365 Days of Astronomy - Weekly Edition

Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest) Streamed live on Feb 16, 2026. There are many types of variable stars. Today we’re gonna talk about cataclysmic variable stars, which are the result of a white dwarf stealing material from a companion star. And this whole process makes supervillain Pamela happy. Gravity is the weakest force, but on the scales of stars, it is...

Streamed live on Feb 13, 2026. Modern astronomy has found that the Universe can surprise us. Here’s one which astronomers have called Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients. They’re kinda like supernovas, they’re kind of like gamma ray bursts, but they’re not like them. So what are they? In the distant Universe, are blue light flashes, bright and hard to understand. These objects, uncreatively...

Streamed live on Feb 2, 2026. One long standing mystery in astronomy were the quasars. Incomprehensible energy blasting out of a point-like source, billions of light years away. We now know these are actively feeding supermassive black holes, which can turn off and on in a startlingly short period of time. Today: When black holes awaken! Our Universe is filled with sleeping monsters. And...

Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest ) Streamed live on Jan 26, 2026. We live in a cosmic shooting gallery. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when”! Dinosaurs, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill. But seriously, folks, it’s raining rocks & ice out there! How seriously should we take it? What happens when a variety of different objects hit the Earth? Different...

Streamed live on Jan 12, 2026. Hosted by: Fraser Cain (@frasercain ) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (@CosmoQuest ) Humans live short lives, and from our perspective the seasons are something that come and go with perfect regularity. But astronomers know the terrible truth! And that there are cycles that slowly shift over tens of thousands of years, shifting the cycles and the Earth’s climate. Today we’ll...

Streamed live on Jan 5, 2026. Freeman Dyson asked a fascinating question. What would it look like if a civilization was using all the energy coming from their star? And what form would this take? This introduced the concept of a Dyson Sphere, or more realistically, a Dyson Swarm surrounding a star. But if you’re skeptical about the concept, you’re in good company. This show is supported through...

Streamed live on Dec 29, 2025. How big can a star get? This is a calculation made by one of the original pioneers of modern astronomy, Sir Arthur Eddington. And it’s named after him, the Eddington Limit. Now, astronomers are finding examples of giant black holes early in the Universe, calling into question some of Eddington’s assumptions. Let’s explore this fascinating concept! Why are stars...

Streamed live on Dec 22, 2025. Shortly after the big bang there were almost exactly the same amounts of matter and antimatter in the Universe, but there was just enough of a difference that we live in a matter-dominated Universe. But it didn’t have to be that way! Explaining this mystery has been one of the great mysteries in astronomy, and today we’ll see if there’s been any progress! Why is the...

Streamed live on Dec 15, 2025. Atomic hydrogen is the raw material for stars, but there’s a problem. It’s cold & dark, but it can do a very rare trick, releasing a photon in a very specific wavelength, known as the 21 centimeter line. And thanks to this wavelength astronomers have mapped out star forming regions across the Milky Way, the Universe and into the Dark Ages! This forbidden...

Hosted by: Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. Streamed live on Nov 8, 2025. [Editor's Note: Fraser says "Episode 773" at the head of the show. Not to worry, he was just confused. They recorded a few episodes out of sequence. I fixed the issue in the regular non-FullRaw episode.] Scientific expertise is under attack on all fronts with concerns coming from politicians and the public. While most of...