Skytalk Archive
Sunset comes at 4:35pm this week, then gradually later and later, though it won’t be until early January before we really start to ...
Air Date: December 4, 2017
Listen 05:37
Getting Closer to Finding Another Earth
The planet Ross 128 is 11 light-years away and 1.35 times the mass of Earth and orbits its red dwarf star every 9.9 days. Initial d ...
Air Date: November 20, 2017
Listen 7:23
Scientists have discovered a new suggestion of habitability in the ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Early doubts about tidal frict ...
Air Date: November 14, 2017
Listen 05:39
Studies of asteroids are revealing that they might have a watery history. The DAWN spacecraft orbiting Ceres has provided data that sugge ...
Air Date: November 7, 2017
Listen 6:10
Not merely out-of-this-world, a comet from beyond our solar system came and went earlier this month. Cross-quarter-day approaches ...
Air Date: October 30, 2017
Listen 05:43
Pluto: The non-ringed non-planet
We begin with the story of Spitz Laboratories, based in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. In the 1960s, the space race kicked off a nationwide s ...
Air Date: October 23, 2017
Listen 07:42
This Saturday marks the 94th anniversary of the first public planetarium show given at the German model for The Franklin Institute, the D ...
Air Date: October 16, 2017
Listen 06:04
Elon Musk wants to get off this planet
Elon Musk has released a new proposal for becoming a multi-planet species. He is advocating phasing out Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon ...
Air Date: October 9, 2017
Listen 06:01
Today, Dave and Dr. Pitts are stopping by the ice craters of Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun. Temperatures on Mercury typically ho ...
Air Date: October 6, 2017
Listen 5:30
A Netherlands astronomy team discovered a star spinning 42,000 times every minute! Our sun spins once every 30 days or so. Rotating neutr ...
Air Date: September 26, 2017
Listen 6:11
Dave and Dr. Pitts count down the final days of summer as the Autumnal Equinox approaches. Expect shorter days ahead and dwindling daylig ...
Air Date: September 19, 2017
Listen 00:05:39
America’s Most Experienced Astronaut
Let’s sing the praises of NASA superstar Peggy Whitson! Now back on Planet Earth after 288 days in space, she’s now the most ...
Air Date: September 11, 2017
Listen 00:05:33
Voyager 1 left Earth 40 years ago, on September 5th, 1977. Voyager 2 left first, on August 20th. Amazingly, both are still functioning. T ...
Air Date: September 5, 2017
Listen 00:07:08
Asteroid Florence will pass Earth on Saturday. At 2.4 miles in diameter, it’s the largest since researchers began keeping close tab ...
Air Date: August 29, 2017
Listen 00:06:01
Diminished Daylight in the Dog Days
We’ve now lost 25 minutes off sunsets and 30 minutes off sunrises – that’s an hour daylight change already from the sol ...
Air Date: August 14, 2017
Listen 00:06:44