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    Science FridayListening for the cosmic ‘dark ages,’ from the lunar far side
    12 minEpisode 1284

    Listening for the cosmic ‘dark ages,’ from the lunar far side

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    What did the universe look like before any stars turned on? Astronomers call that time the “dark ages,” and while they think it may be possible to see remnants of it in very low frequency radio signals, hearing those signals from Earth can be challenging.

    One possibility is to put a radio telescope on the far side of the moon, where it would have periods of observation shielded from interference both from Earth and from the sun—and potentially be able to receive that dark ages signal. The LuSEE-Night mission will explore that approach. A small demonstration radio telescope is slated for launch in late 2026 to serve as a proof of concept for low frequency radio astronomy on the lunar far side.

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    © Science Friday and WNYC StudiosLength 12 min23 April 2026Episode 1284ScienceFactsEducationalUSAEpisodic

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    This is an episodic podcast, so you can listen to it in any order, but episode one is a great place to start.

    Listen to episode one here

    What did the universe look like before any stars turned on? Astronomers call that time the “dark ages,” and while they think it may be possible to see remnants of it in very low frequency radio signals, hearing those signals from Earth can be challenging.

    One possibility is to put a radio telescope on the far side of the moon, where it would have periods of observation shielded from interference both from Earth and from the sun—and potentially be able to receive that dark ages signal. The LuSEE-Night mission will explore that approach. A small demonstration radio telescope is slated for launch in late 2026 to serve as a proof of concept for low frequency radio astronomy on the lunar far side.

    Astronomer Anže Slosar, lead scientist for LuSEE-Night, joins Host Ira Flatow to describe the telescope project and what astronomers hope to achieve by sending it to the moon.

    Other episodes you may enjoy:

    CERN finds a new particle + News alerts for the cosmos

    3D Images Of Galaxies Will Rock You (Ft. Queen)

    Guests:

    Dr. Anže Slosar is science lead for the LuSEE-Night project. He’s based at Brookhaven National Lab.

    Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

    Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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    © Science Friday and WNYC Studios |Original Episode URL. The content, artwork and advertising within this podcast is not owned or affiliated with Sound Carrot and remain the property of their respective owners.


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