Best Astronomy Cast Podcasts (2025)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXkqLQ1oBk8 End-of-Life Planning for Your Spacecraft! Streamed live October 1, 2025. Your spacecraft has reached the end of its mission. You’ve done everything you can to keep it operational, but now it’s time to say goodbye. How do space agencies deal with spacecraft to shut them down gracefully, protect future miss…

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Awesome Astronomy - The Search for Aliens with Seth Shostak 16:47

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Awesome Astronomy - The Search for Aliens with Seth Shostak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj6Wfv1djf0 Paul Hill, Ralph Wilkins and Dr. Jenifer “Dr. Dust” Millard host. Damien Phillips, John Wildridge and Dustin Ruoff produce. From Jan 3, 2022. Our chat with Dr. Seth Shostak from our live show to ease the boredom of covid lockdowns. We talk about:…

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Guide to Space - Which Are The Real Pictures of Space? What’s a Photo and What’s An Illustration? 12:27

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q41hLHcKyUM From Mar 21, 2018. Have you ever wondered how those amazing pictures of space are gathered? Which are photographs, which are illustrations, and which are total fakes? [Editor’s note: You’ll have to go to the YouTube link above to see the photos.] We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to…

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Ask A Spaceman Ep. 257: How Does One Go About Smashing Particles? 29:48

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Ep. 766: How Spacecraft End 30:28

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Skeptic Check: Health Fads 54:08

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The tiny bean-shaped structures in your cells – mitochondria – are little powerhouses. Recent research suggests they may unlock overall good health, or, when they fail, cause diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s. How strong is the science for these claims and what, if anything, should we be doing to improve our mitochondrial health? Should we …

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Travelers in the Night Eps. 337E & 338E: Seeds & Double Trouble 6:05

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Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From May 2025. Today's 2 topics: - When a fleet of interstellar spaceships leaves our solar system for a planet circling a nearby star the most i…

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Awesome Astronomy - Camping, Craters & Comets 1:23:38

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Paul Hill and Dr. Jenifer “Dr. Dust” Millard host. Damien Phillips, John Wildridge and Dustin Ruoff produce. October Part 1. Paul & Jen chat about the big submerged crater off Yorkshire, the return of the ozone hole, NASA’s apparent decline, Astro Camp and the several comets we have on tap for October & November! Bit of a mixed bag, really… We've a…

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EVSN - The Black Hole Eating Star With Supernova-Sized Regrets 28:50

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From September 17, 2025. In this week’s episode, we tell the story of a Giant Blue Star that made the terrible, terrible mistake of trying to nibble on its more evolved sibling; it’s black hole of a sibling. Folks, don’t eat the dark holes in spacetime. We also look at this week’s news, including lumpy planets, forming planets, asteroids getting up…

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Actual Astronomy - Observer’s Calendar For October 53:56

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Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. [email protected] The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents Episode 502: The Observer’s Calendar for October 2025. In this episode we talk about a long list of observing events from Carbon stars to many shadow transits of the Moon of Jupiter. Don’t miss the Orionid…

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Guide To Space - Can There Be Life On Planets Around Red Dwarf Stars? 10:46

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkPhmtJRvsM From Jan 24, 2019. As astronomers find more and more planets around other stars, the big question we want to know is: are they habitable, could there be life there? The vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are red dwarf stars, and most of the planets in habitable zones have been found orbiting these co…

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Space Stories - Parallax: Measuring the Cosmos 9:48

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Hosted by Richard Drumm, our Editor. The word of the day today is parallax! Specifically stellar parallax. So what’s parallax & what does it mean to astronomers? As it happens, I was part of the UVA Parallax team in the early 1980s. Best part-time job ever! So for once I might know a little bit about what I’m talking about! I’ll do my best to descr…

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Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment 35:18

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on Sep 22, 2025. We don’t launch a lot of rockets every year, so their impact on the environment is minimal compared to other forms of transportation. But that number is steadily increasing with rates that we’ll have to take seriously. What’s the curren…

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Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment 59:38

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Streamed live on Sep 22, 2025. We don’t launch a lot of rockets every year, so their impact on the environment is minimal compared to other forms of transportation. But that number is steadily increasing with rates that we’ll have to take seriously. What’s the current and future impact of rockets on the environment Rocket facilities are often surro…

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 765: Rockets vs The Environment 35:52

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NupNyOy4-0 Streamed live on Sep 22, 2025. We don’t launch a lot of rockets every year, so their impact on the environment is minimal compared to other forms of transportation. But that number is steadily increasing with rates that we’ll have to take seriously. What’s the current and future impact of rockets on the e…

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Not Just a Phage 54:00

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We’re hurtling towards a post-antibiotic world, as the overuse of antibiotics has given rise to dangerous drug-resistant bacteria. Can we fight back using viruses as weapons? An obscure medical therapy uses certain viruses called bacteriophages to treat infection. For a century attempts to turn phage-therapy into a life-saving treatment have falter…

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Travelers in the Night Eps. 335E & 336E: Returnee & 2 Suns 6:05

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Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From May 2025. Today's 2 topics: - On May 5, 2014 when I discovered 2014 JO25 with the Catalina Sky Survey's 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Ari…

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Cosmic Savannah Ep. 74: Simulating Cosmic Nurseries 1:03:09

