IRrelevant Astronomy HD
By NASA's Spitzer Science Center and Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
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Podcast Description
It's the series Aint-It-Cool-News calls ''the most (intentionally) hilarious series of educational films you'll find...the pieces carry a Muppets-esque charm.'' Discovery.com says it's ''a lot of fun, and breaks the mold for NASA videos.'' A top-10 finalist for ''Best Science/Technology Podcast'' at the 2008 Podcast Awards, IRrelevant Astronomy is packed with CG animation and snarky humor, all wrapped around the latest astronomy news and science from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. It's infrared-relevant! Formatted for 720p HD players (also available in standard definition in a different feed).
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CleanVideoBig Bang Musical | Did you know 13.7 million year old radiation from the Big Bang can be seen on any analogue TV set? In this mini-musical, a fictional couple (Brigitte Dale, Marc Helou) discuss the science behind this. Original song written & performed by Danny Tieger. | 3/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 2 | CleanVideoAstronomy Anemone | Veronica Belmont co-hosts a space-themed talk show with Astronomy Anemone, a carnivorous man-eating sea polyp. WARNING: contains scenes of cartoon violence and scientific jargon. | 2/15/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 3 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Destroyer of Worlds | Robot IR-2 (Ed Wasser) meets The Physician (Wil Wheaton), an intergalactic buttinsky in a small blue box spaceship. Together, they work to escape "The Destroyer of Worlds," a binary star system that is destroying its inner planets. With Brigitte Dale. | 11/27/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 4 | CleanVideoBehind the Scenes: Dead Stars | Actor Sean Astin is hired by a bullying educational film Director and her Flunky sidekick to explain about the life and death of stars. But when things go wrong on the set, actor Sandeep Parikh is hired to replace Sean... only to have things take a bizarr | 8/9/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 5 | CleanVideoSpaceship Spitzer: Bots of Both Worlds | Amy Okuda flies to Saturn to observe a new giant ring around the planet: the largest ring ever discovered in our Solar System, but one that was only recently revealed through infrared observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in 2009. While there, s | 5/24/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 6 | CleanVideoSpitzer Space Telescope: The Musical | A singing NASA supervisor uses song to explain about NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and how infrared astronomy differs from visible-light telescopes like Hubble. | 3/8/10 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 7 | CleanVideoBehind the Scenes: When Galaxies Collide | Felicia Day explains some of the science behind galactic "collisions," including the upcoming collision between the galaxy Andromeda and our own galaxy, in this mock behind-the-scenes look at the making of an educational video. Sean Astin also stars. | 10/25/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 8 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Back in Time | Linda Hamilton attempts to foil the robots' plans of Universal conquest; meanwhile, Dean Stockwell explains the concept of "looking back in time" at objects in space, and how it helps astronomers understand how the Universe has evolved. Starring Ed Wasse | 8/23/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 9 | CleanVideoPart Two: The Warm Mission | In this spoof of old TV action shows, Sean Astin, Osa Wallander, and Betty White search for a way to help the Spitzer Space Telescope after it runs out of coolant. | 6/21/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 10 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Gravity and the Great Attractor | George Takei, Mark Hamill, and Ed Wasser provide voices as IR-2 and the robot crew take a look at the Great Attractor, a massive hidden object that is pulling in every nearby galaxy in the local Universe (including our own). | 4/22/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 11 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Twin Brown Dwarfs | While trapped in an interdimensional portal between two brown dwarfs, IR-2 and the robots encounter their evil twins from an alternate universe. | 3/10/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 12 | CleanVideoM51 & Gizmo: Half-Baked Plan | Hoping for his birthday to come around sooner, innocent alien M51 moves the Earth into a closer, faster orbit around the sun, and learns an important lesson about life in the Universe. | 1/22/09 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 13 | CleanVideoSpaceship Spitzer: The Slowlian Web | During a tense face-off with a sinister (but extremely slow-moving) alien race, Dr. Michelle shows IR-1 how scientists can determine what extrasolar planets are made of, even when the planets are too far away to see. | 11/24/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 14 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Sculpting With Stars | IR-2 opens diplomatic relations with the Earth, as a first step toward ruling over all humans on the planet. | 10/21/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 15 | CleanVideoPsych Out | Does the Helix Nebula look like a human eye? Why do we think we see well-known objects in nebulous images from space? An astronomer and his therapist clash over the issue in this comedic but educational animated short. | 8/24/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 16 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: The Building Blocks of Life | IR-2 and his crew learn about PAHs, which may be the building blocks of all life in the Universe, and decide to put them to good use. | 7/20/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 17 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Omega Centauri | While the robots are away, a sad and lonely man calls in with a beautiful image of the Omega Centauri globular cluster. | 7/1/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 18 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Baby Stars | Where do stars come from? IR-2 analyzes recent Spitzer imagery to find out, while an imposing Ratings-bot oversees the broadcast. | 5/15/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 19 | CleanVideoDub'ya: Mountie Martin and the Space Diamonds | Are tiny diamonds really common in the Universe? Join the intrepid Mountie Martin as he endeavors to find out, while on the trail of the sinister Sammy the Smuggler! | 4/20/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 20 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Water in the Universe | Astronomers have discovered huge amounts of water around baby stars; IR-2 and his crew plan to make use of it. | 3/12/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 21 | CleanVideoRobot Astronomy Talk Show: Asteroids | Will an asteroid strike the Earth and wipe out all life as we know it? IR-2 and his robotic crew make random phone calls to find out. | 3/3/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 22 | CleanVideoSkinfrared #2: Water and Ice | Viewing liquids in extreme temperatures in both visible and infrared light, this episode of the Skinfrared series gives viewers a perspective on how infrared observatories like the Spitzer Space Telescope view the Universe. | 2/7/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 23 | CleanVideoSpaceship Spitzer: Enemy Mine | While in battle around the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, Dr. Michelle teaches IR-1 the science behind these giant singularities. | 1/16/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| 24 | CleanVideoSkinfrared #1 | What is infrared light? The Skinfrared series contrasts the world around us in both visible and infrared light, giving the viewer a perspective on how infrared observatories like the Spitzer Space Telescope view the Universe. | 1/14/08 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 24 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Trek Away!
This was great! I'm a trekky and this reminded me of growing up watching star trek in the 90's. The SFX weren't super but they were still good. I really enjoyed the humor and the learning potential. Thank You and Keep 'em coming!
Humorous, informative, great pictures and graphics.
a really great podcast. I think it could make it on prime time tv.
Brillant Show
One of the most entertaining and informative science shows of all time...wish they where 1 hour shows.
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- Category: Natural Sciences
- Language: English
- © 2010 NASA. Commercial use prohibited. All other users must give proper credit.
