E. T. and the Presidents In this episode of the Starcast, hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewinski discuss the history of U.S. presidential involvement with UFOs—from JFK’s Cold War concerns to recent disclosures by Obama and Trump—while weighing these political admissions against scientific frameworks like the Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox.
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Voyage to the Center of the Galaxy. In this episode of StarCast, hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewenski explore three conflicting scientific studies that challenge our understanding of the Milky Way’s center, debating whether it houses a traditional supermassive black hole or a dense core of fermionic dark matter.
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Go Dark Hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewinski discuss the importance of preserving pristine night skies while highlighting International Dark Sky Week, occurring April 13th to 20th, 2026, through community advocacy, citizen science, and local astronomical events. Episode Links: International Dark Sky Week (official): https://idsw.darksky.org/ Crestone Dark Sky : https://www.darkskycrestone.com/ Globe at Night App: https://globeatnight.org/ Sky […]
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Tracking Space Junk Hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewinski discuss the latest solar activity, lunar events, and a groundbreaking new method for tracking re-entering space junk using seismic sensors. Episode Links: Dragon Re-entry: https://youtu.be/F9ByyNkjUt8?si=CoYVpI95Lr5KsaSw Space Junk Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz4676 Global Meteor Network: https://globalmeteornetwork.org/
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The Mystery of “M” In this episode of Starcast, hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewinski discuss recent solar activity, upcoming celestial events, and the history of astronomical catalogs such as the Messier and New General Catalog. Episode Links: https://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/what-are-messier-objects/ https://astrodaily.mro.nmt.edu/2020/08/11/the-messier-catalogue-the-masterpiece-in-the-mess/ https://www.space.com/16686-charles-messier-biography.html http://www.messier.seds.org/xtra/marathon/marathon.html https://donmachholz.com/messier-marathon/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Comet_of_1744https://georgebishopjr.com/2013/07/03/cheseauxs-comet-of-1744/
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Winter is Here. In this episode of Starcast, hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewinski discuss current space weather and lunar alignments before sharing expert tips and technical strategies for successful stargazing and astrophotography during the cold winter months.
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MACHOs and Micro-lensing In this Starcast, MACHOs and microlensing are the primary tools discussed for mapping the cold, dark, and lonely objects that make up the majority of the universe. Mike Lewinski explains that while traditional gravitational lenses are stable over centuries, microlensing involves smaller objects like isolated black holes or free-floating planets that temporarily […]
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Destination: Moon! In this episode of Starcast, hosts Jay Shaffer and Mike Lewinski discuss current space weather and a rare triple lunar alignment before diving into the ambitious 2026 lunar exploration schedule and the significant technical and human challenges of establishing a presence on the moon. Episode Links: Lunar Radiation: https://www.space.com/moon-radiation-dose-for-astronauts-measured For All Mankind: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7772588/ […]
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“Essential Equipment” This episode of Starcast features Mike Lewinski and Jay Shaffer discussing an incoming G2-G3 solar storm, the upcoming Geminid meteor shower, the discovery of life-precursor sugars like glucose in the Bennu asteroid samples, and sharing their favorite astrophotography equipment, including a sky quality meter and a budget star tracker, for a holiday gift […]
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Meteorites and “Wrongs” This episode of Starcast, recorded on the anniversary of the first known person to be injured by a falling meteorite, covers an active space weather forecast featuring Sunspot 4294, news of a supermoon and the Geminids, and a deep dive into how to distinguish actual meteorites from “meteor-wrongs” using four key tests […]
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