SR 153: Hycean Habitable Worlds

This week we gave Space Radio its final send off. This project, started four years ago at an Ohio radio station, turned into so much more than I could have imagined. I’d like to thank the Space Cadets for tuning in and supporting my outreach. Thank you all for tuning in each week and have no fear. There’s plenty more laughter and learning in the works!!Our final cheese was Van Tricht Drunk Monk, a fudgy Trappist-style cheese made with Belgian beer. Find info here: https://dibruno.com/van-tricht-drunk-monk/

This week I had a blast chatting with Launch Pad Astronomy host Christian Ready. Christian surprised me by bringing a slab of HIS favorite cheese to the show and we had an impromptu cheese tasting! (Can you guess what cheese Christian brought?)This week's Dom's Cheese of the week was Gjetost, a traditional Norwegian cheese made with caramelized goat's milk. It has a fudge-like texture with salted caramel flavors: https://domscheese.com/product/gjetost/Christian is an astronomer at Towson University where he also serves as planetarium director. He has spent much of his life in awe of the universe. In fact, he first worked professionally in the field of Astronomy at the tender age of 13 when he started working at the Sproul Observatory at Swarthmore College near his home. Initially, Christian measured the positions of stars on hundreds of photographic plates, but he later moved on to taking observations with the 24-inch refractor.During his time at Sproul Observatory, Christian developed a passion for showing the public celestial objects through their telescopes during monthly open houses. On those inevitable cloudy nights, he would present slideshows when people would show up anyway.Christian went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Villanova University where his passion for public outreach was reinforced as a teacher’s assistant and presenter on weekly public viewing nights.While working at Space Telescope Science Institute, and later at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, Christian gave talks about the Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomy topics at venues ranging from schools, to community groups, to science fiction conventions. He continues to give talks to this day and has been known to make a video or two.Christian is now an instructor at the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop, where he helps teach writers, editors, filmmakers, and other creative professionals about astronomy. He views this as an opportunity to combine his loves of astronomy, teaching, and science fiction into one.You can learn more about Christian by visiting his website (https://christianready.com/) and you can subscribe to Launch Pad Astronomy on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/christianready)Don't forget to follow Christian on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christianready/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/christianready/), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/christianready/).To learn more about Launch Pad Astronomy, go to https://www.launchpadworkshop.org/ . You can also follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LaunchPadAstronomy), Twitter (https://twitter.com/LaunchPadAstro), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/launchpadastro/).

This week I disclose what happens when a star gobbles up a nearby black hole.(Hint: it goes BOOM!!!!)The Space Cadets in the audience asked a bunch of GREAT questions in chat (as usual) which I tackled, including:► Our place in the universe;► Computer simulations I wrote during my PhD;► The properties of "dark;"► The uncertainty principal;► And more!PLUS I engaged in another round of Voice Mail Roulette!Our Dom's cheese of the week was St. Stephen from Four Fat Fowl. It is delicately buttery with hints of sun-dried wheat and sweet cream. You can order your own brick from Dom's and learn more about the cheese.

So is it pronounced HI-SEE'-AN or HY'-SHEN? Find out my thoughts about this critical question as I also discuss the possibility of detecting life on these water worlds.I also aired (and answered) few unscreened voicemail messages (THAT was fun!) as well as answered questions posed by the Space Cadets, including:► Quantum Field Theory;► Is the launch of the SLS delayed until 2022?► The speed of light and redshift;► And more!Our Dom's cheese of the week was Bosina, a soft ripened cow & sheep milk cheese. You can order your own brick from Dom's here: https://domscheese.com/product/robiola-bosina/ and learn more about the cheese itself here: https://www.caseificioaltalanga.it/product/bosina/?lang=enTHANK YOU to Vladimir Stepanov for your SuperChat during tonight's show!

As many of you know, I spent several seasons as a regular contributor to the Weekly Space Hangout. Tonight I got to turn the tables on the host of the WSH - and my good friend - Fraser Cain as we chatted about Starlink (his sole means of internet access going forward) and its impact on astronomy, his move to the wilderness of Vancouver Island, and much more.I also made an announcement regarding the future of Space Radio.Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today which he founded in 1999 and has to be one of the busiest science communicators I know.In addition to publishing the daily content for Universe Today, each week Fraser hosts the Weekly Space Hangout, Open Space, and co-hosts Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay. As a bonus for his Open Space audience, Fraser routinely (and randomly) interviews scientists, authors, and other individuals of interest. Previously, Fraser hosted the long-running Guide to Space Series, and he continually looks for innovative ways to leverage the internet in order to deliver quality science content into people’s hands and minds.Previously, Fraser was the Product Manager of HeroX, a spinoff of the X Prize Foundation. He has also written a bunch of books for role-playing games, including Earthdawn, Shadowrun, and GURPS.Fraser lives on Vancouver Island, Canada with his wife, children, and dog.Our Dom's cheese tonight was Tegel (https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-library/Almnas-Tegel), a hard-pressed "scalded" Swedish brick cheese. Check out Dom's Cheese for more delicious cheeses: https://domscheese.com/

