Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Join astronomer Dr Emily Brunsden and enthusiastic not-astronomer Dr Chris Stewart as they explore the universe.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Astronomy and cosmology explainer discussions • Life in universe, habitable zones, exoplanets/moons/comets • Solar System astrobiology targets • Space telescopes and missions (JWST, Gaia, Euclid, Voyager) • Black holes, dark energy, stellar evolution, cosmic rays/eventsThis podcast pairs an astronomer and a non-astronomer co-host to explore a wide range of astronomy and cosmology topics with an emphasis on how scientists observe, measure, and interpret the universe. Conversations commonly connect headline-making results to the underlying physics and observational techniques, often clarifying what new findings do and do not imply about existing theories.
A major thread is the search for life beyond Earth. The show examines what conditions might make planets habitable, from the role of different types of stars and stellar activity to the concept of habitable zones and the diversity of planetary classes (rocky worlds, ocean worlds, and other exotic categories). It also looks at where life might be found closer to home in the Solar System, discussing targets such as Mars and icy moons, along with missions designed to investigate them and return samples.
Another recurring focus is “exo-” science: exoplanets and the expanding ecosystem of related objects such as exomoons and exocomets. The podcast discusses detection methods like transits, spectroscopy, phase curves, and direct imaging, and considers what current and future observatories can reveal about atmospheres and potential biosignatures. Space telescopes and missions feature heavily, including large observatories designed to map cosmic structure or characterize exoplanets, as well as deep-space probes that extend measurement into the outer Solar System.
The series also spends substantial time on high-energy and large-scale phenomena: black holes across mass ranges, gravitational-wave astronomy, cosmic rays, stellar explosions, neutron star mergers, and nucleosynthesis (how elements are made). On cosmological scales, it addresses dark matter and dark energy, the expanding universe, and the cosmic web, often using current survey projects as case studies.
Alongside distant astrophysics, the podcast returns to accessible sky phenomena and near-Earth space science, including aurorae, eclipses, Moon missions, asteroid deflection and sample returns, and occasional cross-disciplinary applications of space particles and instrumentation.
