Past Interview: Dr. Daniel Babich (Caltech)

To supplement the February 4th radio show on cosmology, here is a past interview I conducted with Dr. Dan Babich of Caltech on the Cosmic Microwave Background. Hope you enjoy and, as always, thank you for listening!

February 4th Radio Show: Cosmology

Too long coming, I know, but here is the February 4th episode of this radio show, where the "tour of the Universe" begins its close with the first episode on cosmology - the study of the Universe as a whole (as opposed to studying individual objects in the universe). Hope you enjoy and, as always, please email me or leave below any questions, comments, or concerns you might have. Thank you very much for listening.

Great Cosmic Coincidence Tomorrow Night!

Tomorrow night, Saturn and Comet Lulin will converge in the constellation Leo only 2 degrees apart. Even better, Comet Lulin will also be making its closest approach to Earth--the comet at its best!-- while four of Saturn's moons transit the disk of the ringed planet in view of backyard telescopes. Oh, and the Moon will be New, providing dark skies for anyone who wishes to see the show. The best time to look is around 1 a.m. when the planet-comet combo ascend high in the southern sky. To the unaided eye, Comet Lulin looks like a faint patch of gas floating next to golden Saturn. Point your backyard telescope at that patch and you will see a lovely green comet with a double tail. For more information, visit spaceweather.com and/or read this NASA science article. Hope you have clear skies!

Name the next module on the International Space Station

NASA is hosting a competition to help name the International Space Station's next module - a control tower for robotics in space and the world's ultimate observation deck. You can vote for the module's name online, choosing one of four NASA suggestions: Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity or Venture, or writing in a name. Submissions will be accepted Feb. 19 through March 20. The name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station and follow in the tradition set by Node 1, named "Unity," and Node 2, named "Harmony." To participate, go here. Good luck!

January 28th Radio Show: Galaxy Formation and Evolution

Sorry for the delay, but here is the January 28th edition of this radio show, where I continue my discussion of galaxy formation and evolution. Thank you for listening, hope you enjoy, and, as always, please email me or leave below any questions, comments, or concerns you might have.

NASA Twitter

For those of you interested in constant, short updates of what NASA is up to, check out their twitter page. Enjoy!

New image of nearby galaxy M101

NASA has recently released a new image of the nearby galaxy Messier 101 made by combining data from the Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra space telescopes. It's pretty amazing, and you can see light produced from lots of different objects in this galaxy, from the coldest and densest gas to the hottest gas. To check it out, go here. Enjoy!

Test video of NASA's new rover

NASA is developing new rover technology for missions to the Moon, Mars, and possibly beyond - as well as possibly help search-and-rescue here on Earth. To see the video of the latest prototype, go here. Enjoy!

Past Interview: Dr. Kim Vy Tran

Another interview to accompany my radio show on Galaxy formation, here is Dr. Kim Vy Tran discusses her research on the evolution of galaxies from the proto-galaxies Prof. Elmegreen talked about to the ones we observe today. Hope you enjoy!

Past Interview: Prof. Debra Elmegreen (Vassar College)

As an accompaniment to my January 21st radio show on Galaxy Formation, available here is my previous interview with Prof. Elmegreen of Vassar College, where she discusses her research identifying and measuring the properties of the proto-galaxies believed to be the building blocks of the massive galaxies we observed (and reside in) today. Hope you enjoy!

January 21st Radio Show: Galaxy Formation

Finally available here is the January 21st edition of this radio show, where I begin to talk about galaxy formation, in addition the usual calendar and "Wednesday Morning Astronomer." As always, please leave below or email me any comments, questions, or concerns you might have. Thank you for listening!

Google Mars!

In the new version of Google Earth, one can now look at a 3D map of Mars which combines all of the data taken by our Earthling instruments (go here for more info). If you don't have Google Earth but want to look at this information anyway, go to this webpage. Hope you enjoy!

Funny Astronomy Comic

Another funny astronomy comic strip courtesy of Brewster Rockit is available here. Hope you enjoy!