A Whisper of a Hint of Primordial Black Holes plus Earth BLOBs

·41 min·4 clips

What single astronomy experience would you give to every person on Earth, and why?

The episode begins with the hosts posing a stumper: what astronomy or space-related experience would you give to every person on Earth? Audrey suggests seeing Earth from ISS distance, Jim proposes falling into a black hole to experience spacetime warping, and Addie mentions zero-G flights or dark sky sites. They transition to Nerd News, discussing the animated revival of Firefly. A sponsored segment humorously covers Type I Migration. The hosts debate the pronunciation of 'kilometer,' with Josh arguing for consistency. Space news includes Artemis 2 rollout plans and Blue Origin's New Glenn launch. NASA's Artemis III update is detailed, revealing it will no longer involve a moon landing but instead focus on Earth-orbit rehearsals, with landing pushed to Artemis IV. An asteroid impact update notes 2024 YR4 won't hit the moon. Addie explains research on Earth's mantle structures called 'blobs' (Big Lower Mantle Basal Structures), linking them to historical magnetic field changes via heat flow effects. Jim presents trivia on solar system bodies with at least 5% Earth's gravity, listing 13 objects including Earth, Venus, Mars, moons, and dwarf planets. He then discusses a LIGO gravitational wave detection, S250112CM, which might indicate a sub-solar mass black hole, potentially evidence for primordial black holes and dark matter. The episode closes with Oscar night comments and sign-offs.

As heard by us

A space-policy chat built around a universal stumper and Artemis III's revised path.

Walkabout the Galaxy opens with a planet-wide stumper about which astronomy, physics, or space experience everyone should have, then folds that question into Artemis III and the shift away from a one-shot lunar landing toward more rehearsal in Earth orbit.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You get a stumper about a shared astronomy or physics experience, plus an Artemis III update that shifts the mission toward rehearsal instead of a moon landing.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Walkabout the Galaxy