Astronomy on Tap

Voyage of Invisible Radio Wonders! Strap in for a ride with the Solar Wind as we explore the subtle ways in which human activities have sculpted some of the most energetic structures in our Solar System besides the Sun: Earth’s and Jupiter’s radiation belts. On our way past Jupiter, we’ll discover how surfing and volcanoes cross paths to create these curious belts that cocoon our planets in an incandescent — yet invisible — radio glow. As we head into the greater wilderness of space, we’ll meet the first example of a radiation belt outside of our Solar System, discovered in 2023 by a UCSC astronomer. Finally, we’ll find a sea of brilliant radio lighthouses illuminating the cosmic matter between galaxies as a map to the treasure that we seek: answers to questions like “where did we come from?” and “how did the universe begin?”