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EVSN: Escape Velocity Space News

EVSN: Escape Velocity Space News

Dr. Pamela Gay, Erik Madaus, Ally Pelphrey · Pamela Gay

101 episodesEN

About

Get your weekly dose of all that's new in space and astronomy with Escape Velocity Space News. The sky is not the limit, as we bring you the latest scientific discoveries and rocket launches. EVSN is brought to you by the team behind CosmoQuest at the Planetary Science Institute and features hosts Dr. Pamela L. Gay and Erik Madaus, with audio engineering by Ally Pelphrey. EVSN is supported through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/CosmoQuestX.

Latest Episodes

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To Artemis, With Love

Apr 23, 202627 min

Supervolcanoes: Erupt, Refill, Repeat

Apr 16, 202613 min

S4 Ep 13Science in Pairs & Moon Plans Redux

Once again, we're going to attempt to get you up to date with what is going down at NASA. In addition to NASA updates, we have stories of science that comes in twos. From 2 planets forming in a disk to 2 stars coming together to shine brightly, to two asteroids that together orbit the Sun a bit faster, to two planets that collided, … it is a week for pairs.

Apr 2, 202625 min

On Background - Comets, the basics

In this special episode, funded by the National Science Foundation, we're taking a break from the headlines to share the background story of comets. Today, we'll focus on the origin of comets and their basic anatomy, and in future episodes, we'll dive deep into how comets are discovered, what we can learn from them, and how they can literally and figuratively impact our world.

Mar 26, 202614 min

S4 Ep 12Pretty Pictures & Ugly Artemis News

This episode went through a lot of rewrites as breaking news kept breaking our hearts. Artemis is still on, but there are delays and cancellations. Before we face that, let's look at some pretty pictures and remember the universe is pretty even when our Earthly-timeline is not.

Mar 19, 202633 min

S4 Ep 11Glaciers: Going, Going…Gone

The glaciers are melting, the volcanoes are erupting, and earthquakes are shaking things up. Let's discuss.

Feb 26, 202626 min

S4 Ep 10The sky is falling! Space Junk 411

In this episode, we take a closer look at how the increasing number of rockets and satellites going up mean there is also an unfortunate increase in the space junk coming down. We also cover dramatic weather, stars dying and disappearing, and update you on Maven and Paranal Observatory.

Feb 13, 202627 min

S4 Ep 9JWST Makes Sense of the Early Universe

In this episode we look at highlights from the latest American Astronomical Society Meeting. An accidental theme came out: with each new telescope and each improved instrument we can look more closely at our universe - we can and do learn more and understand more even about the things we thought we knew best. In this episode, Rubin Observatory brings rapidly rotating asteroids, and JWST peers at objects thriving in the first 2 billion years of our universe. Observatory after observatory brings us new science.

Jan 29, 202630 min

S4 Ep 8Astronomy Answers: What's that light?

In this episode, we're pleased to say we get to focus on science, as we bring you hot Jupiters, a tear-drop shaped Jupiter massed… something…? - and news of objects getting torn apart and other objects getting merged together as our universe lights up our night.

Jan 8, 202631 min

S4 Ep 7When Science Results Rhyme: Exoplanets, Supernovae, and Relativity

In this week's episode, we look at planets younger than fossils, celebrate relativity repeatedly working as expected, and peer at previously only theorized 1st generation stars using JWST. We celebrate the completion of the construction of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and look in on all the recent launches. All this and more is coming to you right here, and right now.

Dec 25, 202528 min

S4 Ep 6Never trust a volcano & other geology tales

The world we live on today has undergone dramatic change since it first formed, and time hasn't necessarily been kind. Earth has gained some weight (and a Moon) after a chance collision. A leaky gut led to some confusing internal structures. Here on the surface, mountains keep finding new ways to pop off and destroy surroundings. But scientists are helping us understand all these factors. Learn how in this episode of EVSN, and also hear about our latest tales from the launch pad.

Dec 4, 202531 min

S4 Ep 5Climate Change Follows the Water

We live on an ever-changing world, and by studying the past, we can better understand our potential futures. In this episode, we follow the water and look at how past periods of glacial melt changed water levels, look into the water and see how pond and sea life add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and reflect on a glacier that shrank by 24 km in just 2 years. Oh, and there are also tales from the launch pad!

Nov 20, 202525 min

S4 Ep 4JWST's picture album of Baby stars, planets, moons and more

In this episode, we look at some of our latest discoveries about the formation of star systems, including planets and moons, and the growth of black holes. We also take a closer look at our brightening skies, and the missions set to make things worse. We also cover the latest tales from the launch pad.

Nov 6, 202527 min

S4 Ep 3Giant Black Holes Cosplay as Little Red Dots

The universe is hard enough to figure out without one kind of object dressing up as another, but - just in time for Halloween - researchers have figured out that the Little Red Dot in the early universe just might be massive black holes surrounded in a costume of glowing red gas. Also in this episode, Hyabusa2's amusingly tiny destination, a white dwarf star eating what may be an icy dwarf planet, and tales from the launch pad.

Oct 16, 202526 min

S4 Ep 2The Black Hole eating star with supernova sized regrets

In this week's episode, we tell the story of a Giant Blue Star that made the terrible, terrible mistake of trying to nibble on its more evolved sibling; it's black hole of a sibling. Folks, don't eat the dark holes in spacetime. We also look at this week's news, including lumpy planets, forming planets, asteroids getting up close and personal, and how Leopard spots are in style for life hunting Mars Scientists. We also have tales from the launch pad.

Sep 18, 202527 min

S4 Ep 1Rockets make bad neighbors

In this week's episode, we take a look at the impact SpaceX launches from the Space Coast will have on their competitors and those living, working, and going to school near Kennedy and Cape Canaveral. We also look at a bunch of new science discoveries, including the origins of Ryugu & Bennu, the solar system shocked itself, a new supernova that blew off an unusual number of layers before exploding, and quick updates on Psyche, Juno, JUICE, and the number of moons orbiting Uranus.

Sep 4, 202533 min

S3 Ep 22It came from the outer solar system

In this week's episode we take a look at all the news our outer solar system has to offer. From newly discovered outer solar system objects to intersteller comet I3/Atlas to the Peried Meteor shower, we have icy objects and absolutely no aliens (It's never aliens #IYKYK).

Jul 30, 202529 min

S3 Ep 21Volunteer Stargazers

In this special episode we look at how volunteers throughout history have aided in scientific explorations and tell you how you can get involved with our latest community science projects.

Jul 17, 202534 min

S3 Ep 202 Tales of 2 decades: Rubin Observatory and SpaceX Starship

Join us as we look at two parallel stories - the development of the Vera Rubin Observatory and the SpaceX Starship rocket. Both projects are 20 years in the making, and both were supposed to start work in 2019. Both hit new milestones in June, and it's time to review their very different progress. Also included in this episode: Tales from the launch pad.

Jul 3, 202536 min

S3 Ep 19When the Universe Attacks

In this episode we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Fermi Paradox by looking at a bunch of science capable of preventing and destroying civilizations. We also review our latest not-so-great attempts to land on the moon and launch a rocket that (if it worked) could carry us to Mars.

Jun 19, 202537 min
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