Looking Up
Dean Regas
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Join Dean Regas of the Cincinnati Observatory on a journey through the stars! Guests from all over the globe bring their expertise and discuss today’s latest scientific discoveries and advancements. From eclipses to supernovas, from rockets to rovers; there’s a whole universe to explore!Dean is the author of “How to Teach Grown-Ups About Pluto” and “100 Things to See in the Night Sky.” Looking Up is a production of Cincinnati Public Radio.
Available episodes
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May 26, 2023
Will People Live on the Moon? (featuring Melissa McGuire)
The Artemis missions will send humans back to the moon, including the first woman and first person of color. Our guest this week is Melissa McGuire, the mission design manager for NASA's Gateway Power and Propulsion Element. Listen in to learn how this new project will make space travel more efficient. New episodes, now releasing every other Friday!
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May 12, 2023
What is the JUICE mission? (Featuring Nicolas Altobelli)
Dean and guest Nicolas Altobelli, the science operations and development manager for ESA's JUICE mission, discuss the upcoming project studying Jupiter's icy moons. Stay tuned for more new episodes, now releasing every other Friday!
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Apr 28, 2023
Countdown to Eclipse 2024
Dean and guest Michael Zeiler, a geographic information systems specialist and creator of greatamericaneclipse.com, discuss the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024 in Looking Up’s triumphant return! Stay tuned for more new episodes, now releasing every other Friday!
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Feb 8, 2022
Looking Up: The Wonderful World of Sidewalk Astronomy (Featuring Bill Rinehart)
Dean has brought so much wisdom and so many stories from his time as Astronomer in Residence at the Grand Canyon National Park last fall, that we had to squeeze a bit more into another episode. This time he and Anna discuss and share some of his experiences engaging park goers in Sidewalk Astronomy. There's a certain magic and awe that happens when passers by get the opportunity to see distant objects through a telescope and Dean has some great clips from his trip that help prove it!We are also joined by WVXU Reporter and local host of All Things Considered, Bill Rinehart to help us embody the spirit of one of the original purveyors of sidewalk astronomy experiences, John Dobson. Together they revisit an interview Dean had the opportunity to conduct with Dobson before his passing.
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Jan 26, 2022
Looking Up: 100th Episode Extravaganza! (Featuring Chris Hadfield and Joe Rao)
That' right! Looking Up is 100 episodes old today! Dean and Anna take the opportunity to reminisce on some greatest moments, hopes for the future, and more. We are also joined by retired Canadian astronaut and author of the new book "The Apollo Murders", Colonel Chris Hadfield. And his stories and credentials go far beyond space and writing. He's spent time as a musician, done television shows, and so much more that needed to be discussed! We also get a "what's up in the skies in 2022" update from our old friend, co-host of the live YouTube Stream "The Joe and Joe Weather Show", Joe Rao (@JoeRaoWeather)
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Jan 13, 2022
Looking Up: Return From the Grand Canyon (Featuring Rader Lane)
From leading astronomy tours, to getting lost in the dark of the canyon, to almost getting eaten by a bobcat — Dean is back from his tenure as Grand Canyon National Park's Astronomer in Residency with stories to tell! Hear not just these stories about the magnificent vastness of Grand Canyon skies, but also some details of roadside attractions to hit if you find yourself making the cross country drive out west.We are also joined by Night Sky Park Ranger at the Grand Canyon National Park, Rader Lane to discuss how the program came to be and other great stories about the night skies in our National Parks.
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Dec 29, 2021
Looking Up - Billionaires in "Space" (Repost)
What does the billionaire "space" race mean for the future of exploration? And why do we say it in quotes?
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Dec 15, 2021
Looking Up - Aliens Redux (Repost)
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Nov 24, 2021
Looking Up: Astronomical Observance From the Grand Canyon (Featuring Tyler Nordgren)
Dean is headed off to spend some time as Astronomer in Residence at the Grand Canyon for the next few months, and previous holder of the position and artist, Tyler Nordgren (@NightSkyPark) joins to preview the experience.
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Nov 10, 2021
Looking Up: Far Away Asteroids (Featuring Simone Marchi)
We occasionally hear reports of Near Earth Asteroids and perhaps our memories of the movie Armageddon make us expect the worst. But just how near is "near"?
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Oct 27, 2021
Looking Up: Amateur Contributions and Discoveries in Astronomy (Featuring Pamela Gay)
There's an awful lot of space to track and learn about in our skies and not enough astronomers and scientists to document and observe it all. That's where you come in! In this episode Dean and Anna explore some exciting explorations and discoveries in amateur and citizen astronomy.
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Oct 13, 2021
Looking Up: Our Great Big Scary or Beautiful Universe (Featuring Jessica Meir)
There are many awe inspiring images from our universe; Apollo 8's Earthrise, the Hubble's Deepfields map of galaxies, Carl Sagan's commentary on the Pale Blue Dot image from Voyager 1. Some find them inspiring in their beauty. Others find them terrifying in their vastness and scale. Dean and Anna explore both camps of star gazers in this episode as well as the significance and stories behind some of these photos
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Sep 23, 2021
Looking Up: Giving Library Card Holders Access to the Stars (Featuring Travis Castleberry)
Libraries have long been a great resource for access to knowledge and media you might not otherwise be able to afford. Thanks to a partnership with the Cincinnati Observatory (and Dean), star gazers in the Cincinnati region can add telescopes to that list of resources.
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Sep 8, 2021
Looking Up: True Crime Meets Scientific Research (Featuring Sam Kean)
Astronomy meets true crime as Dean and Anna explore stories of stolen moon rocks and urban legends of precious telescope lenses going missing at their own observatory.
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Aug 25, 2021
Looking Up - Billionaires In Space
What does the billionaire "space" race mean for the future of exploration? And why do we say it in quotes?
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Aug 11, 2021
Looking Up: Where No Man Has Driven Before
In 2019 we all celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first humans to walk on the moon, but August 2021 brings us an arguably more impressive 50th anniversary first on the moon: driving.
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Jul 29, 2021
Looking Up: Getting an Early Start to Teach About Infinity - and Beyond
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Jul 14, 2021
Looking Up: Exploring the Diet of Black Holes
Looking Up: Exploring the Diet of Black Holes
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Jun 23, 2021
Looking Up: Summer Skies Are Here
The summer months bring longer days with more sunlight and warm temperatures many of us love... but maybe not so much for astronomers uninterested in staying up all night. On this episode Dean and Anna discuss some of the pros and cons of summer stargazing as well as previews of what to look for in these coming months because there's always an eclipse to be chasing somewhere! We are also joined by co-host of Science Rules! with Bill Nye, and former Editor at Discover Magazine, Corey Powell (@coreyspowell) to talk about the importance of science education as well as the numerous international space missions happening these days that may not have made it onto your radar.
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Jun 9, 2021
Looking Up: Animals In Space
From monkeys, to turtles, to dogs, and more (for better or worse) humans have used animals to test different aspects of space travel since its earliest days. This week, Dean and Anna discuss some of those missions along with the their pitches for what signs of life we are most likely to potentially discover within our own solar system as well as what they hope we might find some day. We are also joined by Head Keeper at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Cody Sowers to discuss their recent decision to name their latest baby penguins Mars and Rover, as well as other tie ins between zoo keeping and astronomy.
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