Star Stuff is a top astronomy podcast by Lowell Observatory. Learn about the wildest parts of our universe, from black holes to mad scientists, through the eyes of our hosts!
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In this episode of Star Stuff, retired NASA astronaut and B612 Foundation co-founder Rusty Schweickart joins Lowell Mission Scientist Dr. Melodie Kao and Lowell Historian Kevin Schindler to explore a question with no borders: how do you unite a divided world against a threat that could strike anyone, anywhere?
This is an intro to our new podcast, Star Stuff. Our first episode will be published on January 4, 2022, and will air weekly every Tuesday. Send questions, topic suggestions, corrections, or notes to info@lowell.edu or tweet us at @lowellobs. Subscribe between now and January 4, 2022, to get a special gift from our Star Stuff crew! Show us proof of your subscription to Star Stuff by tagging us in your social media story with a screenshot of your subscription confirmation OR email proof of your subscription to info@lowell.edu.
"Star Stuff Episode 01: Black Holes, Spacetime, and Bread" is now available wherever you get your podcasts! Listen in as Cody Half-Moon, Hailey Osborn, and Wesley Sonnemaker discuss how black holes affect our universe, the fabric of spacetime, and how it all relates to a bowling ball, a ping pong ball, and bread.
Cody Half-Moon, Madi Mooney, and guest John Compton discuss the Moon. John's background of geology and theoretical physics (or, as he says, he's just "theoretically a physicist") mixed with the celestial excitement from our resident goth, Madi, make for a fascinating discussion about the Moon's history, its lore, and... various cycles.
Star Stuff – Episode 03: “The Secrets of Lowell Observatory” Star Stuff discusses the “Secrets of Lowell” — all the best stories and lore you wouldn’t normally hear on a public tour of the campus. Hear about the 11-year-old girl who named Pluto, the stories surrounding our founder’s mausoleum, and the discovery of Pluto and dark matter. [View transcript here.]
Star Stuff discusses “Armageddon” — the movie from 1998 and a potential real-life asteroid that could hypothetically threaten Earth. Learn what a life-threatening asteroid may actually look like, what perfect conditions would need to exist, and how sailing could save the world. This episode was made possible by Lowell Observatory’s members and donors.
Famous engineer and planetary scientist Dr. Alan Stern joins the Star Stuff crew to share his experience leading the New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond. Listen as we discuss why Dr. Stern considers Pluto to indeed be a planet based on his coined definition of the “Star Trek Test.”
In Episode 6 of Star Stuff, we sit down with famous planetary scientist Dr. Cathy Olkin, who has done everything from chasing occultations of Pluto in Switzerland to chasing Trojan Asteroids as the Deputy Principal Investigator of the Lucy Mission. Join the Star Stuff crew as we delve into her stories of incredible adventures and space exploration. This podcast is a part of our celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and annual I Heart Pluto Festival, and was made possible by Lowell Observatory members.
Hear about Dr. Donald Johanson — the man who traversed Africa in his late 20s, slept with the lions, narrowly escaped helicopter crashes and a bout of Malaria, and through it all discovered the Lucy hominid fossil. This real-life Indiana Jones shares his incredible stories and discoveries with the Star Stuff crew, ahead of his appearance in Flagstaff at The Orpheum for Lowell Observatory’s “Night of Discovery” evening event. This episode was made possible thanks to Lowell Observatory members and donors.
Historians, gather ’round! In this episode of Star Stuff, the crew sits down with Alden Tombaugh and discuss his father, Clyde Tombaugh, and what it was like being the son of the man who discovered Pluto. We talk about his father’s early life, crow puns, Clyde’s favorite planet (spoilers: it wasn’t Pluto!), and why Alden pursued a career outside of astronomy. Star Stuff is made possible by Lowell Observatory members and donors.
In this episode of Star Stuff, the crew talks to Dr. Dan Durda about his art, his research, and life on other planets. Dr. Dan Durda has a biography that is too long for our character count in this description, but in summary he is an astronomer, artist, and the 2015 recipient of the “Carl Sagan Medal” for excellence in public communication in planetary science. We talk about his interest in astronomy, his research crashing asteroids together, his incredible art, and what he thinks about life on other planets.
