Star Stuff

Wow, over 70,000 listens to Star Stuff! This podcast is still in the top 20 of astronomy podcasts and climbing. Thank you all for your support as we wrap up Season 2. If you would like to see more episodes next year for Season 3, we will be doing special segments only. Let us know what you want to learn about!

In this Season 2 finale episode of Star Stuff, Cody Half-Moon sits down with Lowell astronomer Dr. Joe Llama, who specializes in the study of exoplanets. They discuss the distant worlds that lie in the Habitable Zone, the possibility that we are not alone in the universe, and more.

In this Cosmic Scope Interview (CSI), Lowell’s Technical Facilities Manager Jeff Gehring takes host Cody Half-Moon through the challenges of restoring the historic 24″ Clark Telescope to its former glory […]

An atheist, a catholic, and an agnostic walk into a podcast recording room… and have an incredible conversation about how science and astronomy inform religious perspectives! Inspired by Dr. Kyler […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Lowell Historian Kevin Schindler and astronomer Gerard van Belle sit down for a chat with German artist Ulrike Arnold, the subject of the feature-length […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, join Cody Half-Moon and geologist John Compton as they discuss the mind-blowing process of our planet's formation over 4.6 billion years ago.

In this episode of Star Stuff, Kevin Schindler is joined by special guest Eric Edelman, the director of the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium in Prescott, AZ. Kevin and Eric […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk about aliens. Again. Join Cody Half-Moon and returning guest Dean Regas as they discuss upcoming solar eclipses, the possibility of life beyond […]

The man, the myth, the founder. In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk about how Percival Lowell made history by founding Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona and how he […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we sit down with journalist Melissa Sevigny to talk about her career, choosing between different paths, and her newest book, “Brave the Wild River.” […]

Learn about a 50,000-year-old Meteor Crater from the man who runs the crater business here in Flagstaff, Arizona. In this episode of Star Stuff, we sit down with Matthew Kent, […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk to University of Denver professor and astronomer, Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, about making science more accessible. To learn more about DU SciTech Summer […]

Multiverse? Simulation? In this episode of Star Stuff, we discuss even more of the most mind-blowing theories of how our universe works.

String Theory? Braneworld? In this episode of Star Stuff, we discuss some of the most mind-blowing theories of how our universe works. Stay tuned for Part 2!

In this episode of Star Stuff, astronomers Dr. Gerard van Belle and Dr. David Ciardi take us on a behind-the-scenes journey through a night of observing, from the movies they […]

Filmed at the Grand Canyon! This episode features audience favorite Dark Sky Ranger Rader Lane to discuss the Astronomer in Residence program at the Grand Canyon with the Astronomer in […]

Ever wondered what it’s like to live in space? Star Stuff sits down with Astronaut Nicole Stott to ask the important questions, from how living in space affected her art, […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we sit down with Lowell educator, Gavin Moriarty, to talk about the basics of astrophotography and how you can get started in the craft.

What is life? In this episode of Star Stuff, our hosts discuss what it means to be alive on Earth and beyond.

The Star Stuff crew sits down with solar astronomer and Lowell Observatory Executive Director, Dr. Jeff Hall, to talk about a seriously hot topic: the Sun! Jeff tells us about […]

Are we running through the six with our woes…. alone? The Drake Equation says no. On this episode of Star Stuff, our fearless hosts delve into a probabilistic argument created […]

Star Stuff sits down for a chat with astronomer Dr. Daniel Fleisch, who served as Astronomer in Residence at Grand Canyon National Park in December 2022. They discuss his time […]

A telescope made out of farming equipment? Discovering Pluto? In this episode of Star Stuff, Hailey sits down with Lowell historian Kevin Schindler to talk about the man who discovered […]

Wormholes? Time travel? Alternate universes? In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk about black holes, the different types of black holes, and the bizarre implications of their existence.

