Listening to astronomy

Astronomy started out as a purely visual science, but with today’s electronics and techniques, you can also hear astronomy. It used to be that you to take classes, or else had to be in the right place at the right time to hear a lecture on astronomy. But, thanks to the Internet, there are many resources for hearing astronomy online.

Of course, you can hear astronomy information right here on this website, via the 90-second EarthSky interviews. You can also hear 22 minutes of science and music each week from EarthSky on the EarthSky 22 podcast.

And there is AstronomyCast with Frasier Cain and Pamela Gay.

But what really got me to thinking about this was the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures, a series of audio podcasts by eminent astronomers, from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Among the lectures are Dr. Jeff Moore (NASA Ames Research Center): “New Horizons at Jupiter (and Some Saturn News)”; Dr. David Morrison (NASA Ames Research Center): “Taking a Hit: Asteroid Impacts and Evolution”; Dr. Dana Backman (SETI Institute and Astronomical Society of the Pacific): “A Ringside Seat to the Formation of Planets”; and Dr. David Grinspoon (Denver Museum of Nature and Science): “Comparing Worlds: Climate Catastrophes in the Solar System”.

You may already be familiar with Science at NASA, and there are also podcasts from the main NASA site, as well as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Well, that was just a start. I did a little online searching and was amazed to find all the places you can hear astronomy. You might want to do a little searching for yourself. If the links above don’t give you enough to listen to, here are a few more.

I also found the Astronomy Media Player, which is actually web page with links to a number of astronomy and space podcasts from around the world.

If you have time to listen to more than this, I’m sure a little searching will turn up much more. What are your favorite links? Tell us in the comments below.