Hear from Lowell Observatory Cosmologist Dr. Kyler Kuehn about his project to capture Dark Energy “on camera.” We do a deep dive on what Dark Energy is and how it differs from Dark Matter. Also, find out what StarBugs are!
On this episode of Star Stuff, the crew and Lowell Cosmologist Dr. Kyler Kuehn sits down with Dr. Roedolph Opperman to talk about what life in outer space may look like — and what NASA is really looking for on Mars.
In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk about what constellations are in the Northern Hemisphere's night sky right now, how to find them, and their stories throughout cultures around the world. In this episode: Ursa Major, Boötes, Virgo, Corvus, Leo, Coma Berenices, Cancer, and Gemini.
Star Stuff sits down with Lowell Astronomer Dr. Gerard van Belle to talk about the life cycle of stars. Find out why Gerard lovingly refers to our sun as a "lump of screaming plasma" and how a star can to turn into a black hole.
Join the Star Stuff Crew as we talk about the basics of the James Webb Space Telescope, including what it will help us discover, why it took so long to launch, what happened when we accidentally dropped it, and why Wesley called it a "very expensive paper crane."
Star Stuff joins Todd Gonzales (Lowell Education Manager) and Ed Finn of ASU's Center for Science and the Imagination to talk about what it means to imagine, and how we may imagine a better future for our species. Listen as we explore ideas about how imagining the future of space exploration may help change our future for the better. Ed Finn is the featured speaker for the April 16 special event in the ongoing program, "Lowell42."
A comet, an asteroid, and a centaur walk into a bar(red spiral galaxy)... If you want to be cool and get this joke, listen in on this episode of Star Stuff—we'll let you know what these celestial objects are, what we consider to be the best sci-fi movie, and if organic life could live frozen on an interstellar comet.
In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk to Grand Canyon “Dark Sky Ranger” Rader Lane about International Dark Sky Week (April 22 - 30) and how our neighbors at the Grand Canyon got their park named the first ever “International Dark Sky National Park.” Located just 80 miles north of Lowell Observatory, the Grand Canyon shares Flagstaff, Arizona’s enjoyment of incredible dark skies — but they worked hard to earn their designation and help preserve the incredible dark skies of Northern Arizona. Transcript available at lowell.edu.
In this episode of Star Stuff, the crew talks all about planets with two of Lowell’s planetary scientists, Dr. Amanda Bosh and Dr. Jennifer Hanley. Learn about our solar system’s big gassy planets, which moons we are researching that have the potential to support human life, and other mind-bending space facts.
Learn about how eclipses have been represented in history and in lore, and find out some fun facts about the moon.
In this episode of Star Stuff, Dr. Chip Shearer talks about his project with NASA to finally open a capsule of Moon rock collected in the early 1970s during the Apollo missions. We also discuss the "dark" side of the moon, what kind of rock makes up the Moon, and why NASA is interested in Moon core samples. Also, we decide the best way to pronounce the word "magma."
Star Stuff chats with Lowell research scientists Dr. Joe Llama and Dr. Kyler Kuehn about how they got into astronomy, where their studies took them, and why they didn't like math in school but majored in science. They also chat about how they got interested in their current studies: searching for exoplanets that could contain intelligent life and dark energy studies. Recorded on Mars Hill in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Star Stuff is joined by Nate Nise, Kevin White, and Dr. Scott Barrows of Lowell Observatory to talk about a few of our favorite sci-fi scores. To listen along with us, head to our discord where we have links to these scores, all of which are available on YouTube, and listen along with us!
Star Stuff sits down with Alaina Levine, an award-winning professional speaker, STEM career coach, science writer, TEDX speaker, and entrepreneur. Hear directly from Alaina how you can create your perfect career in STEM -- and it isn't always through the traditional educational track. We have a direct and honest conversation about complicated and difficult-to-navigate educational environments, the different kind of value you can bring to STEM roles, and challenges that people face in STEM fields. Alaina is offering 15 minutes free for career consulting, STEM education tracks, and networking in
