Cosmic Coffee Time with Andrew Prestage
Bite sized podcasts making sense of space, astronomy, life, and the universe, best enjoyed with a coffee.
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Sep 1, 2026 · 11 min#96 The James Webb Space TelescopeA look at the most powerful space telescope ever built, its 6.5 metre mirror and infrared instruments, and what its discoveries about ancient galaxies and exoplanet atmosAug 1, 2026 · 9 min#95 Cosmic CoincidencesAndrew looks at some of the strangest coincidences in space, including why the Sun and Moon appear the same size from Earth. These oddities carry no special meaning but sJul 1, 2026 · 8 min#94 Artemis III Crew SelectionProfiles of the four astronauts chosen for Artemis III, which will test lunar landing hardware in Earth orbit through rendezvous and docking operations.Jun 1, 2026 · 10 min#93 Asteroid DeflectionWhat would we do if another extinction level asteroid was heading for Earth? Andrew covers how we monitor the skies to find dangerous objects early, the strategies for maMay 19, 2026 · 29 min#92 A Brief History of the Universe with Dr. Sarah Alam MalikParticle physicist and author Dr. Sarah Alam Malik joins Andrew to trace the history of astronomy from ancient observers to modern physics, and to talk about how confrontMay 1, 2026 · 7 min#91 Future Artemis MissionsAfter the success of Artemis 2, Andrew looks ahead to what Artemis 3 and 4 will achieve, including the first human return to the lunar surface since 1972.Apr 21, 2026 · 24 min#90 An Australian backyard astronomer helped NASA find 100 planets! Astronomy award winner Chris Stockdale used his home observatory in Churchill, Victoria to track distant stars and find the planets in their orbit. What a chat.Send us Fan Mail Chris Stockdale is an award winning astronomer in the Gippsland area of Australia. His contribution to NASA's exoplanet research earned him the Berenice Mar 31, 2026 · 11 min#89 Rogue planets! It's possible that most planets in our galaxy don't orbit a star, like we do with our sun. Rogue planets float through interstellar space in the cold darkness. How do they form? And how do we find a planet at interstellar distances?Send us Fan Mail We instinctively think of planets as rocky or gaseous bodies orbiting a star like our sun, with sunrise, sunset, heating and maybe even seasons. But whatFeb 28, 2026 · 12 min#88 Is the Universe Infinite? It’s almost an instinctive question, but maybe it’s unknowable.Send us Fan Mail Most people have looked to the skies and wondered if the universe has a boundary, or maybe it goes on for ever. The universe might be finite, with and enJan 31, 2026 · 8 min#87 The next crewed Moon mission is ready for launch. Let’s preview the historic Artemis II flight, sending humans to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.Send us Fan Mail The launch window for Artemis II opens on 6 February 2026. Humans will fly a test mission, swinging around the far side of the moon for the first time siDec 31, 2025 · 10 min#86 We all love the Moon, but it hasn’t always been there. Where did it come from, and when did that happen?Send us Fan Mail The Moon has a history longer than any of the features on Earth, but it isn’t as old as Earth. The Giant Impact hypothesis says that a Mars sized protoplNov 30, 2025 · 8 min#85 Skywatch December 2025. Geminid Meteor Shower, Supermoon vs. Pleiades and Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLASSend us Fan Mail As the year winds down, let’s take a look at what the night sky has on offer in December 2025. The highlight has to be the Geminid Meteor Shower. Over a Oct 31, 2025 · 9 min#84 Before exoplanets comes a protoplanetary disc, we’ve found heavy water in one of these. What does this mean for the history of planetary water?Send us Fan Mail We’ve detected many exoplanets and exoplanetary stems, they orbit stars in other parts of the galaxy. These planets form the same way our planetary did, Oct 7, 2025 · 8 min#83 Two black holes collided a billion light years away, we detected it on Earth just this year, and it was the biggest ever recorded.Send us Fan Mail A billion light years away, a billion years ago, two black holes spiralled toward each other and collided, we detected its gravitational waves in JanuaryAug 31, 2025 · 9 min#82 Apollo-Soyuz at 50! It’s been a half century since this incredible project. The first international space mission.Send us Fan Mail In 1975, an incredible and unlikely partnership resulted in the docking of a NASA Apollo capsule and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit. The cold wJul 31, 2025 · 9 min#81 After centuries of Earth’s rotation slowing down, it’s now speeding up and making the days shorter. But you’d never notice.Send us Fan Mail Earth’s days had been getting longer since observations began. Every century, the length of the day would increase by about two milliseconds. Like… clockJun 30, 2025 · 8 min#80 Plants on the Moon. An Australian team of biologists and engineers are really sending a mini greenhouse to the Moon.Send us Fan Mail An Australian team of botanists and engineers are working on a project that might make or break the future of long term, long distance space occupation. May 31, 2025 · 12 min#79 Launched in 1972 for Venus, Kosmos 482 failed to escape Earth orbit — and finally returned in May 2025, after 53 years in spaceSend us Fan Mail Kosmos 482, was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus, but a technical glitch meant it never made it past Earth orbit. Designed to wApr 30, 2025 · 9 min#78 The Andromeda Galaxy is a cosmic neighbour that’s going to collide with our Milky Way Galaxy. Should we panic?Send us Fan Mail No need to panic. Yet! We’ll be fine for the next 4 or 5 billion years, but Andromeda is heading our way. The Andromeda Galaxy was the first object to beMar 31, 2025 · 6 min#77 The stranded astronauts are finally home after 9 months in space. Let’s see how Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore got homeSend us Fan Mail Their planned 8 day visit to the International Space Station was turned on its head when NASA announced their Boeing Starliner capsule was unsafe to use.Feb 28, 2025 · 11 min#76 The Apollo program was the high point of the space age. From test flights, to lunar landings and the moon buggiesSend us Fan Mail After everything learned through Mercury and Gemini culminated in the seventeen Apollo missions. The first ten were all testing and rehearsals, but the wJan 31, 2025 · 11 min#75 NASA's Project Gemini was a spectacular program that bridged the gap from Project Mercury to Apollo. Gemini developed the incredible technology and techniques needed for the lunar programSend us Fan Mail Nasa had accomplished spaceflight with Project Mercury but the gap to Apollo was still huge. How do you dock two spacecraft in flight and how do crews liDec 31, 2024 · 11 min#74 At the beginning of the space race, Project Mercury was NASA’s first human crewed spaceflight program, and it was a significant step on the road to the moon. Let’s dive into the vault and check it out.Send us Fan Mail Back in the late 1950s, NASA was formed. Its first job was to put together a human crewed spaceflight program and put an astronaut into orbit - safely. TNov 30, 2024 · 6 min#73 NASA’s Project Mercury Monument has turned 60! It’s a tribute to America's first attempt at human space flight. The monument has a time capsule that is scheduled to stay sealed for 500 years! Let’s check out what's inside.Send us Fan Mail Project Mercury was NASA’s first attempt at human crewed space flight. It sent Alan Shepard into space, and John Glenn into orbit, among four other landmOct 31, 2024 · 9 min#72 The space pioneers from Earth weren’t humans, what? That’s right, long before humans launched into space, there were a whole team of dogs, monkeys, chimps, insects and more, who rode rockets to space. All in the name of research.Send us Fan Mail When Yuri Gagarin blasted into orbit in 1961 to become the first human in space, he was already 14 years behind the first animals from Earth. The fruit f
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