We're preparing to launch the Perseverance rover to Mars, but what's involved in getting the Mars 2020 rover mission ready to head to Mars, and how do we prepare for operations once we're there? In this month's show, we'll talk with one of the researchers working on Mars 2020 to get a scientist's perspective on what it's like to develop a Mars rover mission. We'll then transition to hear about how NASA-JPL uses unique testing facilities on Earth for developing Mars rovers - testbeds for ... more

Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 6:00pm Pacific Time (9:00pm Eastern) to hear Bruce Pittman from NASA's Space Portal Office, as he shares with us the present, and future of commercial ventures in space.RegistrationNight Sky Network members can find more information and a link to preregister for this webinar (login required) at: https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/download-view.cfm?Doc_ID=668Livestream available to everyone via Night Sky Network YouTube.Find the ... more

The Boeing Employees Astronomical Society invites SAS to their June Membership meeting with speaker Emily Levesque. Emily's research interests are focused on massive stellar astrophysics and the use of massive stars as cosmological tools. Her current research program includes panchromatic observations and models of star-forming galaxies and their young stellar populations; host galaxy and progenitor studies of massive star transients such as LBVs, supernovae, and long-duration gamma-ray ... more

Meet NASA's Eric Aguilar, Mars 2020 Technical Group Supervisor - Behind the Spacecraft - Live Q&A Get to know some of the diverse team of engineers and scientists working on NASA's next Mars rover, Perseverance. NASA-JPL engineer Eric Aguilar oversees a laboratory where engineering models of the Perseverance rover’s subsystems are tested. Join our chat to find out how they test models on Earth to make sure they work as expected on Mars. We'll be taking your questions live from ... more

Join us for live views of several deep-sky targets from the dark skies at McDonald Observatory. Your host Stephen Hummel will show you views from a camera attached to a research-grade 16" telescope at the Frank N. Bash Visitors Center. Early Summer skies in the Northern Hemisphere are full of wonderful gems for us to explore! The targets, weather permitting, will be: 1. M13, or the Great Hercules Cluster (pictured in thumbnail) 2. M83, or the "Southern Pinwheel Galaxy" 3. NGC 4361, or ... more

Griffith Observatory holds this FREE public program on the first Friday of every month. Join the Observatory's curatorial staff as they examine and explain the most-talked-about subjects in astronomy and space science.June 5, 20207:30 PM - 9:30 PM PDT10:30 PM EDT - 12:30AM EDTMore details to come! Watch previous "All Spece Considered" events below:Livestream: https://livestream.com/griffithobservatorytvYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GriffithObservatory

The “doppler method” or “wobble method” of detecting planets orbiting other stars, requires precise measurements of the speeds of those distant stars. If we can see a star oscillating towards and away from us, we can infer that an unseen planet is tugging on its parent star as it orbits. We will learn just how hard it is to precisely measure the speeds of stars to the precision of 9 cm/s (0.2 mph!) necessary for finding these Earth-like planets. Next-generation ... more

Cosmic Coffee explores a different topic in astronomy or planetary science each week. This week, Lowell Observatory Director Dr. Jeff Hall gives us a tour of the 4.3-meter Lowell Discovery Telescope, the 5th largest optical telescope in the continental United States. Cosmic Coffee is presented each Thursday at 9am AZ/PT.

Many galaxies have a sinister secret: they’re cannibals. The biggest have grown bloated by devouring their neighbors in galactic feeding frenzies that would make Hannibal Lecter proud. Like detectives at the scene of a crime, astronomer Dr. Michael West searches for clues to reveal the violent histories of cannibal galaxies and their victims. But separating the cannibal from the cannibalized isn’t always easy.