Astronomy Cast

Episodes page 1 of 6

1. Ep. 806: Mission Tech Series: Thrusters

   26 Oct 2026 · 29 min · S20 E806

   Streamed live 18 Oct 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Today we continue looking at space exploration technologies. This time we will examine thrusters, which can reorient a…

2. Ep. 805: Mission Tech Series: Gyroscopes & Servos

   19 Oct 2026 · 33 min

   Spinney things! Streamed live 18 Oct 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Our journey through space exploration technology continues! Today we look at the things that spin:…

3. Ep. 804: Mission Tech Series: Fairings, Docking & Airlocks

   12 Oct 2026 · 31 min · S20 E804

   Ad-Free thanks to your support at patreon.astronomycast.com! Instead of sending up an entire space station for every mission, you can just send up a tiny can filled with astronauts. But that takes docking. And today…

4. Ep. 803: Mission Tech Series: Engines & Stages

   5 Oct 2026 · 36 min · S20 E803

   Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed on October 3, 2026. Today our series continues with our deep dive into rockets, their engines & stages. We fall into the tyranny of the…

5. Ep. 802: Mission Tech Series: Rocket & Spacecraft 411

   28 Sep 2026 · 32 min · S20 E802

   Help us keep Astronomy Cast ad-free: https://patreon.com/astronomycast We removed all ads from the show. We need to get to 1500 patrons to keep it this way. We need your support! Streamed live on Sep 21, 2026 Hosted…

6. Ep. 801: The Beginning & End of Everything - Part 2

   21 Sep 2026 · 37 min · S20 E801

   Help us keep Astronomy Cast ad-free: https://patreon.com/astronomycast We removed all ads from the show. We need to get to 1500 patrons to keep it this way. We need your support! Streamed live on Sep 7, 2026. Hosted…

7. Astronomy Cast Can't Go On Like This

   15 Sep 2026 · 8:50

   After 20 years, it's time to make some changes. With your patronage we can ditch the ads & turn up the science. Please join our Patreon community at patreon.astronomycast.com

8. Ep. 800: The Beginning & End of Everything - Part 1

   14 Sep 2026 · 39 min

   Streamed live on Sep 7, 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) This show is supported through people like you on Patreon.com/AstronomyCast To celebrate our 20th season, we…

9. Ep. 799: Heavy Lift Rockets

   29 Jun 2026 · 39 min · S19 E799

   Astronomy Cast Ep. 799: Heavy Lift Rockets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 22, 2026. The Saturn 5 was a monster, capable of sending humans and a lander to the Moon and bringing them back again. But…

10. Ep. 797: Summer in Space

    15 Jun 2026 · 35 min

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 797: Summer in Space By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 10, 2026. We're about to take a much needed 2 month hiatus. But just because we're not here doesn't mean space stops existing…

11. Ep. 796: Oceans & Organics on Mars

    8 Jun 2026 · 31 min · S19 E796

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 796: Oceans & Organics on Mars By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 1, 2026. Mars is cold & dry today, but the evidence is growing that it used to be warmer & wetter. with seas &…

12. Ep. 795: Expanse Science

    1 Jun 2026 · 32 min · S19 E795

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 795: Expanse Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 10, 2026. This is the final episode of our series on sci-fi universes. And this week we will tackle "The Expanse". Now we've…

13. Ep. 794: Stargate Science

    18 May 2026 · 39 min · S19 E794

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 794: Stargate Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 10, 2026. We continue our ad-hoc miniseries through sci-fi franchises. This week we'll talk about Stargate, worm holes, mind…

14. Ep. 793: Star Trek Science

    11 May 2026 · 35 min · S19 E793

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 793: Star Trek Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live May 4, 2026. Today we continue our mini-series; evaluating the science of various sci-fi franchises. We did Star Wars last week,…

15. Ep. 792: Star Wars Science

    4 May 2026 · 40 min · S19 E792

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 792: Star Wars Science By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live April 29, 2026. May the fourth be with you! Isn't that what people say on the international holiday known as Star Wars Day? Today…

16. Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line

    22 Dec 2025 · 35 min · S19 E775

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 775: The Hydrogen 21-cm Line By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 15, 2025. Atomic hydrogen is the raw material for stars, but there's a problem. It's cold & dark, but it can do a…

