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Listen to exciting, non-technical talks on some of the most interesting developments in astronomy and space science. Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. Speakers include a wide range of noted scientists, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The series is organized and moderated by Foothill's astronomy instructor emeritus Andrew Fraknoi and jointly sponsored by the Foothill College Physical Science, Math, and Engineering Division, the SETI Institute, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the University of California Observatories (including the Lick Observatory.)Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Accessible astronomy lectures •Cosmology: expansion, dark energy, multiverse •Black holes, pulsars, gravitational waves •Exoplanets, habitability, water, ocean moons •Space telescopes/surveys and robotic exploration •SETI, life beyond EarthThis podcast presents public, non-technical astronomy and space-science lectures delivered by working researchers and science leaders. Across the episodes, listeners are introduced to major questions about the universe and the methods scientists use to investigate them, with explanations aimed at a general audience rather than specialists.
A central theme is how modern observatories and surveys are changing what can be measured. Several talks focus on flagship facilities such as the James Webb Space Telescope and the Vera Rubin Observatory, using them to discuss topics like the earliest stars and galaxies, time-domain “movies” of the sky, and techniques for extracting information from faint or distant objects. The podcast also devotes substantial attention to high-energy and gravitational-wave astronomy, including black holes, neutron stars, gamma-ray sources, fast radio bursts, and the new kinds of data that come from detecting ripples in spacetime.
Another recurring focus is planetary science and exploration. The lectures cover robotic missions and mission concepts throughout the solar system—from Mars rovers and near-Earth asteroids to Pluto and Kuiper Belt targets—along with “ocean worlds” such as Europa and Enceladus as potential habitats. Exoplanets and astrobiology are also prominent, including how scientists detect planets around other stars, characterize their atmospheres, and frame the search for life and intelligent signals.
Alongside the science, some episodes explore broader context: the legacy of Copernican thinking about humanity’s place in the cosmos, the practical risks and opportunities posed by near-Earth objects and space weather, and occasional discussions of cultural or philosophical implications tied to discoveries about life beyond Earth.
| Episodes: |
Dark Energy in the Universe and the Largest Telescope Ever2026-Feb-04 71 minutes |
The Search for Life on Saturn’s Intriguing Moon Enceladus2025-Dec-01 74 minutes |
The Amazing Vera Rubin Observatory and Its Movie of the Sky2025-Oct-16 86 minutes |
Science at the Edge of the Solar System2025-Jun-07 83 minutes |
New Worlds: Analyzing the Atmospheres of Exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope2025-Apr-16 82 minutes |
Copernicus 4.0: How the Views of Earth's Importance and the Search for Life are Changing2025-Mar-13 73 minutes |
Human-Robotic Exploration from the Moon to Mars2025-Feb-06 72 minutes |
Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars2024-Nov-16 64 minutes |
Profound and Staggering: The Impact on Religion of the Discovery of Life around Other Stars2024-Oct-14 80 minutes |
The Copernicus Complex: Are We Special in the Cosmos2024-Aug-25 78 minutes |
Black Widow Pulsars: The Vengeful Corpses of Stars2024-Jul-09 61 minutes |
Europa Clipper: Exploring Jupiter's Ocean World2024-May-25 82 minutes |
The Allure of the Multiverse (with Dr. Paul Halpern)2024-Apr-24 76 minutes |
The Black Hole Wars: My Battle with Stephen Hawking2024-Apr-15 94 minutes |
Black Holes and the Technology to Find Them2024-Apr-10 62 minutes |
Exploring the Gravitational Wave Universe2024-Feb-21 69 minutes |
Water Above, Water Below: The Many Roles of Water in Making Planets Habitable2023-Dec-05 74 minutes |
