Published by Alfredo Carpineti
The Astroholic Explains is a light-hearted question & answer podcast about astronomy, where Dr Alfredo Carpineti and his husband Chris discuss the mysteries of the universe with the occasional guest and sometimes through the medium of an audio drama!
Listen on Apple Podcasts24 min
You can’t save the dark skies without convincing people it matters, and education is crucial to this. Across the world, so many are working on that specific aspect, and we will hear from some of these extraordinary communicators in this episode. The episode features: Rayan Khan , founder of Cosmic Tribe Shweta Kulkarni, founder of AstronERA Dr John Berentine , Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting LLC Robert Massey , Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society Bettymaya Foott , Engagement Associate at DarkSky International Dr Michelle Wooten , Assistant Professor of Astronomy Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
29 min
The battle against light pollution goes through policy and legislation. Certain regions of the world are actually in a better situation than you might think. While the road ahead is long, we talked to those who are paving the way. The episode features: Yana Yakushina , lawyer at the Space Court Foundation Rayan Khan , founder of Cosmic Tribe Dr John Berentine , Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting LLC Robert Massey , Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society Jasmine van der Pol, Senior Programme Manager LUCI Association Dani Robertson , Dark Sky Officer for Eryri National Park and the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty Dr Michelle Wooten , Assistant Professor of Astronomy Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
31 min
For most people, a dark enough sky can only be accessed on holiday, away from cities. There is a growing movement of astrotourism, so we look into what that’s like, and how it helps the fight against light pollution. The episode features: Rayan Khan , founder of Cosmic Tribe Megan Eaves , author of Nightfaring Shweta Kulkarni, founder of AstronERA Dani Robertson , Dark Sky Officer for Eryri National Park and the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty Carol Redford , Founder & CEO of Astroturism Western Australia Michael Rymer , Dark Sky Places Program Associate at DarkSky International .
28 min
This episode of Starless focuses on the impact of light pollution. How has anthropogenic light changed the world in less than two centuries? The full impact is not completely understood, but what we know makes for a very concerning tale. The episode features: Dr Michelle Wooten , Assistant Professor of Astronomy Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr Mario Motta , Cardiologist and astronomer, whose work has specialized in the effect of light pollution on human health. Dr Brett Seymoure , Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Biology at the University of Texas at El Paso Dr Ellen Cieraad , Research Professor at the Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology
26 min
In this introductory episode, we will be talking about dark skies and light pollution in general, and what some organizations are doing to protect the night sky, as well as some of the misconceptions about reducing light pollution. Featuring: Rayan Khan , founder of Cosmic Tribe Megan Eaves , author of Nightfaring Shweta Kulkarni, founder of AstronERA Dr John Berentine , Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting LLC Robert Massey , Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society Bettymaya Foott , Engagement Associate at DarkSky International
20 min
For the 2024 Christmas Special, we tackle Special Relativity and Chris's issues with time dilation and relativity in general! Link for Invisible Rainbows
19 min
Chris and I decided to find out when humans realized that meteorites came from beyond Earth: it could be a lot older than it was once thought! Egyptologist Dr Victoria Almansa-Villatoro joins us to discuss meteorite artifacts and intriguing hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt.
17 min
We are talking about ancient aliens. (No, not the racist conspiracy theory!) We look into the concept of extraterrestrials over history and how it originated. Who were the first recorded people who pondered about life outside Earth?
13 min
In this episode, we tackle the classic concept of sound in space, what can we measure, and why it is important that some sound waves move through the cosmos.
22 min
Our position inside the Milky Way doesn't give us an advantageous view of our galaxy. But that doesn't mean we haven't found a way around it. Joined by Dr GyuChul Myeong, we explore how we make sense of the Milky Way and its past collision with the Gaia-Sausage galaxy. If you are interested in my book, here is a link to the crowdfunding page .
15 min
In the last episode , we looked at how stars end up dead. So Chris has an important follow-up: can you find a way to heal and save a dying star? #InvisibleRainbows
12 min
Our Sun and many other stars will become larger later in life. But is this a condition common to all stars? Guest questioner Francis wonders about the future of stars and their ultimate demise!
19 min
In this episode, we tackle the peculiar carbonado diamond, a black diamond that looks very different from the glittering gems we might be more familiar with. And we will discover that its origin might be out of this world! Carbonado Diamond going on auction Invisible Rainbows
18 min
Planets in sci-fi are often portrayed as having a single climate, but how truthful is that idea? This audience question gets the full treatment from Alfredo & Chris as they deal with the tatooines, hoths, risas, synnaxes of the real universe!
15 min
Join us in this unplanned video & audio diary as we go after the April 8 total solar eclipse in Mexico. For the video version: https://youtu.be/SR00jigmgR0?si=LKLYaoqvq_YaUo6V For #InvisibleRainbows: https://unbound.com/books/invisible-rainbows
13 min
The Astroholic Explains Xmas Special is inspired by Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics on the 100th anniversary of the author's birth. Join us for an imaginative tale, not fantasy nor sci-fi, but one based on science facts: the formation of elements in stars and how they spread across the universe. ✨ And if you are interested in my book, here is a link to the crowdfunding.
5 min
I'm writing a book all about the astronomy we do with the light we cannot see with our own eyes. It's called Invisible Rainbows and features astronomers from all around the world. If you are interested in finding out more and maybe pledge for a copy, click on this link .
24 min
In this episode, Alfredo and Chris are joined by cosmologist Professor Peter Coles. Together they explore the limits of the visible universe, whether finite or infinite, why there is no center, and what might be beyond the most distant region we can see.
15 min
We don't know and will likely never know what happened before the Big Bang, but Chris is curious about it, so we take a journey in the land before time and space!
17 min
Conspiracy theories and misconceptions about the Moon extend far beyond the Moon-landing! In this episode, we take a trip 4.5 billion years into the past to witness how Luna came to be.