17. Ep. 761: It's Here! The Vera Rubin Observatory

    30 Jun 2025 · 31 min · S18 E761

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 761: It's Here! The Vera Rubin Observatory By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live June 25, 2025. The time has come. The mighty Vera Rubin Observatory has finally come on line and delivered its…

18. Ep. 759: The Commercial Space Program

    16 Jun 2025 · 35 min · S18 E759

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 759: The Commercial Space Program By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jun 9, 2025. Humanity has turned its focus back to the Moon, sending a fleet of spacecraft to the lunar surface.…

19. Ep. 757: CubeSats

    26 May 2025 · 33 min · S18 E757

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 757: CubeSats By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 19, 2025. Computers are getting smaller, faster and more capable, which has enabled an entirely mew class of satellites: CubeSats. A…

20. Ep. 756: SphereX

    19 May 2025 · 28 min · S18 E756

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 756: SphereX By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 12, 2025. NASA's newly launched SphereX mission is up & operational and has completed its initial checkout and "first light".…

21. Ep. 755: Intermediate Mass Black Holes

    12 May 2025 · 32 min · S18 E755

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 755: Intermediate Mass Black Holes By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 5, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. There are stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. But…

22. Ep. 753: Why is the Moon's South Pole So Interesting?

    28 Apr 2025 · 36 min · S18 E753

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 753: Why is the Moon's South Pole So Interesting? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 21, 2025. I'm sure you've heard that all eyes are on the Moon's southern pole. This is where…

23. Ep. 752: Should We Go to the Moon or Mars Next?

    21 Apr 2025 · 37 min · S18 E752

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 752: Should We Go to the Moon or Mars Next? By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 16, 2025. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay There is an ongoing debate on where NASA should…

24. Ep. 748: Fast Radio Bursts

    24 Mar 2025 · 28 min · S18 E748

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 748: Fast Radio Bursts By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Mar 17, 2025. For the briefest of moments, some dead stars can flash brighter than their entire galaxy (in Radio light) and…

25. Ep. 746: Dust Storms

    3 Mar 2025 · 28 min · S18 E746

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 746: Dust Storms By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Feb 24, 2025. We have dust storms on Earth and of course the famous dust storms on Mars. There are even dust storms on Titan. What…

26. Ep. 741: Technosignatures

    27 Jan 2025 · 36 min · S18 E741

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 741: Technosignatures By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 20, 2025. As humanity developed more advanced technology, we're having a larger effect on our environment. The more we do,…

27. Ep. 740: Sneaky Stars!

    20 Jan 2025 · 30 min · S18 E740

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 740: Sneaky Stars! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Jan 13, 2025. Why stars can't be trusted! If you're an astronomer you depend on accurate observations of stars, but there's a…

28. Ep. 739: Drones!

    13 Jan 2025 · 32 min · S18 E739

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 739: Drones! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live January 9, 2025. From little Ingenuity to the future Firefly and all our Earth Science fliers, let's look at the buzzy scientists. NASA's…

29. Ep. 736: Gift Guide 2024

    9 Dec 2024 · 38 min · S18 E736

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 736: Gift Guide 2024 By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Dec 2, 2024 It's time for our Holiday Gift Guide, where we suggest ideas for presents for the space fans in your life! What books…

30. Ep. 735: Albert Einstein

    2 Dec 2024 · 37 min · S18 E735

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 735: Albert Einstein By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 25, 2024. Last week we talked about the Einstein probe. So this week it is only natural that we talk about the man himself,…

31. Ep. 734: The Einstein Mission

    18 Nov 2024 · 30 min · S18 E734

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 734: The Einstein Mission By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 11, 2024. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. Another day, another space telescope! Today we're looking at the…

32. Ep. 733: Euclid Of Alexandria

    11 Nov 2024 · 28 min · S18 E733

    Astronomy Cast - Ep. 733: Euclid Of Alexandria By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Nov 5, 2024. Last week we talked about the mission. This week we'll talk about Euclid of Alexandria, the ancient Greek…

33. Ep. 732: The Euclid Telescope

    4 Nov 2024 · 33 min · S18 E732

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 732: The Euclid Telescope By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 28, 2024. Let's look at the Euclid Space Telescope. Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay The Euclid…

34. Ep. 731: Neil Gehrels

    28 Oct 2024 · 31 min · S18 E731

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 731: Neil Gehrels By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Oct 21, 2024. Last week we talked about the Neil Gerhels Swift Telescope, this week we'll be talking about the man behind the…

