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Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

di Single Malt Sky

Hobby Astronomia

Listening to the Heartbeat of the Milky Way

Most amateur astronomers spend their nights collecting light. But what if you could study our galaxy without looking through a telescope at all? In this episode, we sit down with amateur astronomer and radio enthusiast Hap Griffin to explore the fascinating world of backyard radio astronomy. Using a homemade radio telescope consisting of a recycled microwave dish, and less than $100 worth of electronics, Hap is recreating one of the classic experiments that revealed the Milky Way's spiral structure. Along the way, you'll learn how astronomers use the natural radio emission from hydrogen gas to map our galaxy, why radio astronomy works day or night, and why this remarkable corner of the hobby is far more accessible than most people realize. Later in the episode, we'll head outside for a look at the night sky from July 19 through August 1, including the Full Buck Moon, Saturn's return to the late evening sky, the Double-Double in Lyra, M13, the Lagoon Nebula, and two summer meteor showers. Links mentioned in this episode: RTL-SDR (Amazon.com) Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) for 21 cm use (Amazon.com) SDR# (SDRSharp) software Parabolic antenna for hydrogen line applications (Amazon.com) Hap's presentation on radio astronomy (PDF)

Is there a Black Hole in Our Backyard?

What if the mysterious "Planet Nine" isn't a planet at all? In this episode, we journey to the distant frontier of our Solar System to explore one of astronomy's strangest modern hypotheses: the possibility that the unseen object influencing the orbits of distant icy worlds could actually be a primordial black hole, an ancient relic formed in the first moments after the Big Bang. Along the way, we'll revisit the discovery of Neptune, learn how astronomers detect objects they can't even see, and discover why gravity often reveals secrets long before telescopes do. We'll also look at the real observatories and sky surveys that may one day solve the mystery once and for all. Then we'll head outside for your complete night sky guide for July 5-18, 2026, featuring the upcoming New Moon, Saturn in the morning sky, a beautiful crescent Moon meeting Venus, prime Milky Way observing, deep-sky targets including M13 and the Ring Nebula, and the first hints of summer meteor activity. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you’re enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you’re planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

How Jupiter Almost Destroyed the Solar System

For generations, we've pictured the Solar System as a stable and orderly place: planets forming where they are today and quietly orbiting the Sun for billions of years. But what if that picture is wrong? In this episode, we explore the Grand Tack Hypothesis, a fascinating idea suggesting that Jupiter may have migrated deep into the young Solar System before reversing course and heading back outward. Along the way, the giant planet may have reshaped the asteroid belt, influenced the formation of Mars, and helped determine whether Earth as we know it could exist at all. We'll also take a closer look at Jupiter's complicated reputation as both protector and troublemaker. Does the Solar System's largest planet shield Earth from dangerous impacts, or does it sometimes send trouble our way? Later, we'll celebrate the arrival of summer with a look at the summer solstice and explore what's happening in this week's night sky, including the Moon, the bright evening planets, the Summer Triangle, and the first great views of the summer Milky Way. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

A Summer Sky Road Trip

Summer is almost here, and with it comes one of the richest observing seasons of the year. In this episode, we take a road trip through the summer sky, exploring the constellations, deep-sky objects, planets, meteor showers, and celestial events that will define the next three months of stargazing. Along the way we'll visit the Summer Triangle, cruise through the star clouds of the Milky Way, stop at famous landmarks like the Great Hercules Cluster and the Lagoon Nebula, and look ahead to the Perseid meteor shower and a deep partial lunar eclipse later this summer. Summer astronomy has its own character. The nights are warm, the Milky Way is bright, and some of the best observing experiences come not from reaching a destination, but from wandering beneath the stars and discovering something unexpected along the way. In this episode: The Summer Triangle and why it signals the arrival of summer Exploring the Milky Way with binoculars The Great Rift and the crowded heart of our galaxy M13, the Lagoon Nebula, the Trifid Nebula, the Ring Nebula, and other summer favorites The myths and stories behind Scorpius, Sagittarius, Cygnus, and Hercules Venus, Saturn, and notable summer conjunctions The Southern Delta Aquariids and Perseid meteor showers August's deep partial lunar eclipse Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

From the Archive: Star Party Stories

Back in November of 2024, I attended a star party hosted by the Midlands Astronomy Club and recorded what became one of my favorite episodes of Star Trails. This week, while taking a short break to recharge and prepare future episodes, I thought it would be the perfect time to revisit that night under the stars. In this remastered archive presentation, we’ll head out to a dark-sky observing site where amateur astronomers gather with telescopes, guitars, stories, and a shared fascination with the cosmos. Along the way, you’ll hear conversations with longtime stargazers, club members, and curious newcomers as we explore what makes star parties so special — and why astronomy is often just as much about community as it is the night sky itself. You’ll hear stories about first telescopes, vintage gear, cloudy-night camaraderie, public outreach, and the unforgettable experience of seeing Saturn or the Moon through a telescope for the very first time. Even when the weather refuses to cooperate, the sense of wonder remains. This episode features newly recorded narration and updated audio production, but otherwise remains preserved as originally released in 2024. Whether you’re hearing it for the first time or revisiting it alongside me, I hope it reminds you why we gather beneath the stars in the first place. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

