Universe Today Podcast

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 11:23
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1E7v7lv0U-o
Can you DYI a binocular telescope at home? Which binoculars should you get for stargazing? How many supernovae it took to create the Solar System? And in Q&A+ what happens is the Voyagers come back?
00:00 Intro

00:25 [@evandotpro] Does it make sense to DIY a binocular telescope?

03:30 [@JackRay-1] What magnification level and lens size would be good for binoculars used to stargaze?

08:24 [@szolosiseb773] How many stars went supernova before the formation of our current Solar System?

11:23 [@OneOfAMineRocks] What Happens When We See Voyager Coming Back From The Other Direction?

17:30 Final thoughts

BONUS STORY STARTS AT 25:06
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8eMctTM-dug
Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
My sister's website: https://haislacollins.com/
Japan’s Phobos mission is almost ready to launch and so is Roman, NASA needs help re-inventing the wheel, why Earth is inevitable, and on Space Bites+, melting diamonds to learn more about ice giant interiors. All this and more in this week’s Space Bites.
00:00 Intro

00:17 MMX Is Ready

03:18 Possible Origin of Deimos https://www.universetoday.com/articles/marss-funky-moon-deimos-was-shaped-by-an-impact

05:36 Phobos Transit https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/perseverance-captures-another-phobos-transit/

07:09 Starship aboard https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:255286

08:40 SpaceX's $100B expansion plan https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/spacex-intends-to-invest-up-to-100-billion-in-massive-louisiana-spaceport/

10:30 Reinventing the Wheel for NASA https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/nasa-challenge-tests-wheel-designs-for-moon-base-mobility/

13:20 Skyfall Drones https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-skyfall-mars-helicopters-will-feature-a-revolutionary-antenna-design

16:45 More Leads for Dark Matter https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-distant-stream-of-stars-may-offer-new-clues-to-dark-matter

18:56 Vote results

19:34 Earth is inevitable https://www.universetoday.com/articles/new-solar-system-models-show-earth-is-no-fluke

21:33 Roman's ready to launch

23:23 New image of Betelgeuse https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/audiences/alma-reveals-long-lived-hotspots-on-betelgeuses-bubbling-surface/

25:06 Bonus story https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-melted-a-diamond-and-cracked-a-secret-of-ice-giants

27:08 More space news

27:56 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:37
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2gtlfvI9JJ0
How much of the Universe's life has already passed? Is the Universe spinning? How do binary planets work? And in Q&A+, does solar wind influence the orbits of planets?
00:00 Intro

00:24 [@adamredwine774] What percent of the Universe's total lifetime have already passed?

05:41 [@DamingoFlave] Do you think that Deja Vu and Dreams could be glimpses into our multiverse versions of our lives we live?

07:45 [@ragetail3] Is the idea of adding a slingshot connected to earth for slinging rockets in to space a realistic idea?

12:26 [@HudsonAnsley] How do binary planets work??

14:37 [@danielguite3914] Do solar winds influence planet orbits?

17:23 Final thoughts

BONUS PART STARTS AT 20:51
Watch here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QD5sJ636wxM
More interviews: https://www.patreon.com/collection/44300/
🟣 Guest: Dr. Sanjoy Som https://www.bluemarblespace.org/
📜 Multistage Rocket Optimization, Geophysics, and the Spacefaring Envelope of Habitable Super-Earths https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.02691
Rockets fight against gravity to help us as a civilization escape into space. But what if a planet is much heavier? How big and dense does it need to get before a civilization gets permanently trapped and can't go to space?
00:00 Intro

01:16 Escaping the gravity well

06:53 Limiting factors

09:47 Rockets

15:18 Can a civilizations get trapped

20:51 Geology-driven civilization

32:54 Current obsessions

39:11 Final thoughts

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 21:21
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xrMsuZTdfAM
Couldn’t we use the entire moon as a data center? Does the vastness of space ever scare me? Do solar systems have Lagrange points? And in Q&A+, will we ever get to a Jetsons reality?
00:00 Intro

00:23 [@rwarren58] Couldn’t we use the entire moon as a data center?

03:58 [@jonathanchamberlain6260] Is the vastness of space and the unknown nature ever unnerving for you. I love space content but sometimes it gives me major anxiety.

11:16 [@ashstar42] How do you stay motivated when the world seems to be turning its back on progress?

20:04 [@DamingoFlave] Do Solar Systems have Lagrange points?

21:21 [@Stanton415] How quickly do you believe the robots will be able to give us Jetsons reality?

25:04 Final thoughts