Topic: Space Exploration

On the 21st: A new federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor is sending millions of dollars to Illinois to strengthen job programs for at-risk youth. We speak with Sen. Dick Durbin about the importance of these kinds of job programs and check in with two of the organizations that have received funding. Plus, we talked to one of the authors of a new research study revealing how women of color in the field of astronomy face higher levels of harassment and hostile workplace experiences.

The sun cooperated for the Champaign Public Library partial eclipse viewing party, where hundreds of people gathered on Monday.

On the 21st: What happens when black holes collide? We get a down-to-earth explanation from Northwestern University researchers of some of the most violent and energetic processes in the universe. Plus, the state budget crisis has led to more than 2,000 jobs cut at public universities, and social entrepreneur Justin Dillon shares why he thinks everyone can make a difference.

On the 21st: We spoke with the father of Gabby Galbo, who died of sepsis at age 5, and learned how a new law aims to prevent needless death. We also talked about why you should start making plans now for next year's total eclipse.

On The 21st: As the world reacts to the most recent terrorist attack in the southern French town of Nice, we speak to a Nice native who’s recently relocated to Illinois. We also continued our summer books series with a talk about science and science fiction books with science communicator Joanne Manaster and Chicago sci-fi writer Marcus Sakey. Plus, we spoke with Savoy resident Betty Esser, who turned 102 this week.

On the 21st: We spoke with Juan Felipe Herrera, the first Latino U.S. Poet Laureate of the United States. Plus, scientists from an Illinois supercomputing facility told us about their role in a new 3D space documentary.

A multimedia journalism project sheds a light the lack of representation of African-Americans in the sciences and engineering. We discussed what's being done about it. Also, we spoke withone of the astronomers who discovered a new "dark galaxy" 4 billion light-years away. 

On Sunday night, a total lunar eclipse will coincide with a super moon and a blood moon for the first time in over three decades. When a super moon occurs the moon is at its closest point to the earth and can appear up to fourteen percent larger. The red tint of a blood moon is a side effect of the lunar eclipse where the moon passes into its own shadow. This combination won’t happen again until 2033.

Eighty-five years after Pluto was discovered by an astronomer from Illinois – the New Horizons spacecraft will fly by Pluto and show us what this far-off world looks like. David Leake, the head of Staerkel Planetarium, fills us in on what to expect and the Central Illinois connection to Pluto.