The Peril and Profit of Near-Earth Objects2023-Oct-29 70 minutes |
SPECIAL: An Interview with Frank Drake: The Founder of SETI Science (conducted by Andrew Fraknoi)2023-Jul-17 44 minutes |
Ashes to Ashes, Earth to Earth, Dust to Dust: The Birth and Death of Worlds2023-Jul-14 65 minutes |
An Eclipse Double-Header: Two North American Eclipses of the Sun in 2023 & 2024 (with Andrew Fraknoi)2023-May-18 62 minutes |
The First Results from the James Webb Space Telescope (with Dr. Alex Filippenko)2023-Mar-13 89 minutes |
Our Boldest Effort to Answer our Oldest Question: Breakthrough-Listen Search for Intelligent Life2023-Feb-20 85 minutes |
Spacetime Symphony: Gravitational Waves from Merging Black Holes2023-Jan-26 69 minutes |
100 Years of Einstein's Relativity (And How it Underlies Our Modern Understanding of the Universe)2022-Dec-29 79 minutes |
Space Weather and the Question of Human Survivability (with Dr. Tom Berger)2022-Dec-12 92 minutes |
Is Anyone out There: The Hundred-Million Dollar "Breakthrough: Listen" Project2022-Dec-05 77 minutes |
A Planet for Goldilocks: Kepler and the Search for Living Worlds2022-Oct-31 89 minutes |
The Fast Radio Sky: A New Window on the Violent Universe2022-Oct-25 84 minutes |
Colliding Neutron Stars, Gravity Waves, and the Origin of the Heavy Elements2022-Aug-23 81 minutes |
When Mars Was Like Earth: Five Years of Exploration with the Curiosity Rover2022-Aug-02 90 minutes |
Rubble Piles in the Sky: The Science, Exploration, and Danger of Near-Earth Asteroids2022-Jul-15 62 minutes |
Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto (with Alan Stern & David Grinspoon)2022-Jun-24 103 minutes |
Do Humans Have What it Takes to Thrive in this Universe?2022-Jun-01 82 minutes |
A Sharper Image: Seeing Colliding Galaxies with Adaptive Optics (with Dr. Claire Max)2022-May-12 76 minutes |
Cosmobiology: Recent Progress in Cosmology, Exoplanets, and the Prerequisites for Life in the Universe2022-May-03 73 minutes |
Cosmology and Ambition: Losing the Nobel Prize (with Dr. Brian Keating)2022-Apr-08 76 minutes |
Planets Under Our Feet: The Caves on Earth, Mars, and Beyond (with Dr. Penelope Boston)2022-Mar-26 83 minutes |
Dark Star: The Invisible Universe of Brown Dwarfs (with Dr. Adam Burgasser)2022-Mar-15 86 minutes |
Charon, Pluto’s Companion: What We’re Learning from New Horizons (with Dr. Ross Beyer)2022-Mar-01 76 minutes |
Living with a Star: A Life-friendly Planetary Environment (with Dr. Michelle Thaller)2022-Feb-17 85 minutes |
Beyond: Our Future in Space (with Dr. Chris Impey)2022-Jan-30 92 minutes |
Ocean Worlds in Our Solar System (with Dr. Kevin Hand)2022-Jan-07 93 minutes |
Meet the Neighbors: Exploring Planets Orbiting Nearby Stars (with Dr. Courtney Dressing)2021-Dec-21 65 minutes |
The Biggest Sky Survey Ever Undertaken: Exploring the Universe with the Rubin Observatory (with Dr. Phil Marshall)2021-Dec-14 69 minutes |
Postcards from Mars: The Latest from Our Robot Explorers (with Dr. Jim Bell)2021-Nov-22 93 minutes |
The Last Stargazers: Behind the Scenes in Astronomy (with Dr. Emily Levesque)2021-Nov-02 80 minutes |
Will the 21st Century be the Time we Discover Life Beyond Earth (with Dr. Jill Tarter)2021-Oct-22 74 minutes |
The Monster Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way (with Nobel Laureate Andrea Ghez)2021-Oct-09 71 minutes |
Encounter with Ultima Thule: The Most Distant Object Humanity Has Ever Explored (with Dr. Jeff Moore)2021-Sep-26 55 minutes |
What Does a Black Hole Look Like: How We Got our First Picture (With Prof. Eliot Quataert)2021-Sep-15 77 minutes |
A Little Talk about Aliens with Dr. Adam Frank2021-Aug-23 79 minutes |
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Planet 9 from Outer Space with Dr. Michael Brown 2021-Aug-14 77 minutes |
Black Hole Survival Guide with Dr. Janna Levin2021-Aug-01 70 minutes |
Lick Observatory During Pandemics: 1918 and 2020 (with Dr. Elinor Gates)2021-Jul-06 71 minutes |
The Hunt for Dark Matter in the Universe with Dr. Tom Shutt2021-Jun-29 88 minutes |
How a Smooth Early Universe Grew into Everyone You Know (with Nobel Laureate John Mather)2021-Jun-20 63 minutes |