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?

11/06/2022

Hubble detects a stellar mass black hole free-floating through the galaxy. Because this solo black hole doesn’t emit light, two separate teams used Hubble data to measure the mass of this black hole using a technique known as gravitational microlensing. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/11/nasa-hubble-finds-first-free-floating-black-hole/?sh=6a9e47b0653c

Hubble detects a stellar mass black hole free-floating through the galaxy. Because this solo black hole doesn’t emit light, two separate teams used Hubble data to measure the mass of this black hole using a technique known as gravitational microlensing.

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.