Tag Archives: Q&A

How do orbits work?

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Welcome to another Science Explainy Bit episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. Today we try to figure out just what an “orbit” actually is. Is it really as simple as they said in primary school? How does gravity, which normally pulls things down, work to keep the Moon in space? Download this episode now, to find the answer, and also learn a little about my upcoming appearance at ScopeX! What is an Orbit? () This turns out to be quite … Continue reading →

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Second season coming July 2nd

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Have you been wondering what happened to the Urban Astronomer Podcast? Do you know want to know why there haven’t been any episodes in a while? Then you’re going to want to hear this. We’re launching our second season, and we’ve decided to change how we do things here. While the basic format will still sound like the shows you’ve come to love and expect, we’re changing how we make them. Starting from the 2nd of June 2019, we’ll be … 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 #5: Mercury

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Welcome to the 5th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! We’re well on our way in the grand experiment of deciding how exactly to format the show, and today we’re trying yet another combination! We’ll start off by answering the question first asked in a classic Urban Astronomer article, one originally written back in 2010 and that’s been consistently popular with our readers:  Will an astronaut explode if they take off their helmet? Our feature item introduces my new co-host, and … Continue reading →

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Will Mars look as big as the Moon in August?

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Dear Urban Astronomer   I recently received this presentation in an email.  Apparently, Mars will look as big as the Moon on 27 August, because it will be closer to us than ever before in recorded history and will look as big as the Moon in the sky.  Is this true? I was tempted to simply dismiss this as a joke.  After all, it’s not like anybody still falls for this, right?  Surely people remember seeing the same hoax this time … Continue reading →