Welcome to Star Stuff Season 2, now also in video format on YouTube! How do scientists study light? In this episode, we talk about the various types of spectroscopy and […]

That’s a wrap on Star Stuff Season 1! In this episode, we reminisce with Star Stuff crew members, Madi Mooney, Nate Nise, and John Compton, about their favorite episodes from […]

You’ve heard the Greek myths about how the constellations formed, but what about the stories of other cultures? In this episode of Star Stuff, we sit down with cultural astronomer […]

Listen in as Lowell Observatory Educators Hailey Osborn and Matt Lydy discuss some of the most popular sci-fi movies, from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) to Passengers (2016). Learn their […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Hailey chats with Lowell Early Education Supervisor, Kelly Ferguson, and CEO of Flagstaff local business Quality Connections, Armando Bernasconi. Kelly talks about how Lowell’s […]

Grab a horn-full of your favorite beverage and get ready for a crossover of mythic proportions! In this episode of Star Stuff, Hailey and John discuss Norse mythology with Nick […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we chat with Bradly Rivera, the Elementary School Division Head and STEM Program Lead at Arecibo Observatory’s STAR Academy. Learn all about the incredible […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Hailey chats with astrobiologist Dr. Bonnie Baxter and Lowell Public Program Educator Juan Ruiz about astrobiology. How did they get into the field? What […]

In this Episode of Star Stuff, Cody and Hailey chat with astrophysicist and returning guest Dr. Martin Elvis about ‘Oumuamua, an interstellar object with unknown origins. Is it a space […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we chat with poet Lauren Camp about her experience as the Grand Canyon’s astronomer in residence and how the park’s dark skies influenced her […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Cody and Hailey hear from astronomers Dr. Kyler Kuehn and Dr. Teddy Kareta as they give their scientific perspectives on the classic horror/sci-fi film […]

On this episode of Star Stuff, Hailey and Madi sit down with 2020 Fullbright Future Scholar, astronomy PhD candidate, and freelance science communicator Jake Clark to discuss distant worlds, teenage […]

Is NASA real? Is the Earth flat? In this episode of Star Stuff, Cody and Hailey chat with John Compton about space-related conspiracy theories and how they don’t hold up […]

Star Stuff meets again with fan-favorite Dark Sky Ranger Rader Lane of the Grand Canyon National Park to talk about how Rader combines dark skies and creative inspirations to produce […]

Learn about colliding black holes with CASA postdoctoral research associate Dr. Scott Barrows and Lowell Observatory astronomer Dr. Jennifer Hanley.

In this episode of Star Stuff, Cody, Hailey, Lowell Astronomer Dr. Nick Moskovitz, and DART Team Lead Dr. Cristina Thomas will discuss the ins and outs of NASA’s Double Asteroid […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Cody, Hailey, and Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Martin Elvis talk about quasars, black holes, asteroids, and Dr. Elvis’ book Asteroids: How Love, Fear, and Greed Will […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Cody and Hailey chat with Dr. Alycia Weinberger and Dr. Kaspar von Braun about American astronomer Dr. Vera Rubin. They discuss her life and […]

The Star Stuff crew sits down to discuss what it’s like to be a student in modern university structures, including the pressure that students (especially women) face in STEM majors.

Enjoy this full book review of Andy Weir’s incredible sci-fi novel Project Hail Mary — from astronomers here at our world-famous observatory! Listen to our scientists Dr. Kaspar von Braun, Dr. […]

No Earth. His best friend is a cockroach. Can you guess the sci-fi movie? Play along on this episode of Star Stuff and see how many you can guess!

Cody and Hailey meet up with Dr. Catherine Clark and Dr. Lauren Biddle (two newly-minted PhD’s!) to discuss what inspires them, hurdles they’ve faced as women in STEM, what it […]

Learn exactly it means for a planet to be in opposition, and what is so cool about Saturn and its moons. Don’t miss the Saturn Opposition on August 14, and […]

Star Stuff sits down with fiber artist Arline Martens and the principal of Dark Sky Partners Chris Luginbuhl to talk about their experience with astronomical art, and discuss how closely […]

Star Stuff geeks out with poet Julie Swarstad Johnson, who recently served as Lowell Observatory’s Poet In Residence. Tune in to hear them discuss Julie’s work, how astronomy inspires her […]

In this very special episode of Star Stuff, our hosts sit down with NAU assistant professor Dr. Cristina Thomas to discuss the ways in which the James Webb Space Telescope […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk about what constellations are in the Northern Hemisphere’s night sky right now, how to find them, and their stories throughout ancient cultures. […]

Star Stuff hangs out with public speaker, author, television host, and astronomer Dean Regas in the Clyde Tombaugh apartment, where they talk about distant worlds, burning controversies, and the delicate […]

The Star Stuff crew goes through the Lowell Iceberg, created and explained by Lowell educators Hannah Zigo and Jacob Irish. We go through each layer of our Lowell Iceberg, starting […]

Star Stuff sits down with Lowell astronomer Dr. Larry Wasserman to hear about his amazing discovery of Uranus’ rings, and how running low on gas almost changed the course of […]

