Space Radio

This week we gave Space Radio its final send off. This project, started four years ago at an Ohio radio station, turned into so much more than I could have imagined. I’d like to thank the Space Cadets for tuning in and supporting my outreach. Thank you all for tuning in each week and have no fear. There’s plenty more laughter and learning in the works!! Our final cheese was Van Tricht Drunk Monk, a fudgy Trappist-style cheese made with Belgian beer. Find info here: https://dibruno.com/van-tricht-drunk-monk/

This week I had a blast chatting with Launch Pad Astronomy host Christian Ready. Christian surprised me by bringing a slab of HIS favorite cheese to the show and we had an impromptu cheese tasting! (Can you guess what cheese Christian brought?) This week's Dom's Cheese of the week was Gjetost, a traditional Norwegian cheese made with caramelized goat's milk. It has a fudge-like texture with salted caramel flavors: https://domscheese.com/product/gjetost/ Christian is an astronomer at Towson University where he also serves as planetarium director. He has spent much of his life in awe of the universe. In fact, he first worked professionally in the field of Astronomy at the tender age of 13 when he started working at the Sproul Observatory at Swarthmore College near his home. Initially, Christian measured the positions of stars on hundreds of photographic plates, but he later moved on to taking observations with the 24-inch refractor. During his time at Sproul Observatory, Christian developed a passion for showing the public celestial objects through their telescopes during monthly open houses. On those inevitable cloudy nights, he would present slideshows when people would show up anyway. Christian went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Villanova University where his passion for public outreach was reinforced as a teacher’s assistant and presenter on weekly public viewing nights. While working at Space Telescope Science Institute, and later at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, Christian gave talks about the Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomy topics at venues ranging from schools, to community groups, to science fiction conventions. He continues to give talks to this day and has been known to make a video or two. Christian is now an instructor at the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop, where he helps teach writers, editors, filmmakers, and other creative professionals about astronomy. He views this as an opportunity to combine his loves of astronomy, teaching, and science fiction into one. You can learn more about Christian by visiting his website (https://christianready.com/) and you can subscribe to Launch Pad Astronomy on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/christianready) Don't forget to follow Christian on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christianready/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/christianready/), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/christianready/). To learn more about Launch Pad Astronomy, go to https://www.launchpadworkshop.org/ . You can also follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LaunchPadAstronomy), Twitter (https://twitter.com/LaunchPadAstro), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/launchpadastro/).

This week I disclose what happens when a star gobbles up a nearby black hole. (Hint: it goes BOOM!!!!) The Space Cadets in the audience asked a bunch of GREAT questions in chat (as usual) which I tackled, including: Our place in the universe; Computer simulations I wrote during my PhD; The properties of "dark;" The uncertainty principal; And more! PLUS I engaged in another round of Voice Mail Roulette! Our Dom's cheese of the week was St. Stephen from Four Fat Fowl. It is delicately buttery with hints of sun-dried wheat and sweet cream. You can order your own brick from Dom's and learn more about the cheese.

So is it pronounced HI-SEE'-AN or HY'-SHEN? Find out my thoughts about this critical question as I also discuss the possibility of detecting life on these water worlds. I also aired (and answered) few unscreened voicemail messages (THAT was fun!) as well as answered questions posed by the Space Cadets, including: Quantum Field Theory; Is the launch of the SLS delayed until 2022? The speed of light and redshift; And more! Our Dom's cheese of the week was Bosina, a soft ripened cow & sheep milk cheese. You can order your own brick from Dom's here: https://domscheese.com/product/robiola-bosina/ and learn more about the cheese itself here: https://www.caseificioaltalanga.it/product/bosina/?lang=en THANK YOU to Vladimir Stepanov for your SuperChat during tonight's show!