Ask a Spaceman!

Dec 03 2024 243 ep. 35 mins 10.5k
Ask a Spaceman! Podcast artwork

You've got questions and astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter has answers - every episode you will come closer to complete knowledge of time and space!

  Science
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


AaS! 237: Could Any Supernova Harm the Earth?

Dec 03 2024 31 mins  
Are we “in range” of any potential supernovae? Has the Earth ever been hit in the past? And what about gamma-ray bursts from across the galaxy, are we safe from those? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit Bet

AaS! 236: How Exactly Do Black Holes Merge?

Nov 19 2024 35 mins  
How do black holes get close enough to merge? What causes them to emit gravitational waves, and where do the waves come from? What does the merger process look like? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHel

AaS! 235: Is it Time to Redefine the Planet?

Nov 05 2024 38 mins  
How did Pluto get demoted? What makes a planet a planet anyway? Why do we now have so many different kinds of planets, and should we make things simpler? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp to get 10%

AaS! 234: How Could We Turn the Sun into a Telescope?

Oct 15 2024 34 mins  
How do gravitational lenses work? Where would a spacecraft need to be to use the Sun’s gravity as a telescope? What could we learn about exoplanets with this on weird trick? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit

AaS! 233: Why Do We Care About Methane on Mars?

Oct 01 2024 34 mins  
What’s behind the Martian Methane Mystery? Is it a sign of life, or just some strange chemical process? Or are we just fooling ourselves? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp to get 10% off your firs

AaS! 232: Is Space Tourism a Good Idea?

Sep 17 2024 33 mins  
Why are private space companies pushing tourism? Is there a future for tourism in space? Is this an overall good thing for space exploration, or just a distraction? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp

AaS! 231: What Made the Local Bubble?

Sep 03 2024 30 mins  
Where do we live within the galaxy? What shapes the local bubble? How long will we be inside it? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp to get 10% off your first month! Support the show: http://www.patre

AaS! 230: Is the Universe Making Any New Galaxies?

Aug 20 2024 28 mins  
How do galaxies form and evolve? Is the universe still making new ones? What will happen to the current galaxies in the universe? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp to get 10% off your first month! S

AaS! 229: Is the James Webb Breaking Cosmology?

Aug 06 2024 36 mins  
What has the James Webb Space Telescope learned so far? Is it finding galaxies that “break” cosmology? What will we learn next? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp to get 10% off your first month!

AaS! 228: Can a Galaxy Be Destroyed?

Jul 16 2024 32 mins  
Can galaxies ever get destroyed? What happens to their stars? Do galaxies ever die? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/spaceman and get on your way to being your best self. Visit BetterHelp to get 10% off your first month! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutt