Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder13 Sep

Dyson Spheres: The Heat Has to Go Somewhere

What if the first evidence of an advanced alien civilization isn’t a message, but a star whose energy books don’t quite balance?

This week, we explore the strange history and surprisingly real science of Dyson spheres, from Olaf Stapledon and Freeman Dyson to the unforgettable Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Relics.” We’ll learn why a vast swarm of orbiting collectors makes more sense than a solid shell, and how astronomers search for the missing starlight and excess infrared heat such a civilization might produce.

We also examine Project Hephaistos and its search through millions of nearby stars, the James Webb observations that unmasked two promising candidates, and a recent proposal suggesting that hyper-efficient alien computers could create a much colder, and harder to find, form of waste heat.

Then, in the night sky report, the Moon visits brilliant Venus, Antares and the Teapot of Sagittarius. Venus reaches peak brightness, Saturn rules the evening sky, and International Observe the Moon Night gives everyone a reason to spend Saturday evening looking up.

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Episoder(124)

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When Black Holes Twist Spacetime

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Is there a Black Hole in Our Backyard?

What if the mysterious "Planet Nine" isn't a planet at all?In this episode, we journey to the distant frontier of our Solar System to explore one of astronomy's strangest modern hypotheses: the possib...

5 Jul 21min

How Jupiter Almost Destroyed the Solar System

For generations, we've pictured the Solar System as a stable and orderly place: planets forming where they are today and quietly orbiting the Sun for billions of years. But what if that picture is wro...

21 Jun 23min