Deep Astronomy

Feb 15 2021 37 ep. 55 mins 348

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Welcome to Deep Astronomy, a podcast dedicated to helping us understand our place in the universe.

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Countdown to JWST #1: Finally Ready to Launch?

Feb 15 2021 21 mins

Here's the first installment of Countdown to JWST, a podcast that will track the mission up to launch (hopefully) later this year. Let's light this candle!

Was There A First Cause?

Nov 04 2019 54 mins

Was there a first cause? Can there be a event that started everything? What would such an event look like? In this episode Tony and Charlotte discuss the scientific and philosophical understanding of the beginning of the universe and what an effect that does NOT have a cause must look like.

When An Atheist Met A Catholic Theologian

Oct 29 2019 38 mins

This episode kicks off what I hope will be a weekly posting for the DA Show. My wife Charlotte is a Catholic theologian and philosopher who has taught me much outside of my scientific realm. I have heartily enjoyed our conversations over the years and now I hope to share some of them with you.

A Cautionary Science Tale: BICEP2 and the Perils of the Nobel Prize

Oct 11 2019 56 mins

Remember all the commotion about the BICEP2 mission back in 2014? Cosmologist had announced the observation of polarized "B-mode" waves that, if connected to the universal cosmic microwave background, would lend credence and observational support to the Inflationary Theory of Cosmology, this period just after the Big Bang when astronomers think the universe expanded exponenti

Using Nuclear Power for Deep Space Exploration

Oct 03 2019 62 mins

It turns out that NASA and others have been thinking about the inefficiencies of using chemical rockets to go to the Moon, Mars and the Outer Planets. One very attractive solution is Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, a technology that was begun in the 1960's and considered as a viable method of propelling Apollo astronauts to the Moon, but was abandoned in favor of chemical rockets

The Apophis Asteroid: Should You Be Worried?

Jun 03 2019 42 mins

Let's talk about the potentially hazardous asteroid known as Apophis. In April, 2029 this 320 meter rock will get so close that it will pass under the orbit of geosynchronous satellites! Astronomers held a conference in late April of 2019 to discuss the science that can be done as it passes so close to the Earth.

Was the Event Horizon Telescope Black Hole Image a Waste of Time?

May 20 2019 36 mins

In this podcast: an essay on whether the effort that went into making the black hole image in the distant galaxy M87 by the Event Horizon Telescope was worth it; an interview with star mapper Wil Tirion and more!

The Large Millimeter Telescope

May 17 2019 60 mins

This podcast features science and technology from the Large Millimeter Telescope. Our guests Nat DeNigris and David Sanchez will be on hand to discuss this amazing facility being operated in Mexico. The Large Millimeter Telescope is the world's largest single-aperture telescope in its frequency range, built for observing radio waves in the wave lengths from approximately 0.85

Just How Fast is the Universe Expanding EXACTLY? ...and how do we know this?

Apr 01 2019 61 mins

We've known since Edwin Hubble's time that the universe has been expanding. What we've only recently learned (like, in the past 10 years or so) is that the universe is accelerating as it expands. Measuring this expansion rate has been problematic and while there are at least two different ways to make the measurement, they don't always agree. This episode features Ed Ma

Life in the Universe? We May Be It!

Mar 28 2019 35 mins

I'm not convinced that life is everywhere in the cosmos. It is entirely possible, based on what we know today, that we are the only life there is. Anywhere. This episode is a brief discussion of that idea.