Cosmic Controversy Podcast

31/07/2023

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2023/07/31/game-changing-eso-sky-survey-could-rewrite-history-of-milky-way/?sh=4d939a8d4352

The former Soviet republic of Estonia continues its tradition of astronomical innovation. Tartu Observatory is playing a key role in a forthcoming ESO sky survey.

19/06/2023

An ambitious new European Space Agency (ESA) telescope which is set to launch next month should give us the best-ever understanding of the cosmos’ dark matter and dark energy.

A new European Space Agency (ESA) telescope which is set to launch next month should give us the best-ever understanding of the cosmos’ dark matter and dark energy.

26/08/2022

New paper links formation of Earth’s continents to solar system’s passage through dense interstellar clouds within our Milky Way’s four spiral arms. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/08/26/milky-ways-spiral-arms-incredibly-triggered-earths-continent-formation/?sh=3983748c35fc

New paper links formation of Earth’s continents to solar system’s passage through dense interstellar clouds within our Milky Way’s four spiral arms.

27/07/2022

NASA lunar orbiter detects an equatorial pit crater with temperatures that hover around 63 degrees Fahrenheit. If so, this pit and others like it could offer a wholly natural refuge from the Moon’s cold lunar night. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/07/27/nasas-lro-spacecraft-detects-a-lunar-lava-pit-that-promises-room-temperatures/?sh=64f7f3887e04

NASA lunar orbiter detects an equatorial pit crater with temperatures that hover around 63 degrees Fahrenheit. If so, this pit and others like it could offer a wholly natural refuge from the Moon’s cold lunar night.

23/07/2022

NASA needs to use its bully pulpit to capitalize on the Webb space telescope’s remarkable early success and ensure that Congress coughs up the cash needed for a veritable Webb 2.0. If pushed, such a Webb follow-on might launch as early as 2040. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/07/23/why-nasa-needs-a-webb-20-sooner-rather-than-later/?sh=13ea8ad35288

NASA needs to use its bully pulpit to capitalize on the Webb space telescope’s remarkable early success and ensure that Congress coughs up the cash needed for a veritable Webb 2.0. If pushed, such a Webb follow-on might launch as early as 2040.

16/07/2022

“Before the Big Bang” details cosmologist’s personal and scientific journey from Cold War Albania to front line arguments over multiverse physics. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/07/16/new-book-details-proof-that-we-live-in-a-cosmological-multiverse/?sh=3360b4e91f35

“Before the Big Bang” details cosmologist’s personal and scientific journey from Cold War Albania to front line arguments over multiverse physics.

11/07/2022

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date. Known as Webb’s First Deep Field, this image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 is overflowing with detail.

09/07/2022

Planetary scientists measure ancient remanent magnetic fields in two Antarctic meteorites to better understand the gaseous nebula from which our solar system formed. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/07/09/rare-meteorites-reveal-details-of--solar-systems-ancient-nebula/?sh=25aed0b038ff

Planetary scientists measure ancient remanent magnetic fields in two Antarctic meteorites to better understand the gaseous nebula from which our solar system formed.

02/07/2022

The fine points of our Sun’s astrophysics still elude researchers and until we understand the internal dynamics of our own star, we’ll never fully understand the plethora of other stars in the galaxy. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/07/02/our-suns-5-biggest-remaining-mysteries/?sh=7c4aeac51bc7

The fine points of our Sun’s astrophysics still elude researchers and until we understand the internal dynamics of our own star, we’ll never fully understand the plethora of other stars in the galaxy.

25/06/2022

Vital mission to the Main Belt Asteroid (16) Psyche, which had been due to launch no earlier than September, has been postponed to at least 2023, says NASA. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/25/nasas-psyche-mission-suffers-new-launch-delay/?sh=124efe257769

Vital mission to the Main Belt Asteroid (16) Psyche, which had been due to launch no earlier than September, has been postponed to at least 2023, says NASA.

