Ask a Spaceman!

What really keeps the Sun shining? How long would it stay warm if fusion stopped? How long would it take before we noticed? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show...

What are the weaknesses of inflation theory? How did the ekpyrotic theory attempt to improve it? How did it open up its own can of worms? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show...

Why is dust so annoying? But where does it come from, and what can it do? And is dust responsible for the creation of life? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the show...

<p >What does is mean for the universe to have a wave function? How does Hawking's "no boundary" proposal mean that the universe comes from itself? And is it really the final answer? I discuss these questions and more...

<p >What does "antimatter" actually mean? Can a particle be its own opposite? What would happen to it, and what does this have to do with a missing scientist? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a...

<p >How can matter ever go faster than light? What happens when it does? Who discovered this, and what is it good for? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!</p> <p >Support the show...

<p >What did the universe do to make so many defects? What happens when they get trapped? And could they be hiding right in front of our noses? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!</p> <p...

<p >What makes the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas so weird? Why are we finding so many interstellar visitors recently? How are they made, and where do they come from? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a...

<p >What do we find when we push the James Webb Space Telescope to its limits? Are Little Red Dots newborn galaxies or old black holes? What are they teaching us about the early universe? I discuss these questions and...

<p >How can anyone agree on the age of the universe? And how can we be so confident if it's all just a bunch of models? What if the universe is extra lumpy, does that change anything? I discuss these questions and more...

<p >Why is math so effective at describing the universe? What is reality is made of math? What does it mean for us to be conscious beings in a mathematical structure? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a...

<p >What is the weak equivalency principle? How was antimatter discovered and why is it the perfect thing to put gravity to the test? What did the CERN experiment discover? I discuss these questions and more in today's...

<p >How does the double-slit experiment work? What does it teach us about reality and measurement if we try to mess with the experiment after it's already started? How does quantum complementarity guide us with how to...

<p >What is causal determinism? What are some of the ways that physics can permit free will? What does emergence have to do with all of this? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman!</p> <p >Support...

<p >What do extra dimensions have to do with the strength of gravity? What is a tower of gravitons? How can we detect extra dimensions even if we can't perceive them? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a...