translunar:

Some people spend hours between trees, looking for birds. Some people sit in cafés and watch the passing pedestrians. Some people book tours on little boats to catch a glimpse of a whale or dolphin. And some people, like Paul, are planet watchers! They are both fascinating and mostly fairly easy to find, burning bright in the night sky of our home planet.

Today, a very special occasion presents itself for the planet watching community: a conjunction of the two brightest planets visible from Earth: Jupiter and Venus. They meet and approach each other very closely on the night of June 9th 2026. An event like this most likely inspired people to the story of the star of Bethlehem, seen as an omen for good fortune. 

How can you watch this rendez-vous of the King and the Godess of Love? Where do they meet and what else happens around them. Paul tells you all about it, so you are ready for this planetary date night!
Read more here: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/venus-jupiter-converge-in-stunning-june-9th-dusk-conjunction/  

Host: Paul Salazar
Music: royalty-free from incompetech.com

Die vier Jahreszeiten: Ist das eigentlich ein irdisches Phänomen oder gibt es das auf anderen Planeten auch? Und woran liegt es überhaupt, dass es hier bei uns so große Unterschiede zwischen Frühlings, Sommer, Herbst und Winter gibt und an anderen Orten, wie dem Äquator, sich praktisch garnichts verändert? Hat das etwas mit der Entfernung der Erde von der Sonne zu tun? (Spoiler: Nein.)
Wir gehen rein, schauen uns die Jahreszeiten der anderen Planeten an und sortieren die Milankovic Zyklen. Denn eigentlich sollten wir gerade auf eine neue Eiszeit zusteuern... eigentlich.

Moderation: Jana Steuer
Musik: lizenzfrei von incompetech.com

If you had to find one single constellation in the night sky and get it right, which one would you chose? Most people would probably go for the big dipper. It is very recognizable, easy to find, always up in the sky and pretty large. 
But there is more to the seven bright stars, which form a part of Ursa Major. In fact, there are several little secrets that are not only intriguing but useful as well!

Freshen up you big-dipper-knowledge on this week's translunar: epsiode with Paul!

Further reading: https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/blog/discover-big-dipper/
Pprevious podcast on Polaris: https://translunarvsw.podbean.com/e/guiding-light-the-marvels-of-polaris-the-north-star/ 
 

Host: Paul Salazar
Music: royalty-free by incompetech.com

9 Billionen Kilometer? Was soll das sein? Das kann sich ja wirklich kein Mensch mehr vorstellen. Genau aus diesem Grund hat man für das Universum ganz eigene Längeneinheiten erfunden. Parsec, Lichtjahr, Astronomische Einheit. Klingt alles sehr wissenschaftlich. Woher kommen diese Einheiten? Wie kann man sie einordnen? Und wieso schafft Han Solo den Kessel Run in unter 12 Parsec, wenn das doch eigentlich eine Distanz und keine Zeit beschreibt?

 

Moderation: Jana Steuer
Musik: lizenzfrei bezogen von incompetech.com

Artemis II is back! For the first time in over fifty years, humans ventured beyond the low Earth orbit. The first woman, the first person of color and the first non-US-American to go this far. Indeed, they truly went further than ever before, breaking the record for the largest distance any humans every traveled from Earth. 
What can be said about this mission now? What happened, did everything run smoothly? Are we set to land on the moon soon, putting footprints into lunar sand once more?

Links: 

Infographic https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/27/nasa-adds-mission-to-artemis-lunar-program-updates-architecture/
 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NASA 

 

Host: Paul Salazar
Music: royalty-free from incompetech.com