The 365 Days of Astronomy

Some place in space.
Hosted by Steve Nerlich.
Dear Cheap Astronomy – What is the role of AI in space?
AI simulates human decision-making and finds most practical usage in the sorting and analysing of various kinds of data. So. you can feed an AI program pictures of galaxies and the classifications they fit into and then the AI can then identify and classify new ones that you feed it. It's kind of like how Galaxy Zoo used to work, except with Galaxy Zoo it was actual crowd-sourced people that did the work.
 
Dear Cheap Astronomy – What will space warfare look like?
We've previously discussed on this podcast that fighting a war from space is probably a bad idea. You might conceivably drop a bomb from orbit, but once you've identified yourself as an enemy it's pretty easy to take you out from the ground. You may be able to dodge a few missiles at the start, but once you're out of maneuvering fuel you'll be stuck in a straight-line orbit and hence a sitting duck.
 
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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu
Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

From August 11, 2008.
Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest)
Last week we talked about rockets. How they work, how they go BOOM!, their limitations. And this week we're going to look at the future of propulsion systems. From the ion engines that are already working to explore the Solar System to the prototype solar sails to futuristic technologies like magnetic sails, and bussard ramjets. This is how we'll travel to other stars.
 
We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. 
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Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! 
Every bit helps! Thank you!
------------------------------------
Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!
http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. 
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------------------------------------
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu
Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

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 December 2025 & January 2026.
Today's 2 topics:
- Many people in our modern world rarely if ever experience night vision. To achieve this interesting state of sensory awareness you cannot look at your cell phone or any other source of bright light for 30 to 45 minutes. Your night vision comes about over time because the rod sensors in the retina of your eye undergo a chemical change when they are placed in total darkness. The process starts immediately but takes 20 to 30 minutes to get 80% of maximum sensitivity. The night vision process can be reversed in seconds by exposure to a bright light. In its most sensitive state your eye can function with a billion times less light than is present in strong sunlight enabling you to see a candle flame from 1.6 miles away.
 
- In November of 2006, University of Arizona's Spacewatch astronomers on Kitt Peak discovered a faint moving point of light in the night sky which appeared to be a garden variety main belt asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The Minor Planet Center calculated it's orbit and gave it the name 2006 VW139. Five years later when it again moved closest to the Sun the Pan-STARRS group in Hawaii discovered that 2006 VW139 is surrounded by a gas cloud like a comet and it was given a comet designation, 288P. 
 
We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. 
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Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! 
Every bit helps! Thank you!
------------------------------------
Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!
http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. 
Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)
------------------------------------
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu
Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan who enjoy teaching astronomy classes and showing the public views through their telescopes. actualastronomy@gmail.com
 
On Episode 547 of Actual Astronomy, hosts Chris and Shane guide listeners through observing an array of August Messier objects across the constellations Ophiuchus, Scorpius, and Sagittarius. The show details viewing techniques for globular and open clusters—highlighting targets like the egg-shaped globular M19, the historical Ptolemy's Cluster (M7), and the beginner-friendly M23. Additionally, they explore iconic Milky Way nebulae, including the active star-forming Lagoon Nebula (M8) and the nearby Trifid Nebula (M20) with its distinctive three-lobed dark dust lanes.
 
1. M10 & M12 (Globular Clusters in Ophiuchus)
- Binoculars: Sweeping through central Ophiuchus reveals these two bright globulars in the same binocular field. They appear as soft, distinct bluishgray spheres.
- Telescope: In an 8-inch telescope, M12 resolves well into individual stars across its core, while M10 appears somewhat more tightly packed, brighter toward the center, and slightly fuzzier at the edges.
- Compare the two side-by-side: Despite being located near each other in our sky, M12 has lost a significant portion of its lower-mass stars due to repeated passages through the Milky Way's dense galactic disk.
 
2. M107 (Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus)
- Binoculars: A challenging target for binoculars; requires dark skies and averted vision to spot as a minute, faint smudge.
- Telescope: Small-to-medium telescopes reveal a delicate, somewhat un-concentrated patch of light with a loose core.
- M107 contains noticeable dark dust lanes or obscuring regions, which is relatively rare for a globular cluster, giving it a unique visual texture in medium-to-large scopes.
 
3. M9 (Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus)
- Binoculars: Similar in scale to M107, though slightly brighter and easier to catch in 10x50s on a clear night.
- Telescope: Small scopes show a bright, unresolved central nucleus surrounded by a faint, grainy halo.
- M9 is located remarkably close to the Galactic Centre—only about 5,500 light-years away from it. It lies near dark nebulae like Barnard 64, making the surrounding starfield visually compelling.
 
4. M19 & M62 (Globular Clusters in Ophiuchus)
- Binoculars: Separated by about 4 degrees, both fit easily into a standard binocular field of view south of M10/M12. They look like round, soft patches brightening toward their centers, with M19 appearing noticeably brighter.
- Telescope: Smaller telescopes show compact, fuzzy disks. Moderate magnification begins resolving outer stars on both.
- M19 is famous for being one of the most distinctly oblate (egg-shaped) globular clusters known, likely due to tidal forces from its proximity to the galactic core.
- M62 has an asymmetric core, heavily deformed by galactic tidal forces, and hosts a rich population of millisecond pulsars.
 
5. M6 (The Butterfly Cluster) & M7 (Ptolemy's Cluster) Scorpius
- Naked Eye: Both are bright and obvious to the naked eye under dark skies near the "stinger" of Scorpius.
- Binoculars: Binoculars provide the absolute best view. Both clusters fit together in a wide 10x50 field. M7 is larger and brighter; M6 displays a striking butterfly-like star arrangement.
- M7 is one of the oldest recorded deep-sky objects, noted by Ptolemy in 130 AD.
- The orange giant star BM Scorpii, which sits on the wing of the "Butterfly" in M6 and adds a nice pop of stellar color contrast.
 
6. M8 (The Lagoon Nebula) Sagittarius
- Naked Eye: Appears as a distinct, hazy patch in the Milky Way band above Scorpius.
- Binoculars: Shows as a huge, glowing oval patch—larger than the full Moon—with several bright stars embedded within it.
- Telescope / Filters: A UHC or O-III filter enhances the dark dust lane ("the lagoon") bisecting the bright nebulosity.
- M8 is an active star-forming region containing Bok globules (collapsing clouds of protostellar gas) and the famous "Hourglass Nebula" region at its core.
 
7. M20 (The Trifid Nebula) Sagittarius
- Binoculars: Located just 1.4 degrees northwest of M8. Appears as a faint, ghostly glow surrounding a central triple/multiple star system.
- Telescope: Medium scopes under dark skies reveal the dark dust lanes splitting the bright emission portion into three distinct lobes.
- M20 is a rare "triple threat" nebula containing an emission nebula (red in photos), a reflection nebula (blue in photos), and a dark dust lane network (Barnard 85) that gives it its name.
 
8. M21 (Open Cluster) Sagittarius
- Binoculars: Situated right next to M20. Appears as a small, compact, bright knot of stars.
- Telescope: Low-power views easily resolve 20–30 stars packed tightly together.
- The "Trifid Trio": In wide-field eyepieces or binoculars, you can view M8, M20, and M21 all in a single field of view, offering one of the most spectacular Milky Way vistas available to visual observers.
 
9. M23 (Open Cluster) Sagittarius
- Telescope: Low magnification is key. Small telescopes easily resolve over 80–100 stars spread across a wide field in subtle arc-like patterns.
- M23 sits against a rich background Milky Way star field, making low-power wide-field views ideal. It is an excellent target for beginners practicing star-hopping in northern late-summer skies.
 
We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. 
Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can!
Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! 
Every bit helps! Thank you!
------------------------------------
Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!
http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. 
Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)
------------------------------------
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu
Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Hosted by our Director, Avivah Yamani.
Meet S301, the fastest known star in the Milky Way, racing around Sagittarius A* and offering astronomers a new way to measure the spin of our galaxy's supermassive black hole.
 
We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. 
Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can!
Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! 
Every bit helps! Thank you!
------------------------------------
Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!
http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. 
Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)
------------------------------------
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu
Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.