Science @ NASA Feature Stories Podcast
The Science and Technology Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center sponsors the Science@NASA web sites. The mission of Science@NASA is to help the public understand how exciting NASA research is and to help NASA scientists fulfill their outreach responsibilities.

A podcast is basically a series of audio files available for download, with a special kind of web page (called an RSS feed) describing when new content is available. There are three basic ways to listen to the Science@NASA stories in audio.

1. You can listen to the stories while viewing this web site. A preview of the stories currently presented in the Science@NASA podcast are listed below. This is usually the last 20 stories we've published. There are also audio links for each story on our front page, on subject area pages, and in our recent archives pages. Perhaps the best way to listen is to go to the story page, so you can read along with the story and look at any images while you listen.
   + Podcast Preview
   + Science@NASA Home Page
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2. There are various podcast directories on the Internet that list available podcasts, and allow you to search for and listen to podcasts through their web site. Some sites offer tools for keeping track of your favorite podcasts, or offer other useful features. Links to the Science@NASA listing for several directories are available in the left column of this web page.
3. A podcast client program allows you to subscribe to your favorite podcasts. Such programs can tell you when new episodes of your subscribed shows are available, download the audio for you to listen to at your convenience, and even copy the podcasts to a portable MP3 player for you to listen to while away from your computer. You can subscribe to the Science@NASA podcast by entering the Podcast RSS feed URL into the podcast client program. If you use iTunes, you can just enter the iTunes link below, and then click the "Subscribe" button.
   + Podcast RSS/XML feed http://science.nasa.gov/podcast.xml
   + iTunes Link

5.9.2008 - Space Station Tricorder
Astronauts are using a Star Trek tricorder-like device to keep track of microscopic life forms onboard the International Space Station.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

5.8.2008 - Planets by the Dozen
A NASA-funded survey set to begin in 2008 could dramatically increase the number of known planets outside our solar system.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
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+ Transcript (.htm file)

5.6.2008 - A Super Solar Flare
In September 1859, a solar flare erupted so intense that the explosion itself was visible to the human eye. A ferocious geomagnetic storm ensued in which Northern Lights descended as far south as Cuba, the Bahamas and Hawaii. Meanwhile, telegraph engineers disconnected their batteries and powered communications by electricity from the auroras! Could it happen again?
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

4.30.2008 - Explore the Ionosphere (from the safety of your own home)
Today, NASA-funded researchers released to the general public a new "4D" live model of Earth's ionosphere. Without leaving home, anyone can now fly through the layer of ionized gas that encircles Earth at the edge of space itself.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

4.25.2008 - The Physics of Whipped Cream
An experiment in space has shed new light on the puzzling physics of some everyday substances such as blood, ketchup, motor oil and whipped cream.
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4.21.2008 - Moondust and Duct Tape
Going to the Moon? Don't forget your duct tape. Thirty-six years ago when Apollo 17 astronauts found themselves a quarter million miles from home with a damaged moonbuggy, a roll of "good old fashioned American gray tape" saved the day.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

4.17.2008 - Earth's Magnetic Field Does Strange Things to the Moon
NASA-supported researchers have realized that strange things may be happening on the full Moon when it gets hit by Earth's magnetic tail.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

4.10.2008 - Moondust in the Wind
Unlike Earth, the firmament of the moon is directly exposed to charged particles from the sun. What happens to moondust under the onslaught of solar wind? Researchers in a NASA-supported lab are finding some surprising answers.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

4.7.2008 - The 2008 Great Moonbuggy Race
Contestants in NASA's 15th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race have crossed the finish line. And the winner is.... Read today's story to find out who crashed and who triumphed in the adventurous competition.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
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4.4.2008 - Crescent Moon Alert
A crescent moon of perilous beauty is about to appear in the evening sky. The best night to look is Tuesday, April 8th, when the moon joins the Pleiades star cluster for a must-see conjunction.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.28.2008 - Old Solar Cycle Returns
Three months ago, a new solar cycle began. This week, however, the sun surprised onlookers with three big sunspots from the previous solar cycle. Strangely enough, this is perfectly normal.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.27.2008 - Crafty Tricks for Finding Moon Water
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will play some crafty tricks to find water on the moon, such as using starlight to see into deep, dark craters and checking the temperature with a scientific device known as "Diviner."
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.21.2008 - Naked-eye Gamma Ray Burst
Two nights ago, astronomers observed a cosmic explosion so intense it was visible to the naked eye from a distance of 7.5 billion light years.
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3.20.2008 - Spring is Aurora Season
For reasons not fully understood by scientists, the weeks around the vernal equinox are prone to Northern Lights.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
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3.19.2008 - Gravity Waves Make Tornadoes
New research by NASA-supported scientists shows how atmospheric gravity waves, the kind we often see rippling in clouds overhead, can hit a thunderstorm and turn it into a deadly tornado.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
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+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.18.2008 - The Vanishing Rings of Saturn
Amateur astronomers around the world have noticed, something is happening to Saturn. The planet's rings are rapidly narrowing and, if this continues, before long they'll be just a wafer-thin line almost invisible to backyard telescopes.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.12.2008 - Women Drivers on Mars
To celebrate Women's History Month, an all-female team of scientists and engineers has taken control of Mars rover Spirit.
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3.7.2008 - Dark Halos Discovered on Mercury
The surprises continue. Scientists studying the harvest of photos from MESSENGER's Jan. 14th flyby of Mercury have found several craters with strange dark halos and one crater with a spectacularly shiny bottom.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.6.2008 - Auroras in Broad Daylight
Imagine living on a planet where Northern Lights fill the heavens at all hours of the day. Around the clock, even in broad daylight, luminous curtains shimmer and ripple across the sky. News flash: Astronomers have discovered such a planet. Its name is Earth.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

3.3.2008 - Avalanches on Mars
A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near the Red Planet's north pole.
+ Audio Podcast (.mp3 file)
+ Audio Stream (.m3u file)
+ Transcript (.htm file)

More Science@NASA stories are available in audio in our Story Archive