The Birth and Death of Galaxies

This week we conclude our month-long journey through galaxies by exploring one of the biggest questions in astronomy: how galaxies are born, evolve, and eventually die. We begin in the aftermath of the Big Bang, tracing how tiny fluctuations in matter slowly grew into the first galaxies. Along the way, we explore starburst galaxies, galactic recycling, and the remarkable realization that the elements making up planets, oceans, and even human beings were forged inside ancient generations of stars. Then we dive into one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: supermassive black holes. Why do most galaxies appear to contain them? Where did these enormous black holes come from? And did galaxies create black holes, or did black holes help create galaxies? We’ll also explore active galactic nuclei, quasars, and the astonishing discovery that some black holes may have formed far earlier than astronomers once believed possible. Finally, we examine the groundbreaking discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope and the ancient galaxies it has revealed, galaxies appearing surprisingly massive and chemically evolved only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. We close by looking toward the distant future, where galaxies fade into quiet “red and dead” remnants, and where strange objects like jellyfish galaxies reveal that even galaxies themselves can slowly suffocate and die. Plus: This week’s night sky for May 24–30, 2026 The mythology and zodiac lore of Leo A look at the Blue Moon arriving on May 31st Planet visibility for Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn And a deep sky visit to Messier 87 — the galaxy whose supermassive black hole became the first ever directly imaged by humanity. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

The Hidden Universe: Cosmic Structures in the Dark

This week we continue our month-long journey through the world of galaxies, but this time, we venture into one of astronomy’s darkest frontiers. Beyond the glowing spirals and brilliant star clouds lies a universe filled with hidden structures, invisible matter, and mysteries that continue to challenge modern science. We venture into the Zone of Avoidance, a cosmic blind spot created by the dust and stars of our own Milky Way, and ask whether entire galaxies may still be hiding just beyond our view. From ghostly ultra-diffuse galaxies like Dragonfly 44, to the invisible gravitational scaffolding of dark matter, we’ll follow the clues that reveal a universe far stranger than it first appears. Along the way, we’ll look at the mind-bending beauty of gravitational lensing, the mysterious pull of the Great Attractor, and the breathtaking scale of the cosmic web, an immense network of filaments, nodes, and voids that connects galaxies across billions of light-years. Later in the show, we step back outside for your weekly night sky report, featuring dark skies after the new moon, evening views of Venus and Jupiter, pre-dawn glimpses of Saturn and Mars, early Milky Way core season, and a few lesser-known galaxy targets hiding in Canes Venatici. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

When Galaxies Collide

This week we continue our month-long journey through the world of galaxies, but this time, we move beyond what galaxies are and explore what galaxies actually do. It turns out these vast islands of stars are anything but static. They collide, merge, exchange gas and dust, fling stars into deep space, and sometimes grow by consuming smaller neighbors in a process astronomers call galactic cannibalism. We begin close to home with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, a hidden companion galaxy currently being torn apart by the gravity of our own Milky Way. From there, we travel some 70 million light-years away to the spectacular Antennae Galaxies, where two spiral galaxies are locked in a slow-motion collision that is both destructive, and strangely creative. Along the way, we recall my recent conversation with astrophysicist Enrique López Rodríguez to explore the possibility of magnetic bridges and “superhighways” carrying gas, dust, and charged particles between galaxies, raising the astonishing possibility that the raw ingredients of future planets may sometimes originate far beyond their home galaxy. And finally, we return to the question we teased last week: What about us? Is the long-predicted collision between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy still inevitable? New observations from Hubble Space Telescope and Gaia suggest the answer may be far less certain than we once believed. We'll also check in with this week's night sky, and wrap up our discussion of NightWatch. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social If you're enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you're planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

Where the Milky Way Begins… and Ends

This week, we begin a new month-long journey into one of the most awe-inspiring subjects in astronomy: Galaxies. We start close to home by exploring our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and asking a deceptively simple question: where does a galaxy actually end? Along the way, we’ll explore spiral arms, dark matter, supermassive black holes, the hidden structure of our galactic halo, and the faint ghostly glow of Integrated Flux Nebula, dust clouds illuminated by the combined light of billions of stars. We’ll also discover why our solar system doesn’t align with the Milky Way the way you might expect, how astronomers mapped our galaxy from the inside using radio waves, and what the night sky might look like if the Milky Way simply vanished. Later in the episode: I report on a backyard observation of Amazon’s recent Leo satellite launch, plus, this week’s night sky highlights, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, Jupiter and Saturn, and a trio of deep-sky galaxies perfect for spring observing. Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social or YouTube @TheStarTrailsPodcast. If you’re enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you’re planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

The Invisible Architecture of the Universe, with Dr. Enrique Lopez Rodriguez

In this episode we step behind the scenes of modern astronomy to explore a side of the universe you can’t see, at least not directly. We sit down with Professor Enrique López Rodríguez, an extragalactic astronomer at the University of South Carolina and one of the leading researchers in the United States studying magnetic fields in galaxies. The conversation also dives into the complex behavior of supermassive black holes, some actively feeding and driving powerful outflows, others surprisingly quiet, and how these cosmic engines influence the evolution of entire galaxies. Along the way, we’ll look at how modern astronomy is mapping the hidden forces that connect the universe. And later in the show, we return to something a little closer to home with this week’s night sky, featuring the rising Flower Moon, bright evening planets, and a deep-sky tour through one of the richest regions of galaxies visible from Earth. Links mentioned: Enrique Lopez Rodriguez online Survey of Extragalactic Magnetism with SOFIA Connect with us on Bluesky @startrails.bsky.social or YouTube @TheStarTrailsPodcast. If you’re enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com! If you’re planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.

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