341E-364-Laser Surfing

341E-364-Laser Surfing

Author: Albert D. Grauer June 17, 2025 Duration: 2:01
When we find a planet which appears to have the chemical signs of living organisms in its atmosphere, the desire to take a close up look at it will be hard to contain. In a Scientific American article, Lee Billings describes Yuri Milner's 100 million dollar project "Breakthrough Starshot" which has been created to leap frog our current rocket technology's extremely long travel times to nearby planets. The plan is to put ultra light space probes on paths which will enable them to collect data as they streak by nearby potentially habitable planets. Our current iPhone technology is being used to envision a tiny robotic space probe which features cameras, life detecting sensors, maneuvering rockets, computers, and communications gear and yet has a mass of about that of a dime. Photons from 100 gigawatt pulses from a ground based laser array are then envisioned to reflect off the tiny spacecrafts solar sail where they transfer momentum to the space craft accelerating it to 20% of the speed of light. Numbers of these tiny robotic investigators could be launched together into Earth orbit and perhaps one a day could be sent towards a nearby star accelerated by laser pulses each of which contains the energy required to send a space shuttle into orbit. In a few decades closeup views and data from nearby worlds would begin streaming back towards the residents of our planet. The cost of investigating our planetary life hosting neighbors is likely to be less than what the US is planning to spend upgrading its nuclear weapons.

Each episode of Travelers In The Night feels like a quiet, personal conversation under a dark sky. Hosted by astronomer Dr. Albert D. Grauer, this podcast brings the distant cosmos into sharp, intimate focus. Dr. Grauer isn't just an observer; he's an active participant in the hunt, working with the Catalina Sky Survey team that has consistently discovered near-Earth asteroids for years. In these brief and engaging segments, you'll hear firsthand accounts of what it's like to track these ancient celestial travelers-the asteroids and comets that silently pass by our world. The discussions move beyond simple facts to explore the real-world implications of these discoveries, from planetary defense to the sheer wonder of our dynamic solar system. Accompanied by the contemplative music of John Lyell's "Eternity," each installment offers a moment of calm reflection on humanity's place in the universe. It’s a perfect blend of grounded science and cosmic curiosity, making complex astronomical concepts accessible and deeply fascinating. For anyone who has ever looked up and wondered what's out there moving in the dark, this podcast provides a direct line to the front lines of discovery.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Travelers In The Night
Podcast Episodes
360E-391-Finding Spacerocks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Finding a meteorite that has traveled billions of miles through space to reach it's present location is exciting. It might even be worth real money.
872-Climate Ignored [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Obtaining accurate data on the Earth’s climate and how it is changing is vital to inform agriculture , insurance risks, business planning, disaster preparedness, financial investments, wild fire mitigation, and national…
359E-390-One in 100,000 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Friday the 13th appears to continue to be a lucky day for the human race. When astronomers first discovered Apophis in 2004 it appeared possible that this 3 million ton, 1,200 foot diameter asteroid traveling at 8 mi/s c…
871-New Mars Trojan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The Lagrange point L4 is 60° ahead of Mars whereas L5 is 60° behind Mars on the red planet’s orbital path about the Sun. An object placed at either of these locations is trapped gravitationally and is likely to remain th…
358E-389-Tiny Spacecraft [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
To reach the vicinity of the nearest star, 24 trillion miles away, in less than 20 years, an interstellar space probe would have to travel at a substantial fraction of the speed of light. Newton's laws of motion, publish…
870-Satellite Ashes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
50 years ago scientists found that Chlorofluorocarbons or CFC chemicals in widespread use in refrigeration, air conditioning , and hair spray were beginning to damage the ozone layer in the Earth’s stratosphere which blo…
357E-388-40 years [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Looking at the stars on a clear dark night, far from the artificial air glow humanity creates, have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel in truly deep interstellar space? 40 years after their launches in 197…
869-Taurid Resonant Swarm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The planets, millions of asteroids, tens of thousands of comets, distant icy worlds, and countless other bits and pieces of material orbit the Sun. A group of such co-orbiting objects is called the Taurid complex or swar…
356E-386-Interplanetary Sand Traps [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
When the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa [Hi ya Boo sa] visited the near Earth asteroid Itokawa in 2005 it found this 2000 foot by 800 foot elliptical world to have a variety of surface features. Instead of being a solid ob…
868-Inside Venus [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Astronomers have discovered some 1.4 million asteroids. Approximately 35,000 of these space rocks come near Earth. Less than 40 of them are classified as being Atira asteroids whose orbits lie entirely within the Earth’s…