Lead Producer and Host: Mike Brennan

ES 22 Producers: Deborah Byrd, Emily Howard, Jorge Salazar

Was Earth ever entirely covered with ice and snow? Proponents of the Snowball Earth theory believe it was. Image via geology.fullerton.edu.

Science news of the week:

A new technology uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam

New study shows Einstein’s brain had an unusually complex pattern of convolutions in the prefrontal cortex

October 2012 tied with 2008 as the fifth-warmest October globally since record keeping began in 1880

Researchers have designed a detector that uses nanotechnology to mimic canine scent receptors

Song of the Week:

Heartless Bastards’ “Gotta Have Rock n Roll”

Featured This Week:

The Penumbral Eclipse and Planets at Dawn Deborah Byrd and Michael Brennan talk about skywatching the full moon during the penumbral eclipse, the planet Jupiter, and a few other planets in the morning sky.

Snowball Earth Michael Brennan speaks with geophysical scientist Dorian Abbot, who led a study released recently by the American Geophysical Union, about Snowball Earth theory and how clouds factor into that hypothesis.

Thanks for listening in to your 22 minutes of science and music!

This week’s musical contributors:

Sleep Good

The Black and White Years

The Heartless Bastards

Shakey Graves

One Hundred Flowers

EarthSky 22

Thanks for the great response to EarthSky 22! Tell your friends about the best new science podcast on the Internet - 22 minutes of science and music - direct to you from Austin, Texas. Join producer/host Mike Brennan right here every week for EarthSky 22, brought to you by EarthSky: A Clear Voice for Science.