23/06/2022

Former Deputy NASA Administrator Lori Garver says NASA is resistant to change and stymied by entrenched special interests. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/23/new-book-paints-bleak-picture-of-nasas-human-spaceflight-program/?sh=269fff077882

Former Deputy NASA Administrator Lori Garver says NASA is resistant to change and stymied by entrenched special interests.

17/06/2022

New study models future projected space launch emissions’ effects on our upper atmosphere’s ozone layer and the results aren’t good. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/17/future-rocket-launch-increases-could-harm-ozone-layer-says-noaa/?sh=748d04373c59

New study models future projected space launch emissions’ effects on our upper atmosphere’s ozone layer and the results aren’t good.

15/06/2022

Exotic dark matter is still used to explain the formation and dynamics of large spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way. But does it really exist? https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/14/can-galaxies-form-without-dark-matter/?sh=199b299d141c

Exotic dark matter is still used to explain the formation and dynamics of large spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way. But does it really exist?

31/05/2022

The clock is ticking on this decade. We’ll soon be at mid-century and if we aren’t careful, opportunities for cutting-edge space exploration will have passed us by. Thus, here are five space exploration imperatives for 2030. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/05/31/5-space-exploration-imperatives-to-hit-by-2030/?sh=25cf5e24850a

The clock is ticking on this decade. We’ll soon be at mid-century and if we aren’t careful, opportunities for cutting-edge space exploration will have passed us by. Thus, here are five space exploration imperatives for 2030.

30/05/2022

Recent exoplanetary science conference points to the need for more detailed characterization of the 5000 known planets circling other sunlike stars. More funding would also allow for more high-risk, high-reward exoplanetary science missions, says researcher. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/05/30/astronomers-should-shift-focus-to-understanding-exoplanets-weve-already-discovered-says-researcher/?sh=4c6f5126c9ce

A recent exoplanetary science conference points to the need for more detailed characterization of the 5000 known planets circling other sunlike stars. More funding would also allow for more high-risk, high-reward exoplanetary science missions, says researcher.

27/05/2022

A binary star system caught in the earliest stages of formation is giving astronomers clues as to why solar systems that circle double stars may be altogether different than our own. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/05/27/binary-stars-may-stymie-life-as-we-know-it-alma-obervations-indicate/?sh=148dc8d82647

A binary star system caught in the earliest stages of formation is giving astronomers clues as to why solar systems that circle double stars may be altogether different than our own.

25/05/2022

Decades-old dreams of a lunar far side low-frequency radio array appear to finally be coming to fruition. New tech and lower costs will make it happen by 2030. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/05/24/bezos-blue-origin-may-ferry-futuristic-radio-telescope-to-moons-far-side/?sh=e1f46a3d7fa1

Decades-old dreams of a lunar far side low-frequency radio array appear to finally be coming to fruition. New tech and lower costs will make it happen by 2030.

14/05/2022

This summer a team at the University of Colorado in Boulder will launch two NASA-funded sounding rockets from Northern Australia to determine whether our nearest stellar neighbors have an inner solar system that could support life. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/05/13/nasa-funded-sounding-rockets-to-probe-nearby-stars-habitable-zones/?sh=54c631a77d93

This summer a team at the University of Colorado in Boulder will launch two NASA-funded sounding rockets from Northern Australia to determine whether our nearest stellar neighbors have an inner solar system that could support life.

28/04/2022

Solar powered settlements on Mars have a future. New analysis shows new solar cell photovoltaics are competitive with NASA’s designs for Martian kilowatt nuclear reactors. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/04/28/solar-edges-nuclear-as-a-power-source-for-many-potential-mars-settlements/?sh=2434721d7ab4

Solar powered settlements on Mars have a future. New analysis shows new solar cell photovoltaics are competitive with NASA’s designs for Martian kilowatt nuclear reactors.

26/04/2022

NASA and U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Argonne lab team up to model problems facing Hypersonic flight.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/04/26/nasa-and-argonne-lab-tackle-hypersonics-with-supercomputing-ai-software/?sh=593285023535

NASA and U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Argonne lab team up to model problems facing Hypersonic flight.

