Planetary Radio
Planetary Radio
Each week, Planetary Radio visits with a scientist, engineer, project manager, astronaut, advocate or writer who provides a unique and exciting perspective on the exploration of our solar system and beyond. We also showcase regular features that raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Host Mat Kaplan is joined by Planetary Society colleagues Bill Nye the Science Guy, Bruce Betts, and Emily Lakdawalla. We hit the road now and then to produce a Planetary Radio Live show in front of an audience. Drop us a line or enter the weekly space trivia contest at planetaryradio@planetary.org.
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Recent Shows
Saving Science Education With Pamela Gay AND Creating the Blackest Black
06/10/2013 | 35:12
Guests
- David Carnahan, President and Co-Founder, NanoLab
- Pamela Gay, Astronomer, Astronomy Cast Co-host and CosmoQuest Principal, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
A Planetary Radio double header includes a visit with CosmoQuest’s Pamela Gay. She and colleagues are working to replace vital federal funds for science education and citizen science programs. We also go to the dark side with David Carnahan of NanoLab, developer of carbon nanotubes that may help us discover Earth-like planets.
Tasting the Air of Distant Worlds
06/03/2013 | 31:50
Guests
- Ben R. Oppenheimer, Associate Curator/Astrophysics Department Chair, American Museum of Natural History, Division of Physical Sciences
There will soon be one thousand confirmed exoplanets, but how do we learn more about such distant worlds? We talk to the leader of a team that has recently developed technology capable of revealing the spectra of these planets, which allows us to tease apart their composition. Emily Lakdawalla invites you to find the next “face” on Mars, while Bill Nye says another asteroid flyby is good news. Our special What’s Up space trivia contest prize will put your picture in orbit!
More of Our ALMA Adventure in Chile's Atacama Desert
03/25/2013 | 28:50
Guests
- Denis Barkats, Sysem Astronomer, ALMA
- Stuartt Corder, Commissioning and Science Verification Project Scientist, ALMA
- Pierre Cox, Director, ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
Our special coverage of the ALMA Observatory inauguration continues, with the President of Chile, the incoming ALMA Director, and much more from the Atacama Desert.
03/18/2013 | 28:50
Guests
- Ewine van Dishoeck, Radio Astronomer, University of Leiden & Former ALMA Board Member
- Al Wooten, North American Project Scientist and head of the North American ALMA Science Center, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- Alison Peck, Former ALMA Commissioning Scientists Team Leader, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- Gianni Marconi, Commissioning Scientist, ALMA
The first of two shows about Mat Kaplan's journey to Chile's Atacama Desert for the inauguration of the Atacama Large Millimeter small millimter Array, the most ambitious, Earth-based astronomy project in history.
Debra Fischer Hunts for a Second Earth at Alpha Centauri
01/28/2013 | 28:53
Guests
- Debra Fischer, Astronomer
Yale Professor of Astronomy Debra Fischer is one of our planet’s most successful discoverers of exoplanets. She has set her sights on Alpha Centauri, where she hopes to find a Earth-sized world in the habitable zone: not too hot, not too cold for life.
The Gigantic ALMA Radio Telescope in Chile
01/21/2013 | 28:50
Guests
- Alison Peck, Former ALMA Commissioning Scientists Team Leader, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- Al Wooten, North American Project Scientist and head of the North American ALMA Science Center, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
ALMA will make sharper images than the Hubble Space Telescope, yet it’s a radio telescope! ALMA scientists Alison Peck and Al Wooten tell us about this array of 66 huge dishes in Chile’s Atacama desert.
Visiting the AAS Meeting for a JWST Update and More
01/14/2013 | 52:37
Guests
- Jason Kalirai, Deputy Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope, Space Telescope Science Institute
- Dean C. Hines, Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute
The 221st meeting of the American Astronomical Society was a great place to learn about the James Webb Space Telescope from Jason Kalirai and Dean C. Hines.
Looking Back, Looking Forward: Beginning a New Year In Space
12/31/2012 | 28:50
Guests
- Bruce Betts, Director of Projects, The Planetary Society
- Casey Dreier, Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator, The Planetary Society
- Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor and Planetary Evangelist, The Planetary Society
- Bill Nye, Chief Executive Officer
Planetary Society experts review the challenges and triumphs of 2012 and look forward to a new and exciting year. You’ll hear Bill Nye the Science Guy, Emily Lakdawalla on new missions, Casey Dreier on “Saving our Science,” and Bruce Betts’ review of great projects, as well as a musical rendition of “Random Space Fact.”
First Earth-Sized Exoplanet is Next Door!
12/10/2012 | 28:50
Guests
- Xavier Dumusque, Astronomer, University of Generva
Xavier Dumusque is the young astronomer who was lead author for the announcement of the first exoplanet found in the Alpha Centauri system, just 4.3 light years from Earth. It's also the first Earth-sized world found outside our own system.
Searching for Pandora With Debra Fischer
04/09/2012
Guests
- Debra Fischer, Astronomer
Yale exoplanet hunter Debra Fischer is about to begin looking for worlds in the star system that is nearest to Earth. She'll tell us about new technology enabling this effort, and how you can join the search.
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