Chasing an Asteroid

Big Picture Science

Science, Technology

4.6 • 986 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyone knows that a big rock wiped out the dinosaurs. But the danger from an asteroid hitting Earth is not limited to ancient history. To deal with this threat, scientists recently ran an experiment to deflect a potential “city killer.” We’ll hear the results of that experiment, and about a visit to another asteroid. In the dusty material NASA brought back from the asteroid Bennu, scientists found the chemical building blocks of life, including many of the amino acids that are found in our cells. Could an asteroid have brought the ingredients for life to ancient Earth? In this episode, we look at our paradoxical relationship with the space rocks that taketh way – and may help giveth - life. Guests: Scott Sandford - Astrophysicist and Research Scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center Robin George Andrews - Science journalist, volcanologist, and author of "How to Kill an Asteroid: The Real Science of Planetary Defense" Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun Miyake Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact [email protected] to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science. You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:04.7	As a newspaper science journalist told me years ago, science stories are special because,
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0:16.6	not the doom and gloom of most news stories.
0:19.3	Of course, thanks to worldwide research efforts,
0:22.1	science and tech are endlessly in flux with new discoveries and developments every day.
0:28.0	Curiosity Weekly, a podcast from Discovery will help you make sense of some of the most profound ideas
0:34.6	shaping our world. You'll hear about things like how neuroscientists are studying
0:39.2	TikTok and your social media habits to see which chemicals are being released in your brain to make you
0:46.4	so obsessed. The chemistry that underpins beauty products, AI that can translate the ancient
0:53.3	hieroglyphs that plastered the interiors of the
0:56.1	Egyptian pyramids.
0:57.5	And these are just the beginning.
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