24/04/2022

Compelling new book argues that we really need to forget about astronauts and instead renew our focus on robotics for the continued exploration of space. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/04/24/leave-space-exploration-to-the-robots-says-new-book/?sh=2886593975a1

Compelling new book argues that we really need to forget about astronauts and instead renew our focus on robotics for the continued exploration of space.

18/04/2022

The inexplicable juxtaposition of the lifetime of our species with the lifetime of the cosmos; our solar system; even Earth itself. Will we ever understand these cosmic incongruities? https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/04/17/hard-cosmic-lessons-the-bizarre-reality-of-times-arrow/?sh=1abb48c2e510

The inexplicable juxtaposition of the lifetime of our species with the lifetime of the cosmos; our solar system; even Earth itself. Will we ever understand these cosmic incongruities?

11/04/2022

Tantalizing new book of classic Mars illustrations and NASA orbiter and rover images of the red planet reminds us of our existential need to explore beyond low-Earth orbit. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/04/11/compelling-new-book-captures-image-rich-essence-of-nasas-mars-exploration/?sh=34cac4b5e2ab

Tantalizing new book of classic Mars illustrations and NASA orbiter and rover images of the red planet reminds us of our existential need to explore beyond low-Earth orbit.

30/03/2022

Incredibly, NASA’s Hubble has used a complicated lensing technique to detect a single star that was around when the universe was less than a billion years old; at a distance of nearly 13 billion light years away. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/03/30/nasas-hubble-detects-farthest-single-star-yet-found/?sh=71b36fe83aa5

Incredibly, NASA’s Hubble has used a complicated lensing technique to detect a single star that was around when the universe was less than a billion years old; at a distance of nearly 13 billion light years away.

29/03/2022

Earth’s core is not only rich with the rare and ancient isotope of helium-3, but is leaking it in a surprising amount. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/03/29/earths-core-is-leaking-a-surprising-amount-of-ancient-helium-3/?sh=4312842e1c61

Earth’s core is not only rich with the rare and ancient isotope of helium-3, but is leaking it in a surprising amount.

23/03/2022

The Russian war on Ukraine needs to be a teachable moment about who freedom-loving societies choose as partners for current and future space missions. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/03/23/nasa-and-global-space-community-need-to-cut-ties-to-russia/?sh=7d60a0a47e2b

The Russian war on Ukraine needs to be a teachable moment about who freedom-loving societies choose as partners for current and future space missions.

22/03/2022

Great meeting Leandra Nessel, the University of Georgia Libraries Development Officer, to present her with a pristine copy of my now classic book on the early days of extrasolar planet hunting --- "Distant Wanderers: The Search for Planets Beyond the Solar System" (Springer 2001). The UGA Science Library already has a copy, but this one is going into Special Collections, reserved for authors who are Georgia natives. Thanks again to Leandra!

18/03/2022

Forget about Mars, NASA’s best hope of finding present day life in the near term is likely on Jupiter’s frozen moon of Europa. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/03/18/nasas-clipper-mission-to-europa-could-indirectly-detect-life/?sh=79dcf5a740e9

Forget about Mars, NASA’s best hope of finding present day life in the near term is likely on Jupiter’s frozen moon of Europa.

12/03/2022

New analysis from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyomov-Gerasimenko finds evidence for primordial molecular oxygen from deep within its nucleus, say researchers. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/03/12/comet-67p-harbors-ancient-molecules-of-solar-systems-earliest-primordial-oxygen/?sh=65697c162efa

New analysis from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyomov-Gerasimenko finds evidence for primordial molecular oxygen from deep within its nucleus, say researchers.

12/03/2022

This month marks my ten (10) year anniversary as a Forbes.com science and technology contributor! It's been a great ride; covering the gamut from aerospace to quantum space; from air crashes to merging supermassive black holes. Thanks to Forbes' Alex Knapp for putting this journey in motion and to all my friends and readers far and wide who have enriched my life in countless ways. Your past and future readership and interest is much appreciated.

Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.

