Science, Actually Presents : The Nerd and the Scientist Science, Actually

Transits and microlensing and radial velocity - oh my! Are there other civilizations out there? Maybe. What there's definitely a ton of beyond our Solar System are other worlds. This week Kovi and Benjamin talk about exoplanets - from the beginning of how we first began discovering them in the 90's, to today where we not only have a catalog of thousands of exoplanets, but we know their sizes, masses, atmospheres, and have even snapped a photo of a few.

This week Kovi and Benjamin discuss the aurorae many of us witnessed last week as a result of a particularly large solar storm. ...and not just that! They also go on to discuss how aurorae are formed, why the northern and southern lights are different, what they look like on other worlds, and mention that even some brown and red dwarf stars that have aurorae. They even discuss the proper pluralization of aurora ... aurorae. Trust us - it gets nuts.

Getting things to space is relatively easy - just hop on a rocket - but still somewhat expensive. Once in space getting from place to place is hard - once you've launched you're either going into orbit and staying there, or on your way to a far away destination - and takes a very long time. What can we do to make space travel quicker and cheaper, can we speed up communication with these far away places, and is that a giant dinner plate standing in the desert? Kovi and Benjamin answer all these questions - and talk about their dogs - in this episode.

We want to wish a Happy Passover to all of our listeners who celebrate, and in that spirit this week we're talking about things that are 'passing over' us! Get it? Passover? Passing over? Trust us, it's funny. Don't touch that dial, as Kovi and Benjamin discuss all the different altitudes and orbital zones in which things actually do pass over us - from satellites to space stations, comets to asteroids, and a mind altering, life changing experience Kovi had in Texas.

At last, Kovi and Benjamin meet again for the first time for the last time. It is a period of science skepticism in the world. A fledgling podcast, recording from a hidden location, had just finished their second season. During the recording, the podcasters kept quiet so as not to be discovered until they met the ultimate nerd, the first person to BUY THEIR T-SHIRT - a comfortable, all cotton garment powerful enough to have a rubber duck on it. With onlookers getting suspicious, and even beginning to laugh, they kept their recording brief and then raced home aboard their spaceship - custodians of the stolen plans that can save the galaxy...

Benjamin used to be super impressed with Kovi's profession, but when he learned that back in 1937 all you needed was some wood, piece of sheet metal, and a few parts from a broken down Model T... eh, now, not so much. Tune is as Kovi talks shop - we learn about the accidental invention of radio astronomy, how insanely big radio telescopes can be and how they work, and some incredible discoveries they've made along the way.