ISS Lunar Transit [2930 × 2930]

vdB 31

According to the laws of physics, a planet in the shape of a doughnut (toroid) could exist Physicists say that such a planet would have very short nights and days, and arid outer equator, twilight polar regions, moons in strange orbits and regions with different gravity and seasons.

SpaceTime 20171229 Series 20 Episode 100 is out today

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available as a free twice weekly podcast through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, Audio Boom, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast coast to coast across the United States on Science360 Radio by the National Science Foundation in Washington D.C. around the world on Tune-In Radio and as inflight entertainment aboard Virgin Australia

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/ SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

Today’s stories…

NASA looking at missions to a comet and to Saturn’s moon Titan NASA has selected two finalist concepts for a robotic mission planned to launch in the mid-2020s. The agency is considering a comet sample return mission and a drone-like rotorcraft that would explore potential landing sites on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

Was the star of Bethlehem a real thing? For astronomy the idea of three wise men being guided by a star to a stable in a little town called Bethlehem two thousand years ago raises a number of problems. But let’s for a moment just suppose it really happened – So, what star were they following?

ET’s not calling Scientists say they’ve detected no alien signals or any evidence of extraterrestrial technology coming from the strange cigar shaped interstellar visitor which speed through our solar system in September and October. The 400 metre long 40 metre wide asteroid designated A/2017 U1 and named Oumuamua the Hawaiian name meaning “messenger” or “scout"— has been the centre of astronomical attention ever since its unexpected detection.

Skywatch January We turn our eyes to the skies and check out the celestial sphere for January on Skywatch with the Quadrantids meteor shower to light up the skies as well as another super moon and total lunar eclipse.

SpaceTime Background SpaceTime is Australia’s most respected astronomy and space science news program. The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, galactic and stellar evolution, physics, spaceflight, and general science. SpaceTime features interviews with leading Australian scientists about their latest research. The show is broadcast coast to coast across the United States by the National Science Foundation on Science360 Radio, and is available in Australia as a twice weekly podcast which averages over 3.5 million downloads annually. It’s hosted through AudioBoom and Bitez.com on all major podcast platforms. SpaceTime is also available as inflight entertainment on Virgin Australia Airlines, and on Tune in Radio. The SpaceTime program began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on ABC NewsRadio. Stuart Gary created the show while he was NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor. Gary wrote, produced and hosted the program, consistently achieving 9 percent of the Australian national radio audience share, according to Neilsen ratings survey figures for the five main metro markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, & Perth). The StarStuff podcast was hosted by ABC Science on line, achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually. StarStuff was axed in 2015 following ABC funding cuts. Gary resigned from the ABC, taking the show with him and rebranding it as SpaceTime. The first SpaceTime episode was broadcast on February 8th 2016 and the show has been in production twice weekly ever since.

Decade-long timelapse of M1: the Crab Nebula [OS][1920x1080]