Crash Course Astronomy

  • Premiered: Jan 2015
  • Episodes: 46
  • Followers: 4
  • Ended
  • YouTube
  • Thursday at 17
  • Documentary

Seasons:

You need to be logged in to mark episodes as watched. Log in or sign up.

Season 1
1x1
Introduction to Astronomy
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 15, 2015
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 answering a question: "What is astronomy?"
1x2
Naked Eye Observations
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 22, 2015
Today on Crash Course Astronomy, Phil invites you to head outside and take a look at all the incredible things you can see with your naked eye.
1x3
Cycles in the Sky
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 29, 2015
This week we build on our naked eye observations from last week and take a look at the cyclical phenomena that we can see at work in the universe.
1x4
Moon Phases
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 05, 2015
In this episode of Crash Course Astronomy, Phil takes you through the cause and name of the Moon's phases.
1x5
Eclipses
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 13, 2015
The big question in the comments last week was, "BUT WHAT ABOUT ECLIPSES?" Today, Phil breaks 'em down for you.
1x6
Telescopes
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 19, 2015
Today Phil explains how telescopes work and offers up some astronomical shopping advice.
1x7
The Gravity of the Situation
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 26, 2015
In today's episode, Phil looks at how gravity plays out across the universe.
1x8
Tides
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 05, 2015
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 happen if you were 300km tall? Important questions.
1x9
Introduction to the Solar System
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 12, 2015
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 system of planets and other celestial objects we have today.
1x10
The Sun
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 19, 2015
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, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and what all of that means for our planet.
1x11
The Earth
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 02, 2015
Phil starts the planet-by-planet tour of the solar system right here at home, Earth.
1x12
The Moon
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 09, 2015
Join Phil for a tour of our capital-M Moon, from surface features, inside to the core, and back in time to theories about its formation.
1x13
Mercury
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 16, 2015
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 beneath its surface.
1x14
Venus
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 24, 2015
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 sun, Venus is the .. show full overview
1x15
Mars
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 30, 2015
The fourth planet from the sun and the outermost of the terrestrial planets, Mars has long been a popular spot for missions and imagination. Phil walks you through the planet's .. show full overview
1x16
Jupiter
Episode overview
Air date
May 08, 2015
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 zones, as well as an .. show full overview
1x17
Jupiter's Moons
Episode overview
Air date
May 14, 2015
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 explore in greater detail. .. show full overview
1x18
Saturn
Episode overview
Air date
May 21, 2015
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 the rings via their .. show full overview
1x19
Uranus & Neptune
Episode overview
Air date
May 28, 2015
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, and atmospheres that make them .. show full overview
1x20
Asteroids
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 04, 2015
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 smallish planets but were .. show full overview
1x21
Comets
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 18, 2015
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 gas, forming the long tail, and .. show full overview
1x22
The Oort Cloud
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 25, 2015
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 bodies that can become .. show full overview
1x23
Meteors
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 02, 2015
Today Phil helps keep you from ticking off an astronomer in your life by making sure you know the difference between a meteor, meteorite, and meteoroid. When the Earth plows through the .. show full overview
1x24
Light
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 09, 2015
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. Spectroscopy allows .. show full overview
1x25
Distances
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 16, 2015
How do astronomers make sense out of the vastness of space? How do they study things so far away? Today Phil talks about distances, going back to early astronomy. Ancient Greeks were .. show full overview
1x26
Stars
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 23, 2015
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 them including their .. show full overview
1x27
Exoplanets
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 30, 2015
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. The most successful method is .. show full overview
1x28
Brown Dwarfs
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 13, 2015
While Jupiter is nowhere near massive enough to initiate fusion in its core, there are even more massive objects out there that fall just short of that achievement as well called brown .. show full overview
1x29
Low Mass Stars
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 20, 2015
Today we are talking about the life -- and death -- of stars. Low mass stars live a long time, fusing all their hydrogen into helium over a trillion years. More massive stars like the .. show full overview
1x30
White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulae
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 27, 2015
Today Phil follows up last week’s look at the death of low mass stars with what comes next: a white dwarf. White dwarfs are incredibly hot and dense objects roughly the size of Earth. .. show full overview
1x31
High Mass Stars
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 10, 2015
Massive stars fuse heavier elements in their cores than lower mass stars. This leads to the creation of heavier elements up to iron. Iron robs critical energy from the core, causing it .. show full overview
1x32
Neutron Stars
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 17, 2015
In the aftermath of a 8 – 20 solar mass star’s demise we find a weird little object known as a neutron star. Neutrons stars are incredibly dense, spin rapidly, and have very strong .. show full overview
1x33
Black Holes
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 25, 2015
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 very massive star dies, and .. show full overview
1x34
Binary and Multiple Stars
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 01, 2015
Double stars are stars that appear to be near each other in the sky, but if they’re gravitationally bound together we call them binary stars. Many stars are actually part of binary or .. show full overview
1x35
Star Clusters
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 08, 2015
Last week we covered multiple star systems, but what if we added thousands or even millions of stars to the mix? A star cluster. There are different kinds of clusters, though. Open .. show full overview
1x36
Nebulae
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 15, 2015
Astronomers study a lot of gorgeous things, but nebulae might be the most breathtakingly beautiful of them all. Nebulae are clouds of gas and dust in space. They can glow on their own or .. show full overview
1x37
The Milky Way
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 22, 2015
Today we’re talking about our galactic neighborhood: The Milky Way. It’s a disk galaxy, a collection of dust, gas, and hundreds of billions of stars, with the Sun located about halfway .. show full overview
1x38
Galaxies, Part 1
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 29, 2015
The Milky Way is our neighborhood in the universe. It’s a galaxy and there are many others out there. Galaxies contain gas, dust, and billions of stars or more. They come in four main .. show full overview
1x39
Galaxies, Part 2
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 05, 2015
Active galaxies pour out lots of energy, due to their central supermassive black holes gobbling down matter. Galaxies tend not to be loners, but instead exist in smaller groups and .. show full overview
1x40
Gamma-Ray Bursts
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 12, 2015
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 dives into what we know. .. show full overview
1x41
Dark Matter
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 03, 2015
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 large structures in the .. show full overview
1x42
The Big Bang, Cosmology Part 1
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 10, 2015
Thanks to observations of galaxy redshifts, we can tell that the universe is EXPANDING! Knowing that the universe is expanding and how quickly its expanding also allows us to run the .. show full overview
1x43
Dark Energy, Cosmology Part 2
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 17, 2015
The majority of the universe is made up of a currently mysterious entity that pervades space: dark energy. We don’t know exactly what it is, but we do know that dark energy accelerates .. show full overview
1x44
A Brief History of the Universe
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 07, 2016
Thanks to the wonders of physics, astronomers can map a timeline of the universe’s history. Today, Phil’s going to give you an overview of those first few minutes (yes, MINUTES) of the .. show full overview
1x45
Deep Time
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 14, 2016
As we approach the end of Crash Course Astronomy, it’s time now to acknowledge that our Universe’s days are numbered. Stars will die out after a few trillion years, protons will decay .. show full overview
1x46 Show finale
Everything, The Universe...And Life
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 21, 2016
Here it is, folks: the end. In our final episode of Crash Course Astronomy, Phil gives the course a send off with a look at some of his favorite topics and the big questions that Astronomy allows us to ask.

If there are missing episodes or banners (and they exist on TheTVDB) you can request an automatic full show update:

Request show update

Characters

If you like this show, you may also enjoy: