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AaS! 261: What are Black Dwarfs?

Ask a Spaceman!

Release Date: 12/02/2025

AaS! 263: Does Free Will Exist? show art AaS! 263: Does Free Will Exist?

Ask a Spaceman!

What is causal determinism? What are some of the ways that physics can permit free will? What does emergence have to do with all of this? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Rob H, Scott M, Louis M, John...

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AaS! 262: Does the Universe Have Extra Dimensions? show art AaS! 262: Does the Universe Have Extra Dimensions?

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What do extra dimensions have to do with the strength of gravity? What is a tower of gravitons? How can we detect extra dimensions even if we can’t perceive them? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Rob...

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AaS! 261: What are Black Dwarfs? show art AaS! 261: What are Black Dwarfs?

Ask a Spaceman!

What happens to a white dwarf when it cools off? How long does it take? Do they just stay black forever, or will something more interesting happen to them someday? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Rob...

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AaS! 260: What’s the Big Deal with the Weak Force? show art AaS! 260: What’s the Big Deal with the Weak Force?

Ask a Spaceman!

How did we discover the weak nuclear force? Why is it so strange compared to the other forces? What do mirrors have to do with all of this? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Scott M, Louis M, John W,...

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AaS! 259: Where Exactly is the Edge of the Universe? show art AaS! 259: Where Exactly is the Edge of the Universe?

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Is the universe infinite? What about the cosmological horizons, the limits to what we can see? Will we ever know for sure what’s beyond them? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Scott M, Louis M, John W,...

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AaS! 258: What’s Going to Happen After the ISS? show art AaS! 258: What’s Going to Happen After the ISS?

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Why did we develop the International Space Station in the first place? What have we learned in its 25+ years of operation? When is it coming down, and why? And what’s coming up next? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R,...

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AaS! 257: How Does One Go About Smashing Particles? show art AaS! 257: How Does One Go About Smashing Particles?

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How do particle colliders work? What kinds of energies are we talking about? Are there any uses for colliders except for physics experiments? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Scott M, Louis M, John W,...

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AaS! 256: What Can Gravitational Waves Teach Us About the Big Bang? show art AaS! 256: What Can Gravitational Waves Teach Us About the Big Bang?

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What are some sources of gravitational waves that aren’t black holes? How did inflation create gravitational waves? How can we possibly detect them? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Rob H, Scott M,...

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AaS! 255: How Do the Biggest Stars Get So Big? show art AaS! 255: How Do the Biggest Stars Get So Big?

Ask a Spaceman!

How do we measure the sizes of stars? What are the biggest ones today, and how big could stars have gotten in the past? Is there any way for a star to cheat and get even bigger? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua,...

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AaS! 254: How Do Variable Stars, You Know, Vary? show art AaS! 254: How Do Variable Stars, You Know, Vary?

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What powers Cepheid variable stars? What about Mira variables and pulsating stars? And are there variable stars that don’t actually vary at all? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Support the show: All episodes: Watch on YouTube: Read a book: Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE! Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, John S, Joshua, Scott M, Rob H, Scott...

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More Episodes

What happens to a white dwarf when it cools off? How long does it take? Do they just stay black forever, or will something more interesting happen to them someday? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

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Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE!

Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Justin G, Chris L, Alberto M, Duncan M, Corey D, Michael P, Naila, Sam R, Joshua, Scott M, Rob H, Scott M, Louis M, John W, Alexis, Gilbert M, Rob W, Jessica M, Jules R, Jim L, David S, Scott R, Heather, Mike S, Pete H, Steve S, Lisa R, Kevin B, Aileen G, Steven W, Deb A, Michael J, Phillip L, Steven B, Mark R, Alan B, Craig B, Richard K, Stephen J, Joe R, David P, Justin, Tracy F, Ella F, Thomas K, James C, Syamkumar M, Homer V, Mark D, Bruce A, Tim Z, Linda C, The Tired Jedi, Lode D, Bob C, Red B, Stephen A, James R, Robert O, Allen E, Michael S, Reinaldo A, Sheryl, David W, Chris, Michael S, Erlend A, James D, Larry D, Karl W, Den K, Edward K, Craig M, Scott K, Vivek D, Barbara C, Brad, Azra K, Steve R, Koen G, and Narrative Dude!

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter.