Season 5, Episode 31: Meet a Webb Scient...

On the Gravity Assist podcast we have interviewed dozens of scientists, engineers, and others dedicated to the mission of NASA space exploration. After five years, the show is coming to a close. Here are some final thoughts and episode highlights from the podcast team. 

The world will get a first glimpse of the universe as never before when the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope come out on July 12. And this is only the beginning — the telescope will deliver all kinds of insights about galaxies, planets, and more, for years to come ... Show More

Uranus and Neptune are two of the many exciting and mysterious objects in our universe that the James Webb Space Telescope will soon begin to explore. Learn more about these planets and the Webb telescope’s upcoming observations from astrophysicist Naomi Rowe-Gurney, our guest on ... Show More

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and it’s hard to imagine a world more alien and different from Earth. It’s known as a Gas Giant, and its diameter is eleven times the size of Earth’s: our planet would fit inside it one thousand three hundred times. But its mass ... Show More

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is hard at work answering our biggest questions about the birth of our universe and faraway galaxies. But some astronomers are pointing its powerful eyes much closer to home. In this episode, Caltech astronomer Katherine de Kleer explains how Web ... Show More

Did the planet Jupiter, like a reckless god, wreak havoc on a young solar system? Join Robert and Joe and they consider the red planet’s destructive powers on Stuff to Blow Your Mind. (originally published 3/23/2021)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Lujendra Ojha, assistant professor at Rutgers University, joins Planetary Radio to discuss how subsurface liquid water on exoplanets orbiting red dwarf stars could increase the likelihood of finding habitable worlds beyond our Solar System. Then we check in with Bruce Betts, chie ... Show More

Sarah Al-Ahmed, the host of Planetary Radio, marks her 100th episode with a look back at the defining moments of the past 100 weeks of space exploration. We'll revisit previous Planetary Radio interviews, including the launch of ESA's Juice mission to the icy moons of Jupiter wit ... Show More

A team co-led by the Southwest Research Institute has made a groundbreaking discovery, revealing evidence of hydrothermal or metamorphic activity on the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake in the Kuiper Belt. The lead author of this research, Chris Glein, joins Planetary Radio to ... Show More

Pluto was unseated as our solar system’s ninth planet in 2006. Since then astronomers have found signs that a real ninth planet could be hiding at the edges of our solar system. Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics, explains how the forthcoming Vera Rubin Observat ... Show More

This week, we investigate the mysteries of Pluto's iconic heart-shaped feature. We explore recent research on the origins of the Sputnik Planitia region and what it can tell us about whether or not the dwarf planet has a subsurface ocean. Our guest, Adeene Denton from the Univers ... Show More

The Sun is the ultimate source of life in our solar system, a radiant powerhouse that bathes Earth in the energy necessary for everything from photosynthesis to weather patterns. Its warmth and light sustain us. However, the Sun’s influence isn't always benign. Its solar wind—a s ... Show More