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Description

A space-focused segment from NHPR hosted by Patrick McNameeKing. It's all about celebrating the night sky with a healthy dose of joy, curiosity and zero pretension. Each week we’ll cover topics ranging from the latest NASA missions, to events happening in the night sky, to space in pop culture. It’s science for everyone—whether you’re an amateur astronomer or someone who’s never held a telescope.

Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from Cosmically Curious podcast

Extraterrestrial weather

2026/10/09

In this episode of Cosmically Curious, Patrick McNamee King sits down with astronomer Nicole Gugliucci to explore the bizarre reality of extraterrestrial weather—from scorching sulfuric acid showers on Venus to helium raining through the interior of Saturn.

Does the universe remember

2026/10/05

In this segment of Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNamee speaks with astronomer John Gianforte from the University of New Hampshire about whether the cosmos preserves a record of everything that has ever happened—and what the physics of our own sun reveals about the vastness of that question.

New England Fall Astronomy Festival

2026/09/25

The University of New Hampshire Department of Physics and Astronomy is holding the New England Fall Astronomy Festival, or NEFAF for short.

What Are Fundamental Constants?

2026/09/18

In this episode of Cosmically Curious we explore the universal rules that define reality & physics.

Black Holes

2026/09/11

In this episode of Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNamee sits down with Saint Anselm College astronomer Nicole Gallucci to clear up common black hole myths, explain the bizarre physics of spaghettification, and reveal what would actually happen if our Sun suddenly turned into a black hole.

James Webb spots signs of potential life

2026/09/04

A distant exoplanet 700 trillion miles away is captivating astronomers, and the latest findings from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have reignited a major question: Are we alone in the universe?

What are Voyager probes observing 50 years later

2026/08/28

NASA’s Voyager probes are 16 billion miles away in interstellar space. Learn what two instruments are still measuring and why it matters for deep space exploration.

Voyager Prode Part 1

2026/08/21

Launched in the summer of 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft were originally authorized for a brief journey to visit Jupiter and Saturn. Nearly five decades later, both probes are still operating in deep space, pushing the boundaries of human exploration.

August 2026 Lunar Eclipse

2026/08/14

In this segment of NHPR's Cosmically Curious, host Patrick McNameeKing sits down with UNH astronomer John Gianforte to discuss an exciting upcoming celestial event: a near-total lunar eclipse.

The microwave mystery that baffled astronomers

2026/08/06

How did a kitchen microwave fool astronomers? On Cosmically Curious, Dr. Nicole Gugliucci reveals the true source behind mysterious fast radio bursts.

Perseid Meteor Showers

2026/07/30

Learn the best viewing times, why a new moon makes this year special, and why you only need a lawn chair to watch.

Supernova

2026/07/24

In late 1572, long before the invention of the telescope, sky-watchers looking up at the night sky saw something impossible: a blazing new star where nothing had existed before.

What is "dark matter"?

2026/07/16

Dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the universe, but is only detected by the effect it has on visible matter.

Pulsars Cosmic Clocks

2026/07/10

In a recent conversation, Patrick McNamee King sat down with Nicole Gallucci from Saint Anselm College to explore why these collapsed stellar remnants are far more than just deep-space anomalies—they are actually some of the most powerful scientific instruments available to us.

Cosmically Curious: Pulsars, the lighthouse of the universe

2026/07/02

A pulsar is the collapsed, zombie-like core of a massive star that died in a supernova explosion.