Skip to navigation | Skip to content


Asteroid and volcanoes combined killed the dinosaurs

lava lake

lava lake Source: USGS.


Click to listen

Download audio

  • MP3 (00:30:00; 27Mb 477kb)

This week on StarStuff:

Dinosaur mass extinction was a double whammy
The 10-kilometre-wide asteroid that triggered the mass extinction event that killed 75 per cent of all life on Earth also triggered one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history, further compounding the disaster.

Most detailed maps yet of the Dwarf planet Ceres (Time in: 10min 04sec)
New insights into some of the mysteries of the dwarf planet Ceres have been revealed in new detailed maps of the asteroid. The new data taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft include a detailed topographic and soil composition maps, as well as close up views of a weird pyramid-shaped mountain and mysterious bright spots.

Nobel Prize in Physics goes to neutrino discovery (Time in: 12min 36sec)
Scientists Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald have been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physics after discovering that elusive subatomic particles called neutrinos have mass. Prior to their work, the prevailing theory was that neutrinos -- the second-most abundant particle in the universe after photons, had no mass.

Five things we need to do to live on Mars (Time in: 17min 16 sec)
Forget all the Hollywood hype, we science the heck out of the technology needed to fly to Mars and survive on the red planet. And it seems all the technology's already there, we just need the political will to do it!

And don't forget...

StarStuff Earth image of the week ... one of the most recognisable places on the planet seen from space
Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas is one of the most recognisable places on the planet for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The distinct lines of the tidal channels cut between the small emerald island cays stand out, even from orbit.

