In today's Crash Course Astronomy, Phil takes a look at the explosive history of our cosmic backyard. We explore how we went from a giant ball of gas to the ...
Do other planets have weather? It turns out that, yes, they do! But, the weather isn't all the same on other planets because of things like atmosphere. In this ...
So, why doesn't the moon just crash into the Earth? And why doesn't the Earth crash into the Sun? What are orbits exactly and why do they happen? Well, it has ...
Updated with fix. Thanks for pointing that out!!! :) Every hear of "Sol"? Sure you have! It's our Sun! It sits at the center of our 8 planet solar system, providing us ...
Take a 360 degree virtual tour of our Solar System, with the help of Crash Course Astronomy host Phil Plait! Subscribe to Thought Café's channel: ...
Last time, we learned that there is in fact weather on other planets. But those were the rocky planets, like Earth. What about the big Gas Giants? What's the ...
Maybe you'd like to just hear about one topic for a while. We understand. Thus, we've created our Compilation Series. In this video, we look at some of our ...
Updated with graphics fixed. Thanks for pointing that out! Ever wonder why we have seasons? A lot of people think it's because the Earth gets further away from ...
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It has no atmosphere and is, as such, covered in craters. It's also incredibly hot but, surprisingly, has water ice hiding ...
The big question in the comments last week was, "BUT WHAT ABOUT ECLIPSES?" Today, Phil breaks 'em down for you. This episode is sponsored by ...
So, if gravity pulls everything down, then why don't things on the bottom of the Earth get pulled down into space? In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina ...
Have you ever wondered if there is anyone (or anything) else out there in the universe? Well, you're not alone. But what would alien life look like? And what ...
Last week we talked about the orbits of the Earth and our Moon. But today we're going to go a little bigger... well, a lot better. Did you know that there is a ...
Phil takes us for a closer (eye safe!) look at the two-octillion ton star that rules our solar system. We look at the sun's core, plasma, magnetic fields, sunspots, ...
So, have you ever wondered why we have seasons? Or maybe where the sun goes when it's night time? *Hint: It doesn't actually go anywhere* In this episode ...
Saturn is the crown jewel of the solar system, beautiful and fascinating. It is a gas giant, and has a broad set of rings made of ice particles. Moons create gaps in ...
Welcome to the first episode of Crash Course Astronomy. Your host for this intergalactic adventure is the Bad Astronomer himself, Phil Plait. We begin with ...
Have you ever wondered why your shadow is longer sometimes and shorter others? It turns out it all has to do with that marvelous big ball of light in the sky; The ...
Now that we've finished our tour of the planets, we're headed back to the asteroid belt. Asteroids are chunks of rock, metal, or both that were once part of ...
Today Phil explores the world of tides! What is the relationship between tides and gravity? How do planets and their moons become tidally locked? What would ...
In this episode of Crash Course Astronomy, Phil takes you through the cause and name of the Moon's phases. -- Why the Moon Has Phases 0:36.1 Spheres in ...
Now that we're done with the planets, asteroid belt, and comets, we're heading to the outskirts of the solar system. Out past Neptune are vast reservoirs of icy ...
In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina talks about two of the four spheres that make up our planet; The Geosphere and the Biosphere. What's in these ...
So, what is the Ecliptic? Well, it has to do with the Zodiac constellations and our sun and how they move in relation to one another. It's kind of cool! In this ...
Phil starts the planet-by-planet tour of the solar system right here at home, Earth. -- Table of Contents Earth is a Planet 0:03 Layers of Earth 1:25 The Magnetic ...
Emily Graslie joins John and Hank Green to discuss the formation of our Sun, Solar System, and Earth - and how it's all slightly more interesting than leftover ...
Venus is a gorgeous naked-eye planet, hanging like a diamond in the twilight -- but it's beauty is best looked at from afar. Even though Mercury is closer to the ...
We've covered a lot of incredible stuff, but this week we're talking about the weirdest objects in space: BLACK HOLES. Stellar mass black holes form when a ...
Today we're rounding out our planetary tour with ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Both have small rocky cores, thick mantles of ammonia, water, and methane, ...
When you hear the word, "Work," what is the first thing you think of? Maybe sitting at a desk? Maybe plowing a field? Maybe working out? Work is a word that has ...
Before moving on from Jupiter to Saturn, we're going to linger for a moment on Jupiter's moons. There are 67 known moons, and 4 huge ones that we want to ...
Welcome to the Neighborhood! Humans need a lot of things to survive (I'm sure you've noticed). We need food, water, and shelter and it takes a lot of resources ...
In order to understand how we study the universe, we need to talk a little bit about light. Light is a form of energy. Its wavelength tells us its energy and color.
Today on Crash Course Astronomy, Phil explains comets. Comets are chunks of ice and rock that orbit the Sun. When they get near the Sun the ice turns into ...
Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. The gas giant is NOT a failed star, but a really successful planet! It has a dynamic atmosphere with belts and ...
Today on Crash Course Astronomy, Phil dives into some very dark matters. The stuff we can actually observe in the universe isn't all there is. Galaxies and other ...
Today Phil explains that YES, there are other planets out there and astonomers have a lot of methods for detecting them. Nearly 2000 have been found so far.
Today Phil's explaining the stars and how they can be categorized using their spectra. Together with their distance, this provides a wealth of information about ...
In today's episode, Phil looks at how gravity plays out across the universe. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace: ...
So we know what life needs here to work, and we've talked a little about what life COULD look like on other planets. But what about plant life? What could plant ...
Did you know that centrifugal force isn't really a thing? I mean, it's a thing, it's just not real. In fact, physicists call it a "Fictitious Force." Mind blown yet? To explore ...
Gamma-ray bursts are not only incredible to study, but their discovery has an epic story all its own. Today Phil takes you through some Cold War history and then ...
In which Stan Muller subs for John Green and teaches you about energy and humanity. Today we discuss the ideas put forth by Alfred Crosby in his book, ...