Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay
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Take a fact-based journey through the cosmos. Tune in to hear weekly discussions on astronomical topics ranging from planets to cosmology. Hosted by Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (Planetary Science Institute), this show brings the questions of an avid astronomy lover direct to an astronomer. Together Fraser and Pamela explore what is known and being discovered about the universe around us. Astronomy Cast is supported thru patreon.com/AstronomyCast.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Astronomy Cast makes cosmic discovery legible by connecting evidence to the instruments, engineering decisions, and uncertainties behind it.
Astronomy Cast turns big cosmic questions into working explanations, with Fraser Cain pressing for clarity and Pamela Gay following the evidence through instruments, engineering constraints, and scientific uncertainty.
A lunar laser stays off, and your curiosity gets an engineering mystery to solve.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A dying star leaves behind surviving worlds, debris, and a planetary nebula on a vast scale.
Astronomy Cast Ep. 789 treats a dying star less as an ending than as a messy inheritance: a white dwarf cooling, surviving planets, planetesimals, and debris still telling the story of the system that came before. Fraser Cain and Dr.
Astronomy Cast traces stellar material into cold clouds, where atoms bond and small molecules slowly grow larger.
Astronomy Cast treats stars as the start of a chemistry story, following material they shed into cold molecular clouds where atoms have enough time to settle near one another and bond.
The Moon is less forgiving than the plan, and this episode keeps that plain.
Fraser Cain and Pamela Gay keep the focus on the hard part here: the Moon does not care how neat the plan looks on paper. Their walk through Astrobotic's Peregrine, the VIPER decision, and Intuitive Machines' Odysseus stays grounded in the engineering, so the story feels…
A practical look at how space robots move when wheels are not enough.
Astronomy Cast Episode 758, Non-Roving Rovers, takes a practical look at planetary craft that move without relying on a conventional rover. It uses real mission examples to map the options, from hoppers to helicopter-style craft and an octocopter approach designed with…
A clear, practical look at CubeSats as a tight engineering problem with some odd and clever hardware to match.
The piece treats CubeSats as an engineering puzzle first, which fits the subject well. It keeps the attention on the cramped tradeoffs: power, antennas, science payloads, and the odd challenge of packing a satellite into a stack of 10 centimeter cubes.
A cosmology discussion that turns galaxy maps into clues about the early universe.
Astronomy Cast uses this episode to treat the universe's large scale structure as a clue to what happened very early on. Fraser and Pamela keep returning to the basics: you cannot jump to another era, so you sample different shells of space, count galaxies, and work backward…
A clear look at intermediate-mass black holes, LIGO evidence, and the uncertainty that still surrounds them.
This episode stays with the problem of intermediate-mass black holes and why they are still hard to prove. Fraser Cain and Pamela Gay trace the path from the first stellar-mass confirmations to the way LIGO reopened the question, then land on a 2019 merger that points toward a…
A brisk look at how planets get kicked out, and how some may leave in pairs.
The episode traces rogue planets from worlds that may be shed by young systems to the trickier case of binary planets that stay tied together.
Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-hosts field Cosmic Queries on physics, space, and beyond.
Rotating StarTalk scientist-hosts and a comedian co-host tackle listener-submitted cosmic questions.
ABC Radio National pairs daily Artemis II updates with its five-part Challenger Legacy investigation.
Patient space coverage with real mission context.
["Astronomy Cast Ep.
This episode explores what happens to planets when their host stars die, discussing the fate of planetary systems.
This episode discusses the discovery of life's molecules in space, exploring what is known and being discovered about the universe.
Commercial lunar landers are having a rough run.
Non-roving rovers sounds backward.
CubeSats sound small, then the compromises pile up.
Spherax is the puzzle on the table.
This episode explores the mystery of intermediate mass black holes, discussing recent discoveries from LIGO, Hubble, and DESI that reveal these objects in globular clusters and dwarf galaxies.
Fraser Cain and Dr.
Fraser Cain and Dr.
This episode explores how stars can be unpredictable and deceptive, discussing topics like the delayed nova of T.
Fraser and Pamela discuss the impact of drones in space exploration and Earth science, covering Mars' Ingenuity helicopter, the upcoming Titan Dragonfly mission, and applications like forest monitoring and meteorite collection.
Hosts Fraser Cain and Dr.
Fraser Cain and Dr.
This episode is a holiday gift guide, discussing astronomy-themed gift ideas.
This episode discusses the life and work of Albert Einstein in the context of astronomy and physics.
This episode discusses the Einstein Probe, a new X-ray telescope, and its potential for astronomical discoveries.
Fraser Cain and Dr.
This episode discusses the history and recent changes of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, exploring whether it is shrinking or fading away.
This episode explores the climate on Mars, discussing what is known and being discovered about the Martian atmosphere and weather.
This episode discusses climate science over the past 20 years from an astronomical perspective.