The Astroholic Explains: Recent Episodes
Alfredo Carpineti
Have you got burning questions about Space? Do you want to know more about stars, galaxies, and black holes? Well, you've come to the right place!
Dr. Alfredo and his husband Chris are here to answer burning questions about the present, past, and future of our Universe.
Our position inside the Milky Way doesn't give us an advantageous view of our galaxy. But that doesn't mean we haven't found a way around it. Joined by Dr GyuChul Myeong, we explore how we make sense of the Milky Way and its past collision with the Gaia-Sausage galaxy.
If you are interested in my book, here is a link to the crowdfunding page.
In the last episode, we looked at how stars end up dead. So Chris has an important follow-up: can you find a way to heal and save a dying star?
InvisibleRainbows
Our Sun and many other stars will become larger later in life. But is this a condition common to all stars? Guest questioner Francis wonders about the future of stars and their ultimate demise!
In this episode, we tackle the peculiar carbonado diamond, a black diamond that looks very different from the glittering gems we might be more familiar with. And we will discover that its origin might be out of this world!
Carbonado Diamond going on auction
Invisible Rainbows
Planets in sci-fi are often portrayed as having a single climate, but how truthful is that idea? This audience question gets the full treatment from Alfredo & Chris as they deal with the tatooines, hoths, risas, synnaxes of the real universe!
Join us in this unplanned video & audio diary as we go after the April 8 total solar eclipse in Mexico. For the video version: https://youtu.be/SR00jigmgR0?si=LKLYaoqvq_YaUo6V For #InvisibleRainbows: https://unbound.com/books/invisible-rainbows
The Astroholic Explains Xmas Special is inspired by Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics on the 100th anniversary of the author's birth. Join us for an imaginative tale, not fantasy nor sci-fi, but one based on science facts: the formation of elements in stars and how they spread across the universe. ✨
And if you are interested in my book, here is a link to the crowdfunding.
I'm writing a book all about the astronomy we do with the light we cannot see with our own eyes. It's called Invisible Rainbows and features astronomers from all around the world.
If you are interested in finding out more and maybe pledge for a copy, click on this link.
In this episode, Alfredo and Chris are joined by cosmologist Professor Peter Coles. Together they explore the limits of the visible universe, whether finite or infinite, why there is no center, and what might be beyond the most distant region we can see.
We don't know and will likely never know what happened before the Big Bang, but Chris is curious about it, so we take a journey in the land before time and space!
Conspiracy theories and misconceptions about the Moon extend far beyond the Moon-landing! In this episode, we take a trip 4.5 billion years into the past to witness how Luna came to be.
We sat down with KeShawn Ivory to talk about satellite galaxies, something weird happening around the Milky Way, and how it feels to win a major award from the Royal Astronomical Society!
This episode starts with a whimsical question of what could we grow on Mars that we could use in a cocktail or mocktail, but we quickly expand on some important topics like what future space travelers might need in order to survive and ways to make agriculture on Earth more sustainable. And it all starts with a delicious cocktail designed by a team at NASA for The Astroholic Explains (here is the recipe).
When we think of asteroid impacts, we often just picture Chicxulub and the mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth, 66 million years ago. But asteroid impacts can be less impactful to life, like the Popigai and Chesapeake impactors - not as big as Chicxulub but still big enough to create craters of over 80 kilometers across, way back around 35 million years ago. Cosmic material could even actually help life bloom.
We talk about everything, everywhere all at once as we enter the multiverse! In this episode, we describe some ideas that scientists have proposed to explain things we see in the universe with no explanation, or simply to indulge in the idea of parallel dimensions.
In this episode, we focus on alternative energy approaches for future missions to Mars. NASA Ames' Dr Victoria Hartwick has recently published research about utilizing wind power on Mars, showing that it is not all solar or nuclear when it comes to exploring other worlds in the Solar System.
In this episode, we talk all about JUICE, the European Space Agency mission that launches today April 13 to study the Icy moons of Jupiter (Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) and the Jovian system - and also why I am in Germany to make a mocktail!
Our Christmas Special this year is a little tale of realistic sci-fi, set just a few years from now. An astronaut is being interrogated about the events that took place in a space station around the Moon: The Gateway. Playing the characters are Chris and Alfredo, with a cameo from the ever-wonderful Katy Evans.
Measuring the length of a day on Earth is relatively easy thanks to the Sun and stars. But it isn't as easy on some of the other planets, and astronomers had to get pretty clever to actually achieve those measurements. We spoke to Dr Chris Mankovich who was able to measure the length of a day on Saturn via an ingenious method.
We got to play with a Unistellar telescope and even collect data about an exoplanet, to learn we talked with Unistellar Chief Scientific Officer Dr Franck Marchis
In the zone of avoidance, far from us, something is pulling the Milky Way and so many other galaxies. It is time to meet The Great Attractor, a fascinating gravitational object.
In this episode, we turn back time to the moment known as cosmic dawn ready to understand the first stars and how they changed the Universe. A guiding light in this journey is Dr Emma Chapman, author of the book First Light.
