Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures

5
Astronomy #48

Listen to exciting, non-technical talks on some of the most interesting developments in astronomy and space science. Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. Speakers include a wide range of noted scientists, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The series is organized and moderated by Foothill's astronomy instructor emeritus Andrew Fraknoi and jointly sponsored by the Foothill College Physical Science, Math, and Engineering Division, the SETI Institute, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the University of California Observatories (including the Lick Observatory.)

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Recent Episodes
  • New Worlds: Analyzing the Atmospheres of Exoplanets with the James Webb Space Telescope
    Apr 16, 2025 – 01:22:52
  • Copernicus 4.0: How the Views of Earth's Importance and the Search for Life are Changing
    Mar 12, 2025 – 01:13:05
  • Human-Robotic Exploration from the Moon to Mars
    Feb 5, 2025 – 01:12:39
  • Observing with the James Webb Space Telescope: Glimpsing the First Stars
    Nov 16, 2024 – 01:04:26
  • Profound and Staggering: The Impact on Religion of the Discovery of Life around Other Stars
    Oct 14, 2024 – 01:20:58
  • The Copernicus Complex: Are We Special in the Cosmos
    Aug 25, 2024 – 01:18:53
  • Black Widow Pulsars: The Vengeful Corpses of Stars
    Jul 8, 2024 – 01:01:47
  • Europa Clipper: Exploring Jupiter's Ocean World
    May 25, 2024 – 01:22:35
  • The Allure of the Multiverse (with Dr. Paul Halpern)
    Apr 23, 2024 – 01:16:29
  • The Black Hole Wars: My Battle with Stephen Hawking
    Apr 15, 2024 – 01:34:51
  • Black Holes and the Technology to Find Them
    Apr 10, 2024 – 01:02:42
  • Exploring the Gravitational Wave Universe
    Feb 20, 2024 – 01:09:36
  • Water Above, Water Below: The Many Roles of Water in Making Planets Habitable
    Dec 4, 2023 – 01:14:58
  • The Peril and Profit of Near-Earth Objects
    Oct 29, 2023 – 01:10:15
  • SPECIAL: An Interview with Frank Drake: The Founder of SETI Science (conducted by Andrew Fraknoi)
    Jul 17, 2023 – 44:02
  • Ashes to Ashes, Earth to Earth, Dust to Dust: The Birth and Death of Worlds
    Jul 13, 2023 – 01:05:09
  • An Eclipse Double-Header: Two North American Eclipses of the Sun in 2023 & 2024 (with Andrew Fraknoi)
    May 17, 2023 – 01:02:49
  • The First Results from the James Webb Space Telescope (with Dr. Alex Filippenko)
    Mar 12, 2023 – 01:29:44
  • Our Boldest Effort to Answer our Oldest Question: Breakthrough-Listen Search for Intelligent Life
    Feb 19, 2023 – 01:25:17
  • Spacetime Symphony: Gravitational Waves from Merging Black Holes
    Jan 25, 2023 – 01:09:51
  • 100 Years of Einstein's Relativity (And How it Underlies Our Modern Understanding of the Universe)
    Dec 28, 2022 – 01:19:35
  • Space Weather and the Question of Human Survivability (with Dr. Tom Berger)
    Dec 12, 2022 – 01:32:11
  • Is Anyone out There: The Hundred-Million Dollar "Breakthrough: Listen" Project
    Dec 5, 2022 – 01:17:59
  • A Planet for Goldilocks: Kepler and the Search for Living Worlds
    Oct 30, 2022 – 01:29:04
  • The Fast Radio Sky: A New Window on the Violent Universe
    Oct 24, 2022 – 01:24:58
  • Colliding Neutron Stars, Gravity Waves, and the Origin of the Heavy Elements
    Aug 22, 2022 – 01:21:21
  • When Mars Was Like Earth: Five Years of Exploration with the Curiosity Rover
