Cosmically Curious

James Webb spots signs of potential life

A distant exoplanet 700 trillion miles away is captivating astronomers, and the latest findings from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have reignited a major question

What are Voyager probes observing 50 years later

NASA’s Voyager probes are 16 billion miles away in interstellar space. Learn what two instruments are still measuring and why it matters for deep space exploration.

Voyager Prode Part 1

Launched in the summer of 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft were originally authorized for a brief journey to visit Jupiter and Saturn. Nearly five decades

August 2026 Lunar Eclipse

In this segment of NHPR's Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNameeKing sits down with UNH astronomer John Gianforte to discuss an exciting upcoming celestial event: a nea

The microwave mystery that baffled astronomers

How did a kitchen microwave fool astronomers? On Cosmically Curious, Dr. Nicole Gugliucci reveals the true source behind mysterious fast radio bursts.

Perseid Meteor Showers

Learn the best viewing times, why a new moon makes this year special, and why you only need a lawn chair to watch.

Supernova

In late 1572, long before the invention of the telescope, sky-watchers looking up at the night sky saw something impossible: a blazing new star where nothing had existed

What is "dark matter"?

Dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the universe, but is only detected by the effect it has on visible matter.

Pulsars Cosmic Clocks

In a recent conversation, Patrick McNamee King sat down with Nicole Gallucci from Saint Anselm College to explore why these collapsed stellar remnants are far more than j

Cosmically Curious: Pulsars, the lighthouse of the universe

A pulsar is the collapsed, zombie-like core of a massive star that died in a supernova explosion.

Anti Matter

Today, we're answering a question from listener Tim Smith, who asks a deceptively simple question: Why does anything exist?

Filters & Photons

How do you capture a full-color image when your recording medium can only see in black and white?

Cosmica traffic jam

How many satellites can we actually fit around the Earth before it becomes a problem?

How stars are formed

We talk a lot about stars, but how they are formed is a process that is not completely understood.

Before the Big Bang

A look at how modern physicists tackle the ultimate origin story.

Hydrogen & History

Construction is currently underway for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a massive radio telescope poised to revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.

Warp Speed Ahead!

Physics professor Nicole Gugliucci explains the science of Star Trek’s warp drive, the Alcubierre concept, and why we're still far off from zipping through space.

Make your own rocket fuel

We need water to live, but what else does water on Mars mean for space exploration?

How do satellites navigate through space?

A listener question reveals a surprisingly accurate system.

Learn about the Starlight Challenge

The Starlight Challenge is a self-guided astronomy project for anyone interested in learning more about the night sky.