35. Ep. 729: The James Webb Space Telescope

    7 Oct 2024 · 38 min · S18 E729

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 729: The James Webb Space Telescope By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 30, 2024. Let's talk about that giant telescope that's changing everything. We have been waiting our entire…

36. Ep. 728: Solar Scientist Eugene Parker

    30 Sep 2024 · 30 min · S18 E728

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 728: Solar Scientist Eugene Parker By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 23, 2024. Last week, we talked about the Parker Solar Probe. As always, we like to talk about the person who…

37. Ep. 727: Parker Solar Probe

    23 Sep 2024 · 31 min · S18 E727

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 727: Parker Solar Probe By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 16, 2024. Let's look over the long life of the Parker Solar Probe as it explores the Sun and nearby worlds. The Sun! It's…

38. Ep. 726: Looking Back Over The Summer

    16 Sep 2024 · 38 min · S18 E726

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 726: Looking Back Over The Summer By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Sep 9, 2024. We made all sorts of predictions, and some of the stuff we didn't know about last July, somehow, we still…

39. Ep. 173: Herschel Space Observatory - REMASTER

    26 Aug 2024 · 25 min · S17 E173

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 173: Herschel Space Observatory - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From January 18, 2009. Last week we talked about Herschel the people – William Herschel, his sister Caroline, and his son…

40. Ep. 172: William Herschel - REMASTER

    19 Aug 2024 · 26 min · S17 E172

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 172: William Herschel - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From January 11, 2010. Ancient astronomers knew of 5 planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – 6 if you count Earth. And…

41. Ep. 88 - The Hubble Space Telescope - REMASTER

    12 Aug 2024 · 33 min · S17 E88

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 88 - The Hubble Space Telescope - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From May 12, 2008. Our understanding of the cosmos has been revolutionized by the Hubble Space Telescope. The breathtaking…

42. Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble - REMASTER

    5 Aug 2024 · 27 min · S17 E162

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 162: Edwin Hubble - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From November 2, 2009. You might know the name "Hubble" because of the Hubble Space Telescope. But this phenomenal observatory was named…

43. Ep. 219 - Planck Mission - REMASTER

    29 Jul 2024 · 29 min · S17 E219

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 219 - Planck Mission - REMASTER By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From February 7, 2011. Another mission named after a famous physicist. This time we're looking at the Planck mission, designed to study…

44. Ep. 218 REMASTER - Max Plank

    22 Jul 2024 · 29 min · S17 E218

    Astronomy Cast - Ep. 218 REMASTER - Max Plank By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay From Jan 31, 2011. It's time for another action-packed double episode, where we meet a man and his mission. This time around its German…

45. Bonus Content: The week of too much news

    15 Jul 2024 · 21 min

    In this bonus episode, we bring you behind the scenes audio from our June 10 pre-show discussion about the "far too much news" that occurred the week of June 3, 2024.

46. Ep. 720: Galaxy Series - Elliptical Galaxies

    20 May 2024 · 29 min · S17 E720

    Astronomy Cast - Ep. 720: Galaxy Series - Elliptical Galaxies by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 30, 2024. Our galaxy series continues with elliptical galaxies. Unlike other types, these are large,…

47. Ep. 719: Galaxy Series - Spiral Galaxies

    13 May 2024 · 33 min · S17 E719

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 719: Galaxy Series - Spiral Galaxies by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 30, 2024. Our galaxy series continues, on to spiral galaxies. In fact, you're living in one right now, but…

48. Ep. 718: Galaxy Series - Dwarf Galaxies

    6 May 2024 · 31 min · S17 E718

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 718: Galaxy Series - Dwarf Galaxies by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 30, 2024. It's time to begin a new mini-series, where we'll look at different classes of galaxies. Today,…

49. Ep. 717: Understanding the Ages of Distant Cosmic Objects

    29 Apr 2024 · 30 min · S17 E717

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 717: Understanding the Ages of Distant Cosmic Objects by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 22, 2024. How old is that star? That planet? That nebula? Figuring out the ages of…

50. Ep. 716 - The God**** Particle - Remembering Peter Higgs

    22 Apr 2024 · 29 min · S17 E716

    Astronomy Cast Ep. 716 - The God**** Particle - Remembering Peter Higgs by Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Apr 15, 2024. Last week, we learned about the death of Peter Higgs, a physicist and discoverer of…