Astronomy Minute Podcasts
Learn the Basics of Astronomy
Your Host is a Professional Astronomer
Your Host is a Professional Astronomer
Learn the basics of astronomy in one-to-two minute packets of concise information about specific topics. You are a busy person, and like the host of these podcasts, have a short attention span; you want to know more astronomy today than you did yesterday. You can listen to the podcasts in virtually any order. Just pick one that interests you and go from there.
Your Host is a Professional Astronomer
Your Host is a Professional Astronomer
Your Host is a Professional Astronomer
Your host, Professor Ata Sarajedini, is a Yale-educated PhD astronomer and astrophysicist with his own active research program (Hirsch index = 70) and a noted authority on stellar and galactic astronomy. Check out his TEDx talk on Youtube. The podcast logo is courtesy of Zachary Greathouse and shows a globular cluster photo taken by Professor Ata with the Hubble Space Telescope.
Podcast Locations and Feedback
Your Host is a Professional Astronomer
Podcast Locations and Feedback
Podcasts available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts, Anchor, and other platforms. Podcasts are self-contained and can be enjoyed in any order. There is a content index at the bottom of the page. Please send feedback - positive or negative - to ata.sarajedini@gmail.com - or use the form at the bottom of this page.
Special Series about the James Webb Space Telescope
Spotify Links to Podcasts with Episode Numbers
Basics of Science and Math
35. Why Did I create these Podcasts?
73. What is Meant by an Order of Magnitude and a Logarithmic Scale?
32. What is the Difference Between Random Errors and Systematic Errors?
74. What is the Difference Between Precision and Accuracy?
78. What is Meant by a Bell Curve?
149. A Description of the Mathematical Basis of Cause-and-Effect
Basics of Physics
96. What is Electromagnetic Radiation?
44. What is the Doppler Effect and Redshift?
43. What is the Inverse Square Law of Light?
94. What is a Blackbody Curve or Planck Curve?
70. What is the Kelvin Temperature Scale?
42. What are Newton’s Laws of Motion?
63. What is Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation?
64. What is Meant by Tidal Forces?
46. What is Conservation of Angular Momentum?
119. What is Meant by Quantum Mechanics?
145. How do Atoms Absorb and Emit Light?
Basics of Astronomy
146. So You Want to be a Professional Astronomer?
173. What are the Basic Properties of Astronomical Objects?
71. What is Meant by the Magnitude System?
12. How do we measure Distances in Astronomy?
25. How do we Use Light to Study the Universe?
99. The Universe as a Time Machine.
41. Can the Millennium Falcon Really do the Kessel Run in 12 Parsecs?
Philosophical Musings
3. What is Astronomical Vocabulary?
9. Astronomy is a Science of Extremes.
40. Does Science Prove Things?
87. What is Meant by Taxonomy in Science?
26. What is the Difference Between Astronomy and Astrophysics?
79. The Clockwork of the Universe. (Figure)
100. Why do We Study Astronomy?
62. What is the Copernican Principle?
129. The Many Facets of Astronomy and the Lure of the Night Sky.
138. Is Science the Only Path to the Truth?
157. Are UFOs Aliens From Outer Space?
158. What Was Here Before the Big Bang?
The Celestial Sphere, Time, Telescopes, and Observatories
10. What is the Celestial Sphere?
120. What is Meant by Equatorial Coordinate System?
77. What are Right Ascension and Declination?
124. What is Meant by the Local Sidereal Time (LST)?
126. What is Meant by Local Apparent Time?
127. What is the Equation of Time?
128. What is the Relation Between Local Sidereal Time and Local Time?
122. What is Meant by Altazimuth Coordinate System?
121. What is Meant by Altitude and Azimuth?
123. What is Meant by Galactic Coordinate System?
34. Will Polaris Always be the North Star?
93. What is Precession of the Equinoxes?
51. What are the Different Types of Telescopes?
*160. What is Seeing and the Resolving Power of a Telescope?
Constellations and Their Celestial Objects
92. What is Meant by the Signs of the Zodiac?
19. What are M-numbers and NGC-numbers?
102. What is Meant by a Deep Sky Object?
145. What are Some Well-Known Deep Sky Objects?
103. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Andromeda?
112. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Cancer?
111. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Canes Venatici?
113. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Canis Major?
114. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Cassiopeia?
110. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Centaurus?
115. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Cetus?
116. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Coma Berenices?
117. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Crux?
104. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Cygnus?
125. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Dorado?
105. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Hercules?
130. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Leo?
106. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Lyra?
131. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Monoceros?
132. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Ophiuchus?
107. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Orion?
108. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Sagittarius?
133. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Scorpius?
109. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Taurus?
134. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Triangulum?
135. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Tucana?
136. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Ursa Major?
137. Which Notable Objects are in the Constellation of Virgo?
History of Astronomy
The Sun
Solar Systems and the Planets
36. How did the Solar System Form?
90. How Old is the Solar System?
52. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Mercury?
53. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Venus?
147. What do I Need to Know About Planet Earth?
75. What Causes the Seasons on the Earth? (Figure)
76. What Causes the Phases of the Moon? (Movie)
48. How did the Earth’s Moon Form?
88. Is There Such a Thing as THE Dark Side of the Moon?
148. How do Lunar and Solar Eclipses Happen?
54. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Mars?
55. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Jupiter?
56. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Saturn?
57. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Uranus?
58. What do I Need to Know About the Planet Neptune?
33. What Happened to Pluto Formerly Known as a Planet?
69. What are Comets and Meteor Showers?
80. How do We Know There are Planets Around Other Stars?
Stars and Stellar Evolution
Interstellar Medium and Star Formation
Galaxies, Cosmology, and the Universe
156. What is the Milky Way Galaxy?
*166. How do We Know that the Milky Way Galaxy is Spiral in Shape?
86. What are the Magellanic Clouds?
172. What is the Local Group of Galaxies?
59. How do We Classify Galaxies?
175. What is Meant by Spiral Nebula?
154. What are Starburst Galaxies?
*169. What are Interacting Galaxies?
39. How do we Know there is a black hole at the center of our galaxy?
60. What is Gravitational Lensing?
66. What is Meant by Hierarchical Clustering in Astronomy?
68. What is the Cosmic Microwave Background?
95. What is Meant by the Hubble Flow?
Site Content
Content Topical Index with Episode Numbers
47 Tucanae (NGC 104) 135
Abscissa 149
Absorption, interstellar 49
Active galactic nuclei 37, 110
Active galaxies 37, 110
Altitude 121
Altazimuth coordinate system 122
Andromeda constellation 103
Andromeda galaxy 103
Angular Momentum 46
Associations, Stellar 17
Asterism 101
Atoms
Excited 145
De-excited 145
Ionized 145
Azimuth 121
Beehive open cluster (Praesepe) 112
Bell Curve 78
Betelgeuse 107
Big Bang Theory 21, 158
Big Dipper asterism 136
Black Holes 2, 39, 159
Blackbody curve 94
Brahe, Tycho 82
Brown Dwarfs 14
Butterfly Nebula 133
Cancer constellation 112
Canes Venatici constellation 111
Canis Major constellation 113
Cassiopeia constellation 114
Cat’s Paw Nebula 133
Celestial Sphere 10
Celsius temperature scale 70
Centaurus A (Cen A, NGC 5128) 110
Centaurus constellation 110
Cetus constellation 115
Coal Sack Nebula 117
Coma Berenices constellation 116
Coma cluster of galaxies 116
Comets 69
Constellation 30
Copernican principle 62
Copernicus, Nicolaus 81
Cosmic Microwave Background 68
Cosmology 23
Cosmological Principle 23
Crab Nebula 109
Crux constellation 117
Cygnus constellation 104
Dark Energy 61
Dark Matter 20
Declination 77
Deep sky object 102
Denebola (beta Leonis) 130
Doppler effect 44
Dorado constellation 125
Dreyer, John 19
Dust, interstellar 65
Earth
As a planet 147
Seasons 75
Age 98
Einstein’s theory of relativity 150
Electromagnetic radiation 22, 96
Equation of time 127
Equatorial coordinate system 120
Extinction, interstellar 49
Extra-solar planets 80
Extraterrestrial life 91
Fahrenheit temperatures 70
Galactic coordinate system 123
Galaxies 18
Active 37
Classification 59
Dwarf 86, 89, 108, 114, 125, 135
Starburst 154
Galileo 84
Galilean moons 84
Gas, interstellar 65
Gaussian Distribution 78
Geocentric universe 81, 144
Globular Clusters 17
Gravitation, Newton’s Law of 63, 85
