Episode 34: Ladder to the Stars with Mookie Terracciano
Posted Jun 24, 2013 by bn
Billie Holliday asks a Lot of non-rhetorical questions:
- How deep is the ocean?
- How high is the sky?
- How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
- How far is the journey from here to a star?
Of these, this episode of the titanium physicists podcast shall answer one.
You can use a “ladder” to determine the distance to a star. and then you GRAB IT!
Specifically the last one. (the answers to the other questions are: “it depends.” “pretty high” and “what time is it?”)
The answer to this one is also “it depends”, but even then, it’s not like we have a really long measuring tape to answer the question. No, the distance to astronomical objects is determined through a lot of cleverness. Today we’ll be talking about the Cosmological Distance Ladder.
I have invited Michael Mookie Terracciano back onto the show, because he has a new webcomic out called STAR POWER. It is lots of fun.
To help me explain the Cosmic Distance Ladder, I’ve invited two astronomers on: the AstroPixie, Amanda Bauer, and my old astronomer buddy James Silvester (who hosts his own astronomy podcast: Astrarium).
Physicists: Amanda Bauer, James Silvester
Intro Music: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Exit Music: John Vanderslice
Transcript: Ep_34_Ladder_To_The_Stars
