Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Blue Dot, named after Carl Sagan's famous speech about our place in the universe, features interviews with guests from all over the regional, national and worldwide scientific communities. Host Dave Schlom leads discussions about the issues science is helping us address with experts who shed light on climate change, space exploration, astronomy, technology and much more. Dave asks us to remember: from deep space, we all live on a pale, blue dot. Blue Dot is engineered, co-produced and co-hosted by Matt Shilts. It airs Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and Fridays at 6:30 p.m.

Standard Candles: Benchmarks For Astronomical Distances

Astrophysicists use the intrinsic brightness of certain kinds of stars to determine the age of the universe. Dave Schlom talks with Don Neil, a scientific analyst with Galaxy Evolution Explorer, about the rich data that project has yielded — especially regarding these benchmark stars.

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.
Related Content