    Aug 1, 2022 – 01:30:43
  • Rubble Piles in the Sky: The Science, Exploration, and Danger of Near-Earth Asteroids
    Jul 15, 2022 – 01:02:14
  • Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto (with Alan Stern & David Grinspoon)
    Jun 24, 2022 – 01:43:40
  • Do Humans Have What it Takes to Thrive in this Universe?
    Jun 1, 2022 – 01:22:48
  • A Sharper Image: Seeing Colliding Galaxies with Adaptive Optics (with Dr. Claire Max)
    May 12, 2022 – 01:16:01
  • Cosmobiology: Recent Progress in Cosmology, Exoplanets, and the Prerequisites for Life in the Universe
    May 2, 2022 – 01:13:18
  • Cosmology and Ambition: Losing the Nobel Prize (with Dr. Brian Keating)
    Apr 7, 2022 – 01:16:18
  • Planets Under Our Feet: The Caves on Earth, Mars, and Beyond (with Dr. Penelope Boston)
    Mar 25, 2022 – 01:23:00
  • Dark Star: The Invisible Universe of Brown Dwarfs (with Dr. Adam Burgasser)
    Mar 15, 2022 – 01:26:01
  • Charon, Pluto’s Companion: What We’re Learning from New Horizons (with Dr. Ross Beyer)
    Mar 1, 2022 – 01:16:52
  • Living with a Star: A Life-friendly Planetary Environment (with Dr. Michelle Thaller)
    Feb 16, 2022 – 01:25:06
  • Beyond: Our Future in Space (with Dr. Chris Impey)
    Jan 29, 2022 – 01:32:40
  • Ocean Worlds in Our Solar System (with Dr. Kevin Hand)
    Jan 7, 2022 – 01:33:19
  • Meet the Neighbors: Exploring Planets Orbiting Nearby Stars (with Dr. Courtney Dressing)
    Dec 20, 2021 – 01:05:18
  • The Biggest Sky Survey Ever Undertaken: Exploring the Universe with the Rubin Observatory (with Dr. Phil Marshall)
    Dec 13, 2021 – 01:09:16
  • Postcards from Mars: The Latest from Our Robot Explorers (with Dr. Jim Bell)
    Nov 22, 2021 – 01:33:37
  • The Last Stargazers: Behind the Scenes in Astronomy (with Dr. Emily Levesque)
    Nov 1, 2021 – 01:20:36
  • Will the 21st Century be the Time we Discover Life Beyond Earth (with Dr. Jill Tarter)
    Oct 21, 2021 – 01:14:08
  • The Monster Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way (with Nobel Laureate Andrea Ghez)
    Oct 9, 2021 – 01:11:22
  • Encounter with Ultima Thule: The Most Distant Object Humanity Has Ever Explored (with Dr. Jeff Moore)
    Sep 26, 2021 – 55:29
  • What Does a Black Hole Look Like: How We Got our First Picture (With Prof. Eliot Quataert)
    Sep 14, 2021 – 01:17:26
  • A Little Talk about Aliens with Dr. Adam Frank
    Aug 23, 2021 – 01:19:26
  • Planet 9 from Outer Space with Dr. Michael Brown
    Aug 14, 2021 – 01:17:32
  • Black Hole Survival Guide with Dr. Janna Levin
    Aug 1, 2021 – 01:10:20
Recent Reviews
  • Cole1638
    Fascinating
    I find it extraordinary that we live in an age in which some of the brightest minds of our time can share their immense knowledge to the common man for free. Truly remarkable
  • Tandem Bear
    Excellent!
    Dr Fraknoi & Foothill College deserve heaps of praise for producing this gem of a series. I’m lucky to have been introduced to this series in person by my parents. I’m also lucky to live within driving distance of FC. Dr Fraknoi has always presented interesting speakers and leaders in their respective fields. But now everyone on the planet (and beyond!) can enjoy these lectures remotely via podcast & video (YouTube). So sit back, relax, and enjoy their latest astronomy lecture! I’m sure they’ll be universally applauded for their efforts! Bravo!
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