Skywatch - MP3 Podcast
1) Episode 460: HubbleWatch for July 2013
Hubble maps a double-star system’s outbursts, and a fortuitous alignment of stars will allow us to search for planets around our nearest stellar neighbor. Hubble Maps 3-D Structure of Ejected Ma...Show More
2) Episode 459: Pluto Moons Named
Pluto's new moons have new names, given by the public via popular vote. P4 and P5, as they were previously known, are now called Styx and Kerberos. The names match Pluto's mythological theme, since Pl...Show More
3) Episode 458: Proxima Centauri's Planets?
At a distance of 4.2 light-years from Earth, Proxima Centauri is just 0.2 light-years from the more-distant binary star Alpha Centauri A+B. These three stars are considered part of the triple-star sys...Show More
4) Episode 457: Mapping the Moon's Gravity
NASA’s twin GRAIL probes were launched in 2011 to fly to the Moon and measure changes in the gravity of that body. The analysis of the data has just been published and shows a detailed map of the grav...Show More
5) Episode 456: Perigean Tides
High tides happen every day, but some are higher than others. Some of the highest tides, called “perigean high tides,” occur when the Moon is closest to Earth in its monthly orbit. When coastal storm...Show More
6) Episode 455: Comet ISON Draws Near
A new comet discovered in September 2012 is on its way for a close approach to the Sun and perhaps a brilliant appearance in Earth’s skies late in 2013. Called Comet ISON, it will be closest to the Su...Show More
7) Episode 454: Hydrogen Clouds in the Neighborhood
Radio observations of the region between the two spiral galaxies nearest our own, Andromeda and Triangulum, have verified the presence of hydrogen gas clouds. The clouds are hard to find, since they a...Show More
8) Episode 453: Same Source for Earth and Moon Water?
New research tells us that water located deep inside both Earth and the Moon may have come from the same source, and that source is likely ancient meteorites, similar to the asteroids now populating t...Show More
9) Episode 452: Traces of Rocky Materials on White Dwarf Stars
Astronomers have discovered signs of rocky debris in the vicinity of white dwarf stars in the Hyades star cluster. It's possible that the debris indicates the presence of Earth-sized planets in the ne...Show More
10) Episode 451: HubbleWatch for May 2013
Hubble studies a strange, ancient visitor to our galaxy. Join HubbleWatch for a discussion of the "Methuselah star" HD 140283, a fast-moving star with a long and odd past. Hubble Finds Birth Cer...Show More