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Astronomy Cast Episode 208 from Monday, November 22, 2010. The Spitzer Space Telescope.

Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts-based journey through the cosmos, where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know.

My name is Fraser Cain, I'm the publisher of University Day, and with me is Dr. Pamela Gaia Professor at Southern Illinois University, Everett's Film.

I panel how you doing?

I'm doing well Fraser, how are you doing?

Great, so just another plug, it's plugging mood to clear out Pamela's spare bedroom.

You can buy cool Astronomy Cast gear at astrogear.org.

So check that out and support the show and impress your friends with your witty t-shirt.

And if you're in Tam Australia this week, which I know is very, very few of you because it's a very, very small event, we will have, and by we, I mean I will have some Astronomy Cast shirts there that the Skeptics booth has been friendly enough to allow me to sell there.

Yeah, you're going to be like last minute, right? You're going to be doing part of the amazing meeting. You're going to be doing a talk there?

Yeah, I have to admit, I don't know what day I'm talking on yet. I'm going to be giving a talk on basically using curiosity in the scientific method to inspire curiosity and awe.

Cool, and I mean this was like just last minute, I know that you, a month ago, you, yeah, you didn't even know you're going to be there. So sorry we didn't announce it better, we really had no idea this was going to happen.

There's nothing like a last minute trip 180 degrees around the planet.

Gee, whatever travel you, you know, you're used to it. You used to assume I just assume you're in a constant state of travel, unless told otherwise.

So, you know, okay, well, let's get off the show. So last week we talked about Lyman Spitzer, and this week we'll take a look at the orbiting observatory that bears his name, the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Designed as seen to the infrared spectrum, Spitzer has returned images of objects that were previously hidden to astronomers by thick shrouds of gas and dust.

Now, I think we, you know, you had kind of given a sneak peek of this week with last week, and about Spitzer formerly known as...

Certif.

Certif, which doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely.

But it's kind of cool.

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