Science Friday Folgen

What did the universe look like before any stars turned on? Astronomers call that time the “dark ages,” and while they think it may be possible to see remnants of it in very low frequency radio signals, hearing those signals from Earth can be challenging.   One possibility is to put a radio telescope on the far side of the moon, where it would have periods of observation shielded from interference both from Earth and from the sun—and potentially be able to receive that dark ages signal. The LuSEE-Night mission will explore that approach. A small demonstration radio telescope is slated for launch in late 2026 to serve as a proof of concept for low frequency radio astronomy on the lunar far side. Astronomer Anže Slosar, lead scientist for LuSEE-Night, joins Host Ira Flatow to describe the telescope project and what astronomers hope to achieve by sending it to the moon. Other episodes you may enjoy: CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos 3D Images Of Galaxies Will Rock You (Ft. Queen) Guests:  Dr. Anže Slosar is science lead for the LuSEE-Night project. He’s based at Brookhaven National Lab. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

To mark Earth Day, we asked you to tell us about your favorite places on the planet. You took us to the woods near Traverse City, Michigan, to a lake in Oklahoma, to Long Island Harbor where you spent your summers as a kid.  Basking in a sea breeze and admiring a sunset are basic human pleasures. But how do you take these moments and turn them into meaning? How do you pin those feelings down with words?  Joining Host Flora Lichtman are two poets who make that attempt for their livelihood: Jane Hirshfield, founder of Poets for Science, and Kimberly Blaeser, founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets and former Wisconsin poet laureate. Guests:  Kimberly Blaeser is a poet, founding director of Indigenous Nations Poets, and former Wisconsin Poet Laureate. Jane Hirshfield is a poet, essayist, and translator. She is the author of “Ledger” (Knopf, 2020) and nine other books of poetry. She’s based in San Francisco, California. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

What makes Earth special, and why are we here at all? In his book “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe That Make You Possible,” astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi tackles the conditions needed to put life on Earth, from the formation of stars, to self-organizing molecules, to quantum weirdness and the nature of time. He joins Host Flora Lichtman to celebrate our place in the cosmos.  Read an excerpt from "Why Do We Exist?" Guest:  Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi is an astrophysicist and author of “Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe that Make You Possible.” Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.