07/03/2022

My book "Distant Wanderers: The Search for Planets Beyond the Solar System" has been in print for more than two decades now. Yet it remains one of the seminal works on the hunt for exoplanets.

I am offering the book free to anyone who is seriously interested in reading it.
My goal is to keep it in print. Please contact me in the comments or via Facebook messenger if you're interested in receiving a 1st edition hard copy.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4757-5001-0

Recent discoveries of planet-like objects circling other sun-like stars have stirred enormous interest in what other planets may exist in the universe, and whether they support intelligent life, or at

26/02/2022

NASA gives out its next round of NIAC funding for some of the most innovative aerospace ideas currently available. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/02/26/nasa-awards-next-round-of-grants-for-futuristic-tech-development/?sh=44f0ead86a61

NASA gives out its next round of NIAC funding for some of the most innovative aerospace ideas currently available.

25/02/2022

For only the second time in history, a Caltech-led team of radio astronomers has detected a pair of supermassive black holes likely in the process of merging. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/02/25/caltech-led-team-makes-rare-radio-detection-of-merging-supermassive-black-holes/?sh=408231b144ee

For only the second time in history, a Caltech-led team of radio astronomers has detected a pair of supermassive black holes likely in the process of merging.

23/02/2022

The last half century of space exploration has been a mixed bag of extraordinary achievements muted by moments of disaster and heartbreak. But all in all, our progress in making our way off this blue marble has been surprisingly slow as the late Carl Sagan would likely agree. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/02/23/what-carl-sagan-might-think-about-nasas-current-state-of-space-exploration/?sh=10a53f6253a9

The last half century of space exploration has been a mixed bag of extraordinary achievements muted by moments of disaster and heartbreak. But all in all, our progress in making our way off this blue marble has been surprisingly slow as the late Carl Sagan would likely agree.

21/02/2022

Six decades ago, NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 6 mission came perilously close to disaster. It all ended triumphantly however and John Glenn’s three Earth orbits in his tiny Mercury Friendship 7 capsule put NASA back in the space race against the Soviets. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/02/20/john-glenns-1962-orbital-flight-put-nasa-back-in-the-space-race/?sh=4aaba00e66f7

Six decades ago, NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 6 mission came perilously close to disaster. It all ended triumphantly however and John Glenn’s three Earth orbits in his tiny Mercury Friendship 7 capsule put NASA back in the space race against the Soviets.

09/02/2022

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captures the first visible light images of Venus’ surface from space. That’s a real feat considering that the probe is primarily only using Venus for gravity assist flybys to send it on repeated orbits around the Sun. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/02/09/nasa-captures-first-ever-visual-light-images-of-venus-surface-from-space/?sh=73809fd0287c

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captures the first visible light images of Venus’ surface from space. That’s a real feat considering that the probe is primarily only using Venus for gravity assist flybys to send it on repeated orbits around the Sun.

31/01/2022

Knoll was a guest on Cosmic Controversy.

How Earth went from an rock covered in magma oceans by comets and meteors to a green-and-blue orb teeming with life over 3 billion years is the work of paleontologist Andrew Knoll, who will be awarded the Crafoord Prize on Monday.

25/01/2022

New book chronicles how meteorites have shaped Earth’s culture and society since time immemorial. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/01/25/5-little-known-facts-about-earth-impactors-and-meteorites/?sh=3d0fa0fd35de

New book chronicles how meteorites have shaped Earth’s culture and society since time immemorial.

20/01/2022

New Hubble observations clearly show a massive black hole triggering rather than stifling star formation in a relatively nearby dwarf galaxy, says a new paper in the journal Nature. So, supermassive black holes not only destroy cosmic real estate, but can also create it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/01/19/nasas-hubble-spots-supermassive-black-hole-that-triggers-star-formation/?sh=38fa3b32468e

New Hubble observations clearly show a massive black hole triggering rather than stifling star formation in a relatively nearby dwarf galaxy, says a new paper in the journal Nature. So, supermassive black holes not only destroy cosmic real estate, but can also create it.