Star Stuff sits down with Alaina Levine, an award-winning professional speaker, STEM career coach, science writer, TEDX speaker, and entrepreneur. Hear directly from Alaina how you can create your perfect […]

Star Stuff is joined by Nate Nise, Kevin White, and Dr. Scott Barrows of Lowell Observatory to talk about a few of our favorite sci-fi scores. To listen along with […]

Star Stuff chats with Lowell research scientists Dr. Joe Llama and Dr. Kyler Kuehn about how they got into astronomy, where their studies took them, and why they didn’t like […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, Dr. Chip Shearer talks about his project with NASA to finally open a capsule of Moon rock collected in the early 1970s during the […]

Learn about how eclipses have been represented in history and in lore, and find out some fun facts about the moon.

In this episode of Star Stuff, the crew talks all about planets with two of Lowell’s planetary scientists, Dr. Amanda Bosh and Dr. Jennifer Hanley. Learn about our solar system’s […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk to Grand Canyon “Dark Sky Ranger” Rader Lane about International Dark Sky Week (April 22 – 30) and how our neighbors at […]

A comet, an asteroid, and a centaur walk into a bar(red spiral galaxy)… If you want to be cool and get this joke, listen in on this episode of Star […]

Star Stuff joins Todd Gonzales (Lowell Education Manager) and Ed Finn of ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination to talk about what it means to imagine, and how we […]

Join the Star Stuff Crew as we talk about the basics of the James Webb Space Telescope, including what it will help us discover, why it took so long to […]

Star Stuff sits down with Lowell Astronomer Dr. Gerard van Belle to talk about the life cycle of stars. Find out why Gerard lovingly refers to our sun as a […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, we talk about what constellations are in the Northern Hemisphere’s night sky right now, how to find them, and their stories throughout cultures around […]

On this episode of Star Stuff, the crew and Lowell Cosmologist Dr. Kyler Kuehn sits down with Dr. Roedolph Opperman to talk about what life in outer space may look […]

Hear from Lowell Observatory Cosmologist Dr. Kyler Kuehn about his project to capture Dark Energy “on camera.” We do a deep dive on what Dark Energy is and how it […]

In this episode of Star Stuff, the crew talks to Dr. Dan Durda about his art, his research, and life on other planets. Dr. Dan Durda has a biography that […]

Historians, gather ’round! In this episode of Star Stuff, the crew sits down with Alden Tombaugh and discuss his father, Clyde Tombaugh, and what it was like being the son […]

Hear about Dr. Donald Johanson — the man who traversed Africa in his late 20s, slept with the lions, narrowly escaped helicopter crashes and a bout of Malaria, and through […]

In Episode 6 of Star Stuff, we sit down with famous planetary scientist Dr. Cathy Olkin, who has done everything from chasing occultations of Pluto in Switzerland to chasing Trojan […]

Famous engineer and planetary scientist Dr. Alan Stern joins the Star Stuff crew to share his experience leading the New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond. Listen as we discuss […]

Star Stuff discusses “Armageddon” — the movie from 1998 and a potential real-life asteroid that could hypothetically threaten Earth. Learn what a life-threatening asteroid may actually look like, what perfect […]

Star Stuff – Episode 03: “The Secrets of Lowell Observatory” Star Stuff discusses the “Secrets of Lowell” — all the best stories and lore you wouldn’t normally hear on a […]

Cody Half-Moon, Madi Mooney, and guest John Compton discuss the Moon. John's background of geology and theoretical physics (or, as he says, he's just "theoretically a physicist") mixed with the celestial excitement from our resident goth, Madi, make for a fascinating discussion about the Moon's history, its lore, and... various cycles.

"Star Stuff Episode 01: Black Holes, Spacetime, and Bread" is now available wherever you get your podcasts! Listen in as Cody Half-Moon, Hailey Osborn, and Wesley Sonnemaker discuss how black holes affect our universe, the fabric of spacetime, and how it all relates to a bowling ball, a ping pong ball, and bread.

This is an intro to our new podcast, Star Stuff. Our first episode will be published on January 4, 2022, and will air weekly every Tuesday. Send questions, topic suggestions, corrections, or notes to info@lowell.edu or tweet us at @lowellobs. Subscribe between now and January 4, 2022, to get a special gift from our Star Stuff crew! Show us proof of your subscription to Star Stuff by tagging us in your social media story with a screenshot of your subscription confirmation OR email proof of your subscription to info@lowell.edu.