Tag Archives: Planet

Why are planets always round?

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Welcome to the second episode of this second season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! Two of Two, sounds like it should be special… and it kinda sort of is, because this week we’re presenting the first of our unique patented Science Explainy Bits! Now to be clear, it’s the name that’s new, not the science explaining, because I’ve done explainy stuff for science concepts before on this show, back in our super-extended 42 episode long first season. I got quite … Continue reading →

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Podcast #34: The Equinox Show

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Welcome to this special Equinox edition of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! This episode I share the microphone with Clem Unger for the first of a quarterly series. Clem has been on the show before, and he’ll be back every equinox and every solstice. In this episode We start with a look at coming attractions in the sky over the next three months. Clem discusses the state of current asteroid missions OSIRIS-Rex and Hayabusa 2 Allen and Clem butt heads over … Continue reading →

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Podcast #8: Venus, KELT-11b and Blood Moon Pregnancies

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Welcome to the 8th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast!  This week, Cathrine continues her series on The Planets with the hottest world in our Solar System: Venus.  Allen then reports on the discovery, by a telescope at SAAO’s facility in Sutherland, of KELT-11b, an unusually inflated exoplanet.  And finally we look at what is apparently a common question in parts of the world: Is it safe to watch a Lunar Eclipse, while pregnant? This is Cathrine’s second appearance in … Continue reading →

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Podcast #1: Seven earth-like planets

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Wow, we finally did it!  The podcast is alive, and this is the first episode!  In this episode, I cover probably the biggest astronomy news item of the year so far, and also read one of my more recent opinion pieces.  I know, you could just read it yourself, but it’s something I feel quite passionate about, and wanted to let you hear it in my own voice. As long-time readers will know, this is something I’ve been threatening to … Continue reading →

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Mercury

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Mercury is one of The five classical planets and an easy naked eye object.  The planets stood out from the other stars to our ancestors because of the way they all moved in regular patterns against the night sky, but Mercury was unique in its rapid motion and the way it never strayed far from the sun.  If the planets were to be named for gods, then it was only natural that the flighty mercurial one should be their messenger. … Continue reading →