Astronomy Cast

Astronomy Cast

Take a fact-based journey through the cosmos. Tune in to hear weekly discussions on astronomical topics ranging from planets to cosmology. Hosted by Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (Planetary Science Institute), this show brings the questions of an avid astronomy lover direct to an astronomer. Together Fraser and Pamela explore what is known and being discovered about the universe around us. Astronomy Cast is supported thru patreon.com/AstronomyCast.

Episodes

June 22, 2026 34 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 798: Our Summer Media List By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 15, 2026. Well, we're just a couple of weeks away from summer hiatus and so it's time to give you some homework. Here's our list of stuff we've been reading watching and playing. This should fill the Astronomy-Cast-shaped hole in your media landscape. On the plane, on the beach, from the passenger seat in a car, summer is a time f...
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 797: Summer in Space By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 10, 2026. We're about to take a much needed 2 month hiatus. But just because we're not here doesn't mean space stops existing and doing things. Today, let's give a preview of the big events due to happen in space this summer so you can prepare yourself and make sure you don't miss a thing! From meteors to moon landings and more, join Fras...
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June 8, 2026 30 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 796: Oceans & Organics on Mars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 1, 2026. Mars is cold & dry today, but the evidence is growing that it used to be warmer & wetter. with seas & oceans that covered large parts of its surface. With the additional findings of the chemicals for life, the search for life on Mars is getting pretty interesting! New results from Perseverance and Curi...
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June 1, 2026 32 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 795: Expanse Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 10, 2026. This is the final episode of our series on sci-fi universes. And this week we will tackle "The Expanse". Now we've got fusion drives, Proto-matter, g-forces! Listen up, belta lawda! Let's look at the science of our own possible (with a side of aliens) future. This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/Astron...
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May 18, 2026 38 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 794: Stargate Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 10, 2026. We continue our ad-hoc miniseries through sci-fi franchises. This week we'll talk about Stargate, worm holes, mind parasites and self-replicating bots. There's a lot to talk about! This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast In this episode, we'd like to thank: Andrew Poelstra, Burry Gowen, Dav...
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May 11, 2026 34 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 793: Star Trek Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live May 4, 2026. Today we continue our mini-series; evaluating the science of various sci-fi franchises. We did Star Wars last week, this week tackle Star Trek. From transporters to warp drives, from phasers to photon torpedos. Let's tackle what Star Trek gets right and wrong about science. Let's look at the science of our galaxy, some day far i...
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May 4, 2026 40 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 792: Star Wars Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live April 29, 2026. May the fourth be with you! Isn't that what people say on the international holiday known as Star Wars Day? Today we're gonna talk about the science in everyone's favorite sci-fi fantasy stories. Which of it is real, and which is essentially magic? Let's find out! Let's look at the science of a galaxy long ago and far away. (...
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April 27, 2026 33 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 791: Chang'e Sample Return By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 20, 2026. Last week we talked about samples from other worlds delivered to Earth by meteorites. But sometimes you've gotta do the job yourself. Visit the far off place and bring the samples home. And today we're gonna talk about China's Chang'e sample return program. How they've delivered rocks from different parts of the Moon, an...
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April 20, 2026 33 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 790: Meteorites From Other Worlds By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live April 17, 2026. Even though humanity has returned samples from a fraction of the worlds in the solar system, the cosmos has delivered many more without us having to lift a finger. Meteorites. We have meteorites from the Moon, Vesta and even Mars! What have we learned about these rocks from other worlds? Space missions to other wor...
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 789: What Happens When a Planet's Star Dies By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 30, 2026. A star like the Sun only lasts about 10 billion years and it becomes a red giant and finally a white dwarf. This is catastrophic for some of the planets, consumed by the expanding red giant star. But most survive. What happens next in the long, slow cooling to the background temperature of the Universe? ...
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March 30, 2026 32 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 788: Life's Molecules Form in Space By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 23, 2026. The theory of evolution how life takes on its wildly different forms. But how did life get started in the first place? It appears the Universe has been making life's molecules in space for billions of years, setting up the conditions for life… everywhere? One of humanity's fundamental questions is "where ...
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 787: Evolved Stars (They're not dead yet!) By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 16, 2026. Main sequence stars spend most of their time being… normal. Fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. Producing radiation. But as their stockpiles of hydrogen run out they switch to other fuels, starting to climb the ladder of the periodic table of elements. And this is when things get weird. As ...
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March 16, 2026 34 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 786: Wolf-Rayet Stars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 9, 2026. You think the Sun is a terrifying ball of fire and fury? Wait until you learn about today's topic: Wolf-Rayet stars! These are massive, dying stars hurling their outer layers out into space before detonating as supernovae. Big stars live brief lives, and Wolf-Rayet stars are the punctuation mark we see before things go superno...
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March 9, 2026 29 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 785: Magnetars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live March 6, 2026. Magnetars are a special type of neutron star with physics that defy comprehension. Magnetic fields so powerful they could strip you apart at an atomic level. But, where do they come from? So many mysteries to uncover about magnetars. Back in December 2004, a gamma rays washed out cameras and zotted satellites as a star on the other si...
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March 2, 2026 33 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 784: Pulsar-Powered Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 16, 2026. Pulsars are dead stars and fascinating in their own right, but astronomers can use their predictable rotation for exploring the cosmos in a series of amazing ways. We can detect gravitational waves, navigate the solar system, test general relativity and find exoplanets. Pulsars are the time keepers of the sky, with thei...
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February 23, 2026 30 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 783: Cataclysmic Variable Stars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 16, 2026. There are many types of variable stars. Today we're gonna talk about cataclysmic variable stars, which are the result of a white dwarf stealing material from a companion star. And this whole process makes supervillain Pamela happy. Gravity is the weakest force, but on the scales of stars, it is capable of great viol...
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Astronomy Cast Ep. 782: Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 13, 2026. Modern astronomy has found that the Universe can surprise us. Here's one which astronomers have called Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients. They're kinda like supernovas, they're kind of like gamma ray bursts, but they're not like them. So what are they? In the distant Universe, are blue light flashes, ...
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February 9, 2026 31 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 781: Awakening Black Holes By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Feb 2, 2026. One long standing mystery in astronomy were the quasars. Incomprehensible energy blasting out of a point-like source, billions of light years away. We now know these are actively feeding supermassive black holes, which can turn off and on in a startlingly short period of time. Today: When black holes awaken! Our Universe ...
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February 2, 2026 32 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 780: When Asteroids & Comets Attack! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 26, 2026. We live in a cosmic shooting gallery. It's not a matter of "if" but "when"! Dinosaurs, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. But seriously, folks, it's raining rocks & ice out there! How seriously should we take it? What happens when a variety of different objects hit the Earth? Different kinds of objec...
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January 19, 2026 30 mins
Astronomy Cast Ep. 779: Milankovitch Cycles By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 12, 2026. Humans live short lives, and from our perspective the seasons are something that come and go with perfect regularity. But astronomers know the terrible truth! And that there are cycles that slowly shift over tens of thousands of years, shifting the cycles and the Earth's climate. Today we'll talk about the Milankovich Cycl...
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