Podcast
Cosmically Curious
A space-focused segment from NHPR hosted by Patrick McNameeKing. It's all about celebrating the night sky with a healthy dose of joy, curiosity and zero pretension.
Each week we’ll cover topics ranging from the latest NASA missions, to events happening in the night sky, to space in pop culture. It’s science for everyone—whether you’re an amateur astronomer or someone who’s never held a telescope.
- Astronomy chart
- #136
- Episodes
- 35
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 2 min
- On air since
- 2026
- Latest episode
- 4 days ago
Episodes
35 episodes, newest first
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2 min
Weight vs. Mass
Show notes
From Earth to the Moon, astronomer Nicole Gugliucci explains how gravity changes your weight while your mass stays the same—and why that could mean a lot more chocolate.
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2 min
The Official List
Show notes
In this episode of Cosmically Curious, St. Anselm's Nicole Gugliucci explains how astronomers settled on the official list of constellations, and what the choices reveal about whose stories are represented in the night sky.
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2 min
Vastness of Space
Show notes
In this conversation, astrophysicist Nicole Gugliucci explains how analogies help us make sense of the cosmic distances that otherwise overwhelm the imagination.
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2 min
Extraterrestrial weather
Show notes
In this episode of Cosmically Curious, Patrick McNamee King sits down with astronomer Nicole Gugliucci to explore the bizarre reality of extraterrestrial weather—from scorching sulfuric acid showers on Venus to helium raining through the interior of Saturn.
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2 min
Does the universe remember
Show notes
In this segment of Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNamee speaks with astronomer John Gianforte from the University of New Hampshire about whether the cosmos preserves a record of everything that has ever happened—and what the physics of our own sun reveals about the vastness of that question.
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2 min
New England Fall Astronomy Festival
Show notes
The University of New Hampshire Department of Physics and Astronomy is holding the New England Fall Astronomy Festival, or NEFAF for short.
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2 min
What Are Fundamental Constants?
Show notes
In this episode of Cosmically Curious we explore the universal rules that define reality & physics.
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2 min
Black Holes
Show notes
In this episode of Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNamee sits down with Saint Anselm College astronomer Nicole Gallucci to clear up common black hole myths, explain the bizarre physics of spaghettification, and reveal what would actually happen if our Sun suddenly turned into a black hole.
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2 min
James Webb spots signs of potential life
Show notes
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: Are we alone in the universe?
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2 min
What are Voyager probes observing 50 years later
Show notes
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.
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2 min
Voyager Prode Part 1
Show notes
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 later, both probes are still operating in deep space, pushing the boundaries of human exploration.
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2 min
August 2026 Lunar Eclipse
Show notes
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 near-total lunar eclipse.
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2 min
The microwave mystery that baffled astronomers
Show notes
How did a kitchen microwave fool astronomers? On Cosmically Curious, Dr. Nicole Gugliucci reveals the true source behind mysterious fast radio bursts.
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2 min
Perseid Meteor Showers
Show notes
Learn the best viewing times, why a new moon makes this year special, and why you only need a lawn chair to watch.
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2 min
Supernova
Show notes
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 before.
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2 min
What is "dark matter"?
Show notes
Dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the universe, but is only detected by the effect it has on visible matter.
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2 min
Pulsars Cosmic Clocks
Show notes
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 just deep-space anomalies—they are actually some of the most powerful scientific instruments available to us.
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2 min
Cosmically Curious: Pulsars, the lighthouse of the universe
Show notes
A pulsar is the collapsed, zombie-like core of a massive star that died in a supernova explosion.
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2 min
Anti Matter
Show notes
Today, we're answering a question from listener Tim Smith, who asks a deceptively simple question: Why does anything exist?
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2 min
Filters & Photons
Show notes
How do you capture a full-color image when your recording medium can only see in black and white?
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