On Earth, quakes are caused by the motion of the tectonic plates. Quakes also happen on the Moon and Mars without them, and Chris is curious to find out how they occur as well as to listen to one of these outer-world quakes.
In this episode, Chris is curious about a particular technique that allows building virtual radio telescopes the size of our planet, like the Event Horizon Telescope. So we invited an expert to tell us about radio interferometry and the Square Kilometer Array, the project that will push radio astronomy to new heights.
There is something wrong with our model of the Universe. New data suggests that our assumptions about the cosmos are not all correct. Join us as we unravel the tension in the expansion rate of the Universe.
Pulsars are the focus of this episode and we speak to radio astronomer Rami Mandow over in Australia to discuss how precise measurements of these fascinating objects have been used as a galaxy-spanning gravitational wave observatory.
Chris' gym workout on a machine he erroneously called "the booty blaster" inspired this episode where we discuss if it's possible to create something that will last as long as the universe. And that led us to a question for you, dear listener.
Our Christmas Special this year is a peculiar tale of the intimate corners we might create as we leave Earth behind to live in space. It was written by Dr Russel Moul, as his first time penning a radio tale, with the excellent voice of The Astroholic Explains' team and the ever wonderful Katy Evans.
We are at the final factual episode of season 3, so we went back to our very popular quickfire round format from season 2 and have once again crowdsourced many questions about the universe. Tune in to discover what happens if you try to hold a black hole, what's the biggest object in the universe, how many planets are out there, and how to make cocktails in microgravity.
In this live recording of the podcast, hosted by the Central London Humanists, Alfredo and Chris tackle the surprising, the head-scratching, and sometimes the plainly absurd claims connecting the Universe with the divine. From alleged messages in the cosmic microwave background to the fine-tuning of the Universe, scientists, philosophers, and popes have had to grapple with what astronomy does and doesn’t tell us about humanity and religion.
Looking for life outside of our planet is far from easy, but researchers have many different tools they are using. We sat with Dr Mario Toubes-Rodrigo to discuss biosignatures and how we might eventually discover aliens.
In this episode, we talk about everything related to "asteroid mining" from feasibility to legality to ethics. Are we going to get a futuristic gold rush in space?
What does it mean that we are made of stardust? Come on a short journey with astrochemist Ashley Walker on how stars create all the elements that made us possible.
The harsh reality of life on Mars requires some hefty personal sacrifices. Here is a handy list of what you would have to give up to start fresh on another planet
There are over 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Artificial Intelligence is now playing a crucial role in analyzing the cosmos around us. We spoke to astrophysicist Ashley Spindler whose work is breaking new galactic boundaries!
In this episode, we tackle interstellar communication with spacecraft that have left our solar system and how this could affect the search for extraterrestrial life
Every second of the day you’re being bombarded by billions of neutrinos. While you can’t detect them, there is a colossal experiment in Japan that can. Join us and special guest Dr Jost Migenda to find out what they can tell us about the cosmos!
Exactly how dark is the cold void of space? Picture yourself in the interstellar depths: what would you be able to see? In this episode we'll find out this answer and why it is of cosmic importance.
No telescope lens that we can build will allow us to see an alien planet in detail, but there is a way to achieve incredible magnification. We just need to use the Sun as our "gravitational" lens!
All aboard for a grand tour of the solar system! We go planet to planet to evaluate the chances of humans exploring Earth’s neighbours in person.
Dr Eleanor Armstrong & Akvile Terminaite join us in this new episode as we discuss the ins and outs of sex in space! We also talk tech and design to facilitate off-planet pleasure and why our vision of future exploration should center around people in all their identities and abilities!
Our Christmas special is finally here! This time we have a murder mystery set in a space hotel during a total solar eclipse featuring a full array of suspicious guests. Who among these peculiar characters is a murderer?
Please enjoy our latest work: "Death by Eclipse"
Starring (in order of appearance):
Steven Di Costa as the Narrator, Chris Carpineti as Dafydd Morgan, Suze Kundu as Sonam Vikram, Sheldon Goodman. as Cecil Fox, Sacha Coward as Jules Child, Dean Garland as the Security Guard, Eleanor Armstrong as Emily Lawless, Karl Byrne as Montgomery Colt, Benjamin Couvin as Lucius Jeune, Alfredo Carpineti as Giovanni, Danielle Emina as Theophania, Vaneet Mehta as Malik, and with Katy Evans as the Countess!
It was written and directed by Alfredo Carpineti, with Post-Production by Alfredo and Chris Carpineti, and with special thanks for support and encouragement to Trip Galey, Robert Berg, and Shaun O’Boyle!
Our final episode for season two is another fictional one. Our drama starts on a damaged starship at the edge of the solar system. Its commander has forgotten who she is, what she's doing there, and who the other passengers in this vessel are.
The episode features the voices of Chris Carpineti, Danielle Emina, Dr Suze Kundu, Emily, Lucy & Claire Waller, Tom Hale, Sacha Coward, Katy Evans, Hannah Sabrun, Mufseen Miah, Anne Jones.