Gravitational Lensing 60
Heliocentric universe 81, 144
Hercules constellation 105
Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram 45
Hubble Flow 95
Hubble Law 155
Hubble Tuning Fork 59
Hyades open cluster 109
IC 1613 115
Inverse square law of light 43
Ions 145
Jupiter 55
Kelvin temperatures 70
Kepler, Johannes 83
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion 38
Lagoon Nebula 108
Large Magellanic Cloud 86, 125, 134
Leo constellation 130
Light pollution 139
Light year 97
Logarithms 73
Lookback time 99
Lunar Eclipses 148
Lyre constellation 106
Magellanic Clouds 86, 125, 134
Magnitude system 71
Mars 54
Measurement errors 32
Accuracy 74
Precision 74
Mercury 52
Messier 1 (M1) 109
Messier 3 (M3, NGC 5272) 111
Messier 4 (M4, NGC 6121) 133
Messier 6 (M6) 133
Messier 7 (M7) 133
Messier 8 (M8) 108
Messier 9 (M9, NGC 6333) 132
Messier 10 (M10 NGC 6254) 132
Messier 12 (M12, NGC 6218) 132
Messier 13 (M13, NGC 6205) 105
Messier 14 (M14, NGC 6402) 132
Messier 17 (M17) 108
Messier 19 (M19, NGC 6273) 132
Messier 20 (M20) 108
Messier 31 (M31, NGC 224) 103
Messier 33 (M33, NGC 598) 134
Messier 42 (M42) 107
Messier 44 (M44, NGC 2632) 112
Messier 45 (M45) 109
Messier 51 (M51, NGC 5194) 111
Messier 53 (M53, NGC 5024) 116
Messier 56 (M56, NGC 6779) 106
Messier 62 (M62, NGC 6266) 132
Messier 63 (M63, NGC 5055) 111
Messier 64 (M64) 116
Messier 67 (M67) 112
Messier 80 (M80, NGC 6093) 133
Messier 81 (M81) 136
Messier 82 (M82) 136
Messier 85 (M85) 116
Messier 87 (M87) 137
Messier 92 (M92, NGC 6341) 105
Messier 94 (M94, NGC 4736) 111
Messier 97 (M97) 136
Messier 100 (M100) 116
Messier 101 (M101) 136
Messier 104 (M104) 137
Messier 106 (M106, NGC 4258) 111
Messier 107 (M107, NGC 6171) 132
Messier, Charles 19
Metals 15, 140
Meteor showers 69
Milky Way 3, 86, 105, 156
Mira (variable star) 115
Monoceros constellation 131
Moon
Formation 48
Phases 76, 88
Nebulae
Emission 16
Planetary 16, 106
Reflection 16
Needle galaxy (NGC 4565) 116
Newton, Isaac 85
Newton’s Laws 42
Neptune 58
Neutron Stars 1
NGC 6822 108
Normal Distribution 78
North star 34
North American Nebula (NGC 7000) 104
Northern Cross asterism 104
Novae 4
Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) 110
Omega Nebula 108
Open Clusters 17
Ophiuchus constellation 132
Ordinate 149
Orion constellation 107
Orion’s belt asterism 107
Orion Nebula 107
Owl Nebula 136
OWL telescope 3
Parallax (trigonometric) 12
Parsec 41
Pegasus, Great Square of 103
Periodic Table 15, 140
Planck curve 94
Pleiades open cluster 109
Pluto 33
Praesepe open cluster 112
Precession of the Equinoxes 93
Pulsars 1
Quantum mechanics 119
Quasars 11
Reddening, interstellar 49
Redshift 44
Regulus (alpha Leonis) 130
Relativity 150
Retrograde Motion of the Planets 144
Rho Ophiuchi dust complex 132
Right Ascension 77
Rigel 107
Ring Nebula 106
Rosette Nebula 131
Sagittarius constellation 108
Saturn 56
Science 13
Application 50, 138, 153
Scorpius constellation 133
Sidereal time 124
Sirius (Dog Star) 113
Slope and y-Intercept 149
Small Magellanic Cloud 86, 134, 135
Solar eclipses 148
Solar System 24, 36, 81, 82, 83, 90
Sombrero galaxy 137
Southern Cross asterism 117
Spectral classification 67
Spica 137
Stars
Clusters 17
Death 8, 109
Evolution 7
Formation 6, 107, 131
Naming 31
Straight Line 149
Subaru (Seven Sisters) 109
Summer Triangle asterism 106
Sun 24, 28, 47, 72, 98, 151
Supernovae 5
Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus) 125
Taurus constellation 109
Teapot asterism 108
Telescopes 51
Temperature scales 70
Tidal Force 64
Trapezium Cluster 107
Triangulum spiral galaxy 134
Trifid Nebula 108
Tucana constellation 135
UFOs 157
Units of measurement 152
Universe
Age 98
Expansion 118, 155
Uranus 57
Ursa Major constellation 136
Variables - experimental
Independent 149
Dependent 149
Variable stars 29
Vega (alpha Lyrae) 106
Veil Nebula 104
Venus 53
Virgo cluster of galaxies 137
Virgo constellation 137
Zeropoint 149
Zodiac 92