Starts With A Bang #37: The Outer Solar System

10/23/18 • 72 min

Our Solar System formed some 4.6 billion years ago from a molecular cloud that collapsed. Our proto-Sun formed along with a protoplanetary disk that eventually evolved into the Solar System we have today, complete with the inner, rocky planets, an asteroid belt, the gas giants and their moons and ringed systems, and then the outer Solar System. Those outer regions sure are interesting, and it's only over the past 3 decades we've really started to learn about them in earnest. I had the opportunity to speak with outer Solar System specialist Michele Bannister, and she agreed to be this month's guest on our podcast. Oh, did an exciting discussion ensure, and we've got over an hour of knowledge for you! What's the status on how the Solar System formed, on Planet Nine and its alternatives, and what the prospects are for taking the next major steps? Find out on this edition of the Starts With A Bang podcast! Find Michele here at her current research location: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/michele-bannister(c83612a1-80b4-4f78-a9f2-85efe0347d3a).html And on Twitter @astrokiwi: https://twitter.com/astrokiwi?lang=en

Previous Episode

Starts With A Bang #36: The Future Of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

I'm so pleased to welcome Dr. Erin MacDonald to the Starts With A Bang podcast, as we discuss the future of Gravitational Wave astronomy. From pulsars to merging black holes, to kilonovae to hopes of observing gravitational wave signatures from the earliest moments of the Universe, we cover a whole lot of astrophysics, cosmology, and experimental hopes for the near future in this burgeoning new field of astronomy. The future of gravitational wave science is so bright, even without the collection of any light. Come learn all about it today! Find Dr. Erin MacDonald online here: Website: www.erinpmacdonald.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/erinmacdonald

Next Episode

Starts With A Bang #38 - Interstellar Interloper `Oumuamua

In 2017, the incredible happened: for the first time in history, we were able to identify an object passing through our Solar System that originated from outside of it! Interstellar interloper 'Oumuamua was originally designated as a comet, then as an asteroid, and then as a new class of object: one of interstellar origin. It's a fascinating object that's the first of its kind, and much has been said about its composition, properties, and possible nature. But, unfortunately, the most famous of those "nature" discussions was from Schmuel Baily and Avi Loeb of Harvard, claiming that it could be due to aliens. Is that plausible? Is that even science? My guest for this edition is astrophysicist Paul Matt Sutter, author of the new book Your Place In The Universe, and we have an almost-hour-long discussion that goes to some fantastic and unexpected places. You won't want to miss it! Find Paul online on Twitter https://twitter.com/PaulMattSutter, Video: http://www.pmsutter.com/shows/askaspaceman/, Book: Your Place In The Universe https://amzn.to/2DCysNj.