There's a little teaser for our Christmas special at the end, voiced by Dr Steven Di Costa.
For the final factual episode of season 2, we have crowdsourced many questions about space. Tune in to discover how many atoms are in the universe, how we can tell that galaxies rotate, how we measure the speed of stars, what would happen if we blew up the Moon, and many more questions!
Uranus and Neptune are the Ice Giants of the Solar System. We are joined by Naomi Rowe-Gurney, who specializes in studying their atmospheres to uncover their mysteries, from their diamond rains to their likely funky smells!
A new fictional episode for you! A billionaire planning to nuke Mars send two hapless idiots to confirm that the planet is sterile. What could go wrong? We are also joined by Anuradha Damale to talk about nuclear weapons & space policy.
This episode starred Sacha Coward as Andrew, Sheldon Goodman as Joe, Chris Carpineti as the Narrator, Trip Galey as Jeb Tusk, and Anne Jones as Janine. It was written by Alfredo Carpineti, and produced and edited by Chris Carpineti.
In this episode, we answer @BlueMouseEeek's 4-year-old's question regarding planets beyond Earth that can support life as well as facing the issues of a silicon-based life form.
We are answering more of our listeners' questions in this episode. Jake wonders: how come all the planets in the solar system orbit almost on the same plane? And the answer has a culinary analogy!
We are back with a big apocalyptic question! In this episode, we talk about how the Sun will change and evolve and how that will impact the planets, moons, and space rocks of the Solar System
We have a new fictional episode for you to enjoy, based around first contact with an alien civilization. This is The Message!
This episode was guest-edited by Dr Shaun O’Boyle. Secretary-General of the UN - Prayas Khan was played by Dr Suze Kundu. The Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs - James O’Brian was played by Karl Byrne, and the Chief of Staff - Damien Carré was Ben Couvin. Katelyn Gorrell was Abigail. Alfredo played Dr. Andrea Eco. The story was written by Alfredo with feedback & support from Trip Galey.
In this episode, we are joined by Dr Joby Hollis who is part of the science team of the NASA Perseverance rover to tackle the question of life on the Red Planet, and what to expect from Perseverance when it lands on Mars in 2021.
In this episode, we are pulled towards the topic of gravity wells and we are caught in the cosmic web, talking about the origin of galaxies.
In this episode, we talk about what happens in the shadows around our planet, from the phases of the Moon to why eclipses can turn our satellite blood red!
In this episode, we are joined by European Space Agency scientist Dr. Dave Williams who talks about the incredible Solar Orbiter mission. This will study the solar wind, the interior of the Sun, and will observe the polar region of our star for the very first time!
We are back for season 2 and we start with a question every supervillain wants answering: how to completely annihilate the Earth using whatever the cosmos provides!
In this first Christmas Special, guest-produced by Shaun O'Boyle, we leave our standard format behind and jump into a world of science fiction and horror. This is brought to life by the extraordinary voices of Katy Evans, Dr Suze Kundu, Powder Scofield, and Russell Moul.
Space around the Earth is full of junk and one of our listeners asks "what are we doing about that?" To answer's this question we bring in an expert, Joshua Lurie and dive deep into ways to clean up after ourselves in space.
Can we send a probe inside a black hole? And why are we so obsessed with the Milky Way? This and more in this episode of The Astroholic Explains!
In this episode we talk about globular clusters and how they help us work out the age of stars, and then return to our neighbourhood to investigate the rumour of an undiscovered planet in the Solar System.
This time we answer two questions from the same person. Laurie asks if other solar systems are likely to be similar to ours, and about the risk of pregnancy in space.
In this episode we answer two different but equally important questions. What would the headlights on a spaceship moving at the speed of light look like, and are there actually aliens out there?
In this episode we tackle two more questions from our lovely listeners. The first is about what determines the rotation of planets and the second one focuses on the matter at hand: are we really made from stardust?
In this episode, we answer two listeners' questions one about Flat-Earthers and one about astrology. Surprisingly, it is not as ranty as you might expect, at least not from Alfredo. No more spoilers, have a listen and get in touch if you have more questions.
Almost 111 years after the Tunguska Event we answer our first (unexpectedly nepotistic) crowdsourced question about the risk of an asteroid impact, and we try to wrap our heads around just how devastating such events could be!
In this episode we investigate the Goldilocks Zone, the area around a star where planets might have the right conditions for habitability, and we travel through the solar system to look for life outside Earth.
The Milky Way is on a collision course with the closest major galaxy, Andromeda. What's going to happen to our solar system when the two objects finally collide? Find out in this episode of The Astroholic Explains!
Where do alien-leprechauns hide their gold? Alfredo explores the colour spectrum, and tells us what rainbows on other worlds could look like.
What's the deal with that mysterious wobbling black hole? And what are the dangers of the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy?
Chris has a burning question about mass and why the universe doesn't just collapse onto itself. Alfredo gives us the low down on what's up with gravity!