Somewhere Over the Moonbow (with Jeff Pfaller)

What is a moonbow, and what does it take to get a picture of one? And do rare events in the night sky lose their appeal after you've seen a bunch of them? Dean chats with Jeff Pfaller, astro-photographer and author of "Dark Skies: Rare Phenomena in America’s Public Lands" to learn more. We want to hear from you! Leave us a voicemail by calling 513-352-9188 and you might hear yourself in a future episode! You can also send us your thoughts on this episode at [email protected] or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast

What might it be like to watch an alien spacecraft fall from the sky? Residents of Ava, Ohio, in 1925 experienced something close to this, when the USS Shenandoah, a naval airship, crashed down on rural farmland. Dean Regas chats with Ohio News Room journalist, Kendall Crawford, after her visit to Ava's mobile museum. We want to hear from you! Send us your thoughts on this episode at [email protected] or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast

How do you eat in space? Simple everyday chores like sleeping or going to the bathroom take on all new challenges when you're weightless and floating in mid-air. Dean is joined by Mark Borison, Host of The Jungle Jims Podcast to do a space food taste test.We want to hear from you! Send us your thoughts on this episode at [email protected] or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast

The question seems completely absurd to us in the 21st century: should we use cameras to help with astronomical research? Well, of course. Why wouldn’t we? But in the early 20th century, this was a heated debate that echoed in the domes of many established observatories around the world. So when did the camera really outshine the eye for documenting things in space? Dean Regas and Flashes of Brilliance author Anika Burgess explore examples of early photography and how it transformed art, science, and history.

The universe is enormous and time to observe it is limited. This means planet-hunters have to be extra picky in their search for habitable worlds. Dean chats with Dr. Néstor Espinoza, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute who has his eye on one specific star system, Trappist-1. We want to hear from you! Send us your thoughts on this episode at [email protected] or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast

Mars and Martians. They go together in the public's mind. The Earthling fascination with "alien invaders" goes back a long time. But why? And what does it say about all of us here on Earth? Dean explores this cultural phenomenon with David Baron, author of "The Martians." Send us your thoughts at [email protected] or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast

Revisiting a favorite episode from 2025: Dean chats with Inspiration4 astronaut and artist, Dr. Sian Proctor about seeing Earth from outer space, and her book, "Earthlight, The Power of Earthlight and the Human Perspective."

Dean chats with Dr. Katie Mack, astrophysicist, cosmologist, and author of the book, "The End of Everything." They discuss how all of this might end, could it be a crunch, a freeze or a rip? Send us your thoughts at [email protected] or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astronomerdean, Episode transcript: www.wvxu.org/podcast/looking-up, More from Dean: www.astrodean.com

Venus is close-by and similar in size to Earth, but until recently, we couldn’t tell much about it. Dr. Rakesh Mogul, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, at Cal Poly Pomona took another look at old Venus data to potentially change what we know about our sister planet. Dean chats with Dr. Mogul to unravel the mystery.

Peter Hillary's father, Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first person to climb Mt. Everest. Mark Armstrong's father, Neil Armstrong, was the first person to walk on the moon. Now, the two sons of iconic explorers are going on an adventure together to the North Pole. This journey, and a parallel journey their fathers took in 1985, are the subject of a new documentary, 'North Pole ’85'. Music in this episode was composed by Blue Dot Sessions. Tracks include “Plate Synthesis,” “Just Below the Surface,” and “Lechuza.” Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.