This week I had a fun chat with Paul Geithner from JWST. We discussed the reasons behind all of the delays, what science JWST will do, and much more!Paul's career at NASA began in 1991 when he was hired into the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Flight Systems and Servicing project at Goddard. He worked on HST's replacement gyroscopes and was the Instrument Manager for the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) optical correction instrument and the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) scientific instrument.Paul's involvement with Webb began in 1997 after the second HST servicing mission when he became the program's Mission Systems Engineer. He later served as the Webb Instrument Systems Manager and in 2002 went to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. as the mission's Program Executive before returning to Goddard in November of 2006 as the Webb Observatory Manager. He became Deputy Project Manager - Technical in 2011.His other professional work experience includes military service and private sector employment in consumer credit and in fiber optic communications. He has been keenly interested in science, engineering and space exploration throughout his life and he is an enthusiastic participant in public outreach.Paul has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech (1984) and an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia (1991). He likes building things and enjoys surfing, golfing and other outdoor activities. He is also the proud owner of a 1978½ Triumph Spitfire 1500 in Silverstone Racing Green (with with Arctic White stripes) which he loves bringing to local and regional classic car events.Shoutout to Wes Struebing, explodingpancakes, and Pacman Seven for their SuperChats!Our Dom's cheese of the week was Cabriolait. Check out Dom's Cheese for more delicious cheeses: https://domscheese.com/

This week I once again turn to the topic of Black Holes as scientists have detected light from behind an SMBH. In addition to questions about this discovery, I also answer questions about:► Why time is a dimension and not a force;► The donut universe;► The Boltzmann Brain;► X-ray spectra;► … and more!This week's Dom's Cheese is Fourmage Gouda (https://domscheese.com/product/fourmage-gouda/)Shoutouts to Cheeselauncher, Russell Neitzke, and Kiligaan Hakaari for their SuperChats!

Unfortunately, our scheduled guest this week, Paul Geithner, Deputy Project Manager – Technical, experienced technical issues that prevented his joining us live tonight. We are working with Paul to reschedule his appearance in August.But have no fear, being the pro that I am, I took the opportunity to answer questions from the Space Cadets about JWST, as well as:► The fate of Hubble;► Binary Star Systems;► and more!Our Dom's cheese of the week was Beemster XO which features notes of whiskey, butterscotch, toasted pecan & deep caramel. https://beemstercheese.us/products/x-oImage Credits: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)

This week I briefly mentioned the lame report about Unidentified Aerial Phonomena (UAP, the objects formerly known as UFOs) before moving on to vastly more interesting topics such as:► What happened to my chalkboard backdrop?► Can we use the CMB to spot nearby objects?► The nature of time;► Life elsewhere in the universe;► Boson Stars;► … and more!This week's Dom's Cheese is The Finback from the Mystic Cheese Co. in Mystic, CT. (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/591893012994ca3bd88a3cd0/t/5dd70ebe8fff286a0eb1e82a/1574375192656/Sell+Sheet+The+Finback.pdf)Cover image credit: Bettmann/Getty ImagesShoutout to Russell Neitzke for his SuperChat!

This week on Space Radio I had the opportunity to catch up with my good friend Kai Staats. Kai joined us from the grounds of the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2 as we talked about his newest project, Space Analog for the Moon and Mars. Among other topics, we discussed the removal of perchlorates from the Martian soil and how Methane could potentially be used. Kai is an avid lover of all things out-of-doors and off-line, reminders that we are analog creatures using digital tools to enhance our understanding of the world around us. As a researcher, speaker, filmmaker, and entrepreneur he find connections, builds bridges, and brings people into common spaces and times.At the Arizona State University School of Earth & Space Exploration, Kai contributed to the design of off-world human habitats as project lead for an Interplanetary Initiative Pilot Project (2017-19).Kai is Principal Manager at Over the Sun, LLC, developer of platforms for research and science education. His last film series, funded in part by the NSF, chronicled the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 by LIGO where he served as a Visiting Scientist.In 2017, Kai and Paul collaborated to produce Song of the Stars, a film of the one-time live performance of a modern dance that tells the story of the first stars in the universe.You can keep up with Kai by visiting his website: https://www.kaistaats.com/To learn more about Biosphere 2, visit the project's website: https://biosphere2.org/research/projects/space-analog-moon-and-marsTo learn more about SAM2, visit the project's website: https://samb2.space/Special shoutout to Russell Neitzke for his SuperChat tonight! THANKS RUSSELL!Our Dom's Cheese of the week was Raw Cheddar Goat Milk Cheese from LaClare Family Creamery in Wisconsin. https://www.laclarefamilycreamery.com/raw-cheddar