Story Archives of 'Space'

Four hundred years ago today, Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers. It was from this and other stronger telescopes that Galileo was able to discover mind-blowing details about our universe. His notion of a heliocentric system would cost him his freedom by the Roman Catholic Church, while his advancements in mathematics, motion and astronomy would earn him titles from the Father of Physics to the Father of Modern Science. We’ll look back at the life, achievements and legacy of Galileo Galilei.

Guests

• John Gianforte, astronomy instructor for the Granite State College, professor of Physics at the University of New Hampshire and co-founder of the Astronomical Society of Northern New England; he has researched and lectured extensively on Galileo's accomplishments this year as part of the International Year of Astronomy
• Dava Sobel, award-winning former science writer for the New York Times and author of several books including Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, we look at the feasibility of a human voyage to the Red Planet. A manned Mars mission is a dream of many astro-philes, but such a trip poses huge challenges: the logistics of carrying food, fuel and water, astronaut fatigue and psychological demand, delays in communication, danger and, an $18 billion price tag. We’ll talk about why some say it is important to land humans on Mars, what could be in its way, and how we might get around those challenges.

Guests

• Susan Hassler, editor in chief of IEEE Magazine, which features Mars in its June’s issue
• John Gianforte, astronomy instructor for the Granite State College and cofounder of the Astronomical Society of Northern New England

We’re turning up the volume on outer space.

Gravitational waves from exploding stars and black holes fill the universe with sounds we can’t hear. For the first time, scientists are learning how to tune in - and they’re hoping to uncover mysteries about the origins of the universe.

For more on this, we were joined by Janna Levin. She’s a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She joined us from Oxford College in England, where she’s on retreat this summer.

Amaldi8.org: Songs from Space: Black Holes and the Big Bang in Audio

Check out NASA's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)

Check out Caltech and MIT's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)

(Photo by Phil Plait via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Harvard researchers have confirmed the existence of a new supernova.

It’s an unusual discovery for two reasons. One, it might be the weakest supernova ever seen. And two, it was first spotted back in November by a 14-year-old using an ordinary telescope. Caroline Moore lives in Warwick, New York. She took time out to talk to us while studying for her freshman finals.

Switched: 14-Year-Old Discovers Rare Supernova

(Photo courtesy Chris Christner via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Even as people line up for the new Star Trek movie, there’s plenty of news from the real-life final frontier, including a risky mission to extend the life of the Hubble telescope, unexpected readings from Mercury’s atmosphere, and the discovery of high-speed runaway stars. We’ll beam in New Hampshire’s space experts and boldly go where no New Hampshire radio show has gone before.

Guests

• Mal Cameron, education specialist and coordinator of the NASA Educator Resource Center at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
• John Gianforte, astronomy instructor for the Granite State College and co-founder of the Astronomical Society of Northern New England