{"podcast":{"title":"Star Trails: A Weekly Astronomy Podcast","slug":"star-trails-a-weekly-astronomy-podcast-6777620","podcast_index_feed_id":6777620,"rss_url":"https://media.rss.com/star-trails/feed.xml","website_url":"https://startrails.show/","image_url":"https://media.rss.com/star-trails/20240204_030243_ce3cd2c9bd93f8daef6147eee46c9c07.jpg","author":"Single Malt Sky","episode_count":115,"summary":"Star Trails is a weekly astronomy podcast that begins in your backyard and expands outward to the edge of the universe. Each episode features a guide to the night sky visible across North America — constellations, planets, moon phases, and celestial events — along with deeper explorations of the science, history, and perspective that make astronomy one of humanity’s greatest adventures. From ancient skywatchers to modern spacecraft, from quiet stargazing to the violent deaths of stars, Star Trails reveals the beauty, mystery, and sometimes haunting reality of the cosmos.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/star-trails-a-weekly-astronomy-podcast-6777620"},"episode":{"title":"From Gears to Code: Computing the Cosmos","slug":"from-gears-to-code-computing-the-cosmos","published_at":"2026-04-19T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/star-trails-a-weekly-astronomy-podcast-6777620/from-gears-to-code-computing-the-cosmos","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/star-trails-a-weekly-astronomy-podcast-6777620","url":"https://rss.com/podcasts/star-trails/2745697","audio_url":"https://content.rss.com/episodes/250148/2745697/star-trails/2026_04_18_16_41_38_727b1c8c-8382-4b6a-b277-ca1ae0185f0d.mp3","summary":"In this episode, we explore the role of computers in astronomy. From the ancient Antikythera Mechanism and the human “computers” of the Harvard College Observatory, to the rise of electronic machines, supercomputers like the Cray-2, and modern programming languages like Fortran and Python, we trace the evolution of how we’ve learned to model and understand the universe. Along the way, we dive into concepts like data reduction, radio interferometry, distributed computing with SETI@home, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in making new discoveries. We also take a hands-on detour, compiling a simple N-body simulation in Fortran and visualizing the results with Python—bringing a tiny gravitational universe to life. Later in the show, we step outside for this week’s night sky, featuring a delicate crescent Moon with Earthshine, the Lyrid meteor shower, a beautiful pairing of Venus and the Moon, and a selection of deep sky targets for patient observers. Links mentioned: My N-Body Fortran simulation Using AI to identify objects from Hubble data Connect with us on Bluesky @ startrails.bsky.social or YouTube @TheStarTrailsPodcast . If you’re enjoying the show, consider sharing it with a friend! Want to help? Buy us a coffee ! Also, check out music made for Star Trails on our Bandcamp page! Podcasting is better with RSS.com ! If you’re planning to start your own podcast, use our RSS.com affiliate link for a discount, and to help support Star Trails.","meta_description":"In this episode, we explore the role of computers in astronomy. From the ancient Antikythera Mechanism and the human “computers” of the Harvard College Ob…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1342,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/star-trails-a-weekly-astronomy-podcast-6777620/episodes/from-gears-to-code-computing-the-cosmos/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/star-trails-a-weekly-astronomy-podcast-6777620/from-gears