneity... |
January 12, 2009 |
| #124 | Space Capsules, Part 1 - Vostok Vostok programme The Vostok programme was a Soviet human spaceflight project that succeeded in putting a person into Earth's orbit for the first time. The programme developed the Vostok spacecraft from the Zenit spy satellite project and adapted the Vostok rocket from an existing ICBM design... , Mercury Project Mercury In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,... and Gemini Project Gemini Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966.... |
January 19, 2009 |
| #125 | A Zoo of Extrasolar Planets Extrasolar planet An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars... |
February 2, 2009 |
| #126 | From Skeptics Guide with Questions | February 9, 2009 |
| #127 | The US Space Shuttle Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons... |
February 16, 2009 |
| #128 | Dust Cosmic dust Cosmic dust is a type of dust composed of particles in space which are a few molecules to 0.1 µm in size. Cosmic dust can be further distinguished by its astronomical location; for example: intergalactic dust, interstellar dust, interplanetary dust and circumplanetary dust .In our own Solar... |
March 2, 2009 |
| #129 | Interferometry Interferometry Interferometry refers to a family of techniques in which electromagnetic waves are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves. An instrument used to interfere waves is called an interferometer. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy,... |
March 17, 2009 |
| #130 | Radio Astronomy Radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of... |
March 23, 2009 |
| #131 | Submillimeter Astronomy | March 30, 2009 |
| #132 | Infrared Astronomy Infrared astronomy Infrared astronomy is the branch of astronomy and astrophysics that studies astronomical objects visible in infrared radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers... |
April 6, 2009 |
| #133 | Optical Astronomy | April 13, 2009 |
| #134 | Ultraviolet Astronomy | April 20, 2009 |
| #135 | X-Ray Astronomy X-ray astronomy X-ray astronomy is an observational branch of astronomy which deals with the study of X-ray observation and detection from astronomical objects. X-radiation is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, so instruments to detect X-rays must be taken to high altitude by balloons, sounding rockets, and... |
April 27, 2009 |
| #136 | Gamma Ray Astronomy Gamma-ray astronomy Gamma-ray astronomy is the astronomical study of the cosmos with gamma rays. Gamma-rays are the most energetic form of "light" that travel across the universe, and gamma-rays thus have the smallest wavelength of any wave in the electromagnetic spectrum.Gamma-rays are created by celestial events... |
May 4, 2009 |
| #137 | Large Scale Structure of the Universe | May 11, 2009 |
| #138 | Quantum Mechanics Quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic... |
May 18, 2009 |
| #139 | Energy Levels and Spectra Electromagnetic spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object.... |
May 25, 2009 |
| #140 | Entanglement Quantum entanglement Quantum entanglement occurs when electrons, molecules even as large as "buckyballs", photons, etc., interact physically and then become separated; the type of interaction is such that each resulting member of a pair is properly described by the same quantum mechanical description , which is... |
June 1, 2009 |
| #141 | Volcanoes, Hot and Cold | July 8, 2009 |
| #142 | Plate Tectonics Plate tectonics Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere... |
June 15, 2009 |
| #143 | Astrobiology Astrobiology Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and habitable planets outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of prebiotic chemistry,... |
June 22, 2009 |
| #144 | Space Elevators Space elevator A space elevator, also known as a geostationary orbital tether or a beanstalk, is a proposed non-rocket spacelaunch structure... |
June 23, 2009 |
| #145 | Interstellar Travel Interstellar travel Interstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more... |
June 29, 2009 |
| #146 | Astronomy Research from Idea to Publication | July 13, 2009 |
| #147 | How to Be Taken Seriously By Scientists | July 20, 2009 |
| #148 | Astronomy and New Media | July 27, 2009 |
| #149 | Constellation Program | August 3, 2009 |
| #150 | Telescopes, the Next Level Optical telescope An optical telescope is a telescope which is used to gather and focus light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum for directly viewing a magnified image for making a photograph, or collecting data through electronic image sensors.... |
August 10, 2009 |
| #151 | Atmosphere Atmosphere An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low... s |
August 17, 2009 |
| #152 | Binary Stars Binary star A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary... |
August 24, 2009 |
| #153 | Dark Skies | August 31, 2009 |
| #154 | Dragon*Con Live with Seth Shostak | September 7, 2009 |
| #155 | Dwarf Stars Dwarf star The term dwarf star refers to a variety of distinct classes of stars.* Dwarf star alone generally refers to any main sequence star, a star of luminosity class V.** Red dwarfs are low-mass main sequence stars.... |
September 14, 2009 |
| #156 | Famous Stars | September 21, 2009 |
| #157 | Constellation Constellation In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky.... s |
September 28, 2009 |
| #158 | Pulsar Pulsar A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name... s |
October 5, 2009 |
| #159 | Planet X Planet X Following the discovery of the planet Neptune in 1846, there was considerable speculation that another planet might exist beyond its orbit. The search began in the mid-19th century but culminated at the start of the 20th with Percival Lowell's quest for Planet X... |
October 12, 2009 |
| #160 | Eclipse Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer... s |
Octiber 19, 2009 |
| #161 | Launch Facilities | October 26, 2009 |
| #162 | Edwin Hubble Edwin Hubble Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way - our own galaxy... |
November 2, 2009 |
| #163 | Auroras | November 9, 2009 |
| #164 | Inside the Atom Atom The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons... |
November 16, 2009 |
| #165 | Doppler Effect Doppler effect The Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842 in Prague, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from... |
November 23, 2009 |
| #166 | Multiverses | November 30, 2009 |
| #167 | Future Civilisations | December 7, 2009 |
| #168 | Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics... |
December 14, 2009 |
| #169 | Fermi Mission | December 21, 2009 |
| #170 | Coordinate Systems | December 28, 2009 |