Saturday Morning Astrophysics at Purdue

Curious to know more?

Check out some of our recent SMAP sessions and experiments.

Dark matter is a mysterious form of matter that makes up most of the universe, yet it is invisible. It does not emit or reflect light. We can, however, infer its presence from its gravitational effects on galaxies and stars. The XENONnT experiment is a cutting-edge project designed to detect dark matter particles deep underground, in order to better understand the nature of our Universe. Hear the evidence. Get the story.

Born without a sun—or violently exiled from one—rogue planets drift through the galaxy alone, carrying secrets about how planetary systems form, evolve, and sometimes fall apart. Professor Merel van 't Hoff explores the dramatic processes by which planets can be ejected into interstellar space, turning them into cosmic wanderers, and methods by which they can be detected.

Ancient observers of the night sky only had their eyes, their curiosity and their imagination. Learn about successive attempts to understand the workings of our solar system in the science we call Cosmology.

If extraterrestrial life is plentiful, why haven't we made contact? If habitable planets are relatively common, could they be steaming with flora and/or fauna or even life more advanced than humans? Are there barriers that make it unlikely that life anywhere could advance beyond any given evolutionary stage? Philosophy on parade!

The early years of the 20th century brought evidence that the galaxies we were observing were not static in position, but rather appeared to be receding from our point of view. Could we be at the center? Is there a center? Are objects in the universe actually in motion? Are the apparent "velocities" of galaxies and other objects constant?

Did you ever think you could measure the speed of light at home in your own kitchen? Follow our safe and easy method and give it a try, and eat your experiment in the end!

The water on Earth is older than the sun and the solar system itself! Can you believe it? How do we know? This SMAP explores the debate on the origin of water on Earth, as well as on other planets in our own solar system and beyond. Asteroids and comets, you say? You may be surprised.

Here’s one for the teachers out there. A giant balloon, your eyeball and a pearl head pin is all you need to demonstrate a total solar eclipse to scale. Pretty cool!