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Hosted by Dr. Jacinta Delhaize, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela & Dr. Daniel Cunnama. This episode of Cosmic Savannah features Professor James Chibueze, a distinguished professor at the University of South Africa, discussing his research on star formation using radio astronomy. During the episode, Prof Chibueze discusses his journey to become a professional …

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EVSN - Twinkling Heart of the Milky Way Spotted 10:50

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From May 22, 2020. Join us today as we talk about radio transmitters found in the twinkling heart of the Milky Way. Then we'll look at an asteroid that has a comet-like tail. And finally, Bennu is about to be sampled by OSIRIS-Rex, and we helped make that happen! We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, …

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Awesome Astronomy - JWST Finds its 1st Exoplanet 10:05

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH4uczqmhQ0 From Jan 20, 2023. The James Webb Space Telescope took time away from finding the earliest galaxies or imaging incredible nebulae to test out its planet hunting capabilities. To say it was immediately successful would be an understatement. JWST is showing us that it can do almost anything in astronomy and…

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Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA Ep. 124: Aliens & Alien Worlds 14:25

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Are we alone, and if so can we have all the planets? Dear Cheap Astronomy – Alien diplomacy? A recent paper by John Gertz called Interstellar Diplomacy suggests some kind of contact with aliens is inevitable, which seems reasonable with respect to some kind of radio transmission, but the paper then goes on to suggest that contact might involve a ro…

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Ask A Spaceman Ep. 256: What Can Gravitational Waves Teach Us About the Big Bang? 36:10

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Echoes of the Big Bang! What are some sources of gravitational waves that aren’t black holes? How did inflation create gravitational waves? How can we possibly detect them? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com Watch on YouTube: http:…

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Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch! 33:03

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch! By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live September 17, 2025. This week, we look at the process behind rockets getting licensed to launch, and everyone around the pad getting notified to stay away as T-0 approaches. (Can you say "errant boat"?) We have a saying around here: “One does not simply book a…

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Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch! 53:56

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Streamed live September 17, 2025. This week, we look at the process behind rockets getting licensed to launch, and everyone around the pad getting notified to stay away as T-0 approaches. (Can you say "errant boat"?) We have a saying around here: “One does not simply book a return trip from a rocket launch.” That’s because they are an intensely com…

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 764: Cleared For Launch! 33:42

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GhRypmWaCY Streamed live September 17, 2025. This week, we look at the process behind rockets getting licensed to launch, and everyone around the pad getting notified to stay away as T-0 approaches. (Can you say "errant boat"?) We have a saying around here: “One does not simply book a return trip from a rocket launc…

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Spare (Body) Parts 54:00

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Strapped-on brass noses, frog skin grafts, human organs grown in pigs: The world of replaceable body parts is both amazing and a bit unsettling. But who better give us a tour of the past and present of what medical engineering considers Plan B, than the inimitable science writer Mary Roach. Guest: Mary Roach – Science writer and author of “Replacea…

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Travelers in the Night Eps. 333E & 334E: Worth Tracking & Backwards 6:05

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Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From April 2025. Today's 2 topics: - Greg Leonard was observing with our team's 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon in Arizona when he discovered a r…

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ASTRO Man - Dark Sky Education 6:24

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Episode 9. “ASTROMAN: the Dark Sky Guardian” is a podcast channel that aims to explore popular science in multiple disciplines and research on interdisciplinary approaches, such as sustainability, dark-sky protection, astrophotography, space exploration, astronomy innovation, inclusive science communication, and STEAM Education by integrating scien…

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EVSN - Pulsating Stars, Watery Plumes From Europa & Pluto’s Haze 54:55

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From May 14, 2020. Join us today as we talk about one of my favorite areas of research, pulsating stars, and how researchers have used data from NASA’s TESS mission to understand them. We also look at new evidence for watery plumes erupting from Jupiter’s moon Europa. And finally, we discuss how the SOFIA observatory has found clues for why Pluto’s…

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Actual Astronomy - Featuring Constellation Taurus 6:05

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Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. [email protected] Episode 500! The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents Constellation Taurus. In this episode Chris and Shane celebrate their 500th episode by exploring all the nebulae and star clusters in Taurus. Taurus the Bull charges, head down toward Orion. T…

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Guide To Space - Oldest Rock From Earth Was Found On The Moon (Of All Places) 9:52

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h_ckjhGdjs From Feb 2, 2019. Geologists think they’ve found the oldest Earth rock ever seen. And they found it in one of the last places you’d ever suspect, on the Moon. When the Apollo 14 astronauts returned their lunar samples back to Earth, they were carrying one rock that had formed on Earth 4 to 4.1 billion yea…

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Deep Astronomy - How to Find the Orion Nebula 6:18

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3287bkIOiM&ab_channel=DeepAstronomy Hosted by Tony Darnell. From Oct 22, 2024. Your Sky Tonight is produced by Deep Astronomy and made possible by members of this YouTube Channel. Thank You! In this episode, we look at how to locate the Orion Nebula in the night sky. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of As…

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Ep. 763: Interstellar Comets 30:11

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Astronomy Cast Ep. 763: Interstellar Comets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live Sep 8, 2025. Welcome to the first episode of our 19th season! This week we look at objects coming from other solar systems that come passing on by our Sun. During the summer hiatus the 3rd interstellar object was discovered: Comet 3I/ATLAS! So now we have 3 di…