logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
24m 46s

Dead Planets Society: #7 Halve the Moon

NEW SCIENTIST
About this episode

Leah finally takes on her arch-nemesis; the two-faced, arrogant, cold-hearted… moon. And despite her lunar love, Chelsea gets roped into the destruction. Together, they plot to crack it like an egg, vaporise it into nothingness and drill into it with a giant jackhammer… all while dodging the space police.

Our space marauders recruit the assistance of astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Haym Benaroya at Rutgers University.

Dead Planets Society is a podcast that takes outlandish ideas about how to tinker with the cosmos – from punching a hole in a planet to unifying the asteroid belt. The hosts are Leah Crane and Chelsea Whyte.

If you have a cosmic object you’d like to figure out how to destroy, email the team at deadplanets@newscientist.com. Or if you just want to chat about this episode or wrecking the cosmos more generally, tweet @chelswhyte and @downhereonearth.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Yesterday
How geoengineering could save us from climate disaster; Have we broken mathematics?; Why exercise reduces cancer risk
Episode 311 Geoengineering could be the best way to avoid catastrophic climate disaster - but there’s a big catch. In the recent Global Tipping Points Conference in the UK, scientists discussed growing concerns that the AMOC may be on the verge of collapsing. This is a system of ... Show More
33m 2s
Jul 4
First full genome of Ancient Egyptian sequenced; Wild killer whales offer gifts to humans; First demonstration of interstellar navigation
Episode 310 An ancient Egyptian's complete genome has been read for the first time. The DNA of a man who lived in Egypt over 4500 years ago offers a new window into the ancient society and hints at surprising genetic connections with Mesopotamia. Based on forensic analysis of the ... Show More
29m 31s
Jun 27
This breakthrough could let gay couples have biological kids
A groundbreaking experiment in reproductive biology has resulted in mice being born from two biological fathers. By fusing sperm and putting them into an emptied egg cell, researchers in China have produced healthy and fertile offspring from two male mice. While it’s early days a ... Show More
30m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
Can Asteroids Rock Our World? with Christina Hernández and Terik Daly
It's a beautiful night—the sky is clear, the stars are twinkling. You see a shooting star! Or is it a comet! Maybe a meteor? Whatever it is, it’s gone in an instant. But what if that whirring bit of space were headed... straight towards the Earth, not past it? Yeah, not so cute. ... Show More
1h 7m
Apr 2024
#411: Aussie Astronaut Adventures & Jovian Journeys: Unveiling Space's Latest Marvels
Embark on an astronomical adventure with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in the latest episode of Space Nuts, where they celebrate a historic moment for Australia with the announcement of the nation's first female astronaut, Catherine Bennell Pegg. Discover her remarkabl ... Show More
29m 42s
Apr 2023
Unlocking Moon Mysteries: Water-Rich Lunar Glass Beads | Space Nuts #346
In this episode, you will be able to: Unravel the intriguing results of the Chang'e 5 mission and its implications on lunar water resources. Investigate the peculiar characteristics of 'Oumuamua and its potential hydrogen propulsion mechanism. Mitigate Earth's asteroid threats by ... Show More
45m 45s
May 2023
Cosmic Queries – Volcanoes & Life in the Universe
Have we disproven the idea of a “goldilocks zone”? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Paul Mecurio learn about space geology, magnetic fields, volcanoes, and the origins of life with cosmochemist Natalie Starkey, PhD.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commerc ... Show More
51m 26s
May 2012
Space Junk in the Trunk
How much junk can we accumulate in Earth's orbit before we seal off our world? Before we cut the planet off from the cosmos and doom civilization to a new dark age? In this episode, Robert and Julie look skyward to space exploration's garbage. Learn more about your ad-choices at ... Show More
24m 48s
Aug 2021
Lucy in the Sky With Asteroids
How did the planets form? How did life happen? Where did Earth’s water come from? To answer questions like these, scientists used to go big—looking at planets, dwarf planets, and moons—but now small is the new big. Technology is zooming in on the pint-size stuff—asteroids, comets ... Show More
30m 51s
Sep 2020
Space Junk
Outer space is crowded. Satellites, pieces of rocket, and stuff that astronauts left behind, such as cameras and poop, are just floating around. This space junk can pose a threat to our communication systems. In this episode we talk with Lisa Ruth Rand, a fellow at the Science Hi ... Show More
58m 5s
Jul 2021
Cosmic Queries– Space Junk! with Moriba Jah
What do we do with all this space junk? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice answer questions about the stuff we put into orbit with astrodynamicist and space environmentalist, Dr. Moriba Jah. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire ... Show More
53m 32s