353E-381-Peaceful Star

353E-381-Peaceful Star

Author: Albert D. Grauer September 9, 2025 Duration: 2:01
 The Sun is our very own well behaved star. It rises and sets in our sky every day and powers and makes possible all life forms on planet Earth. A new appreciation for our Sun is growing as we learn more about other suns and their families of planets. The Trappist-1 system of 7 planets orbits a dim M type red dwarf star about 40 light years away in the constellation of Aquarius.Recently, Dr. Manasvi Lingam and Dr. Abraham Loeb of Harvard University have calculated the likelihood that planets orbiting red dwarf stars are able to possess an atmosphere conducive to life. They report, in a recently published a paper in the International Journal of Astrobiology that the planet Trappist 1-e is more than 100 times less likely to be habitable than is the Earth. Another group from Harvard and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, headed up by Dr. Cecilia Garraffo also find the Trappist-1 planets to be a tough place to live. These researchers add that the close proximity of these planets to their host star put them at risk of having their atmospheres stripped off by high stellar winds and their surfaces bombarded with high energy particles and electromagnetic radiation. Go outside today and enjoy some gentle sunshine from our well behaved star.

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
355E-383-Moon Water [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
The lunar roving, battery powered, 4 wheel drive "Moon Buggy" allowed astronauts on Apollo 15, 16, and 17 to travel 8 mph on the lunar surface with a maximum range of approximately 4.7 mi. Some of the rocks that these sp…
867-Daytime Fireball [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Dr. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office reports that on June 26, 2025 shortly after noon a beachball sized meteoroid traveling at approximately 30,000 miles per hour broke up about 27 miles above the town o…
354E-382-Martian Debris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Martian Trojan asteroids have stable orbits around the Sun, leading and trailing the red planet by 60 degrees, where the Sun's and Mars's gravity are balanced. For some time astronomers have considered it unlikely that t…
866-Interstellar Visitor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Amazingly, nature occasionally sends an interstellar traveler through our solar system for us to observe. The third such object that astronomers have discovered coming into our solar system from truly deep space is 3I/AT…
865-New Potentially Hazardous Asteroid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
On a a short June night my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Greg Leonard was observing with our 60 inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon, Arizona in the constellation of Ursa Major when a relatively bright fast moving point of light…
352E-379-Flying Mud Balls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
75% of asteroid hunter's discoveries are called C type asteroids. They are dark, have a high abundance of carbon, consist of clay and silicate rocks, and may have a composition which is up to 22% water. Recently Dr. Phil…
864-Lunar Debris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Asteroid 2024 YR4 will not hit the Earth in 2032, has a 4% chance of hitting the moon, and most likely will pass within 900 miles of the lunar surface. If 2024 YR4 were to impact the Moon it could send about the mass of…
351E-376-Active Asteroids [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
When it was first spotted by astronomers at Space Watch on Kitt Peak, 2008 GO98 appeared to be one of many outer main belt asteroids moving through the night sky. 9 years later when my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Greg L…
863-Space Elevator [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
In a recent study Dr. Lynnane George and her co-authors investigate Space Elevator technology to remove materials from Ceres and deliver them to orbital depots around the solar system. The tiny gravity of Ceres, nano-fib…
350E-374-Brute [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:01
Recently my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Richard Kowalski discovered a 0.4 mile diameter asteroid with the Catalina Sky Survey Schmidt telescope on Mt. Bigelow, AZ. Two hours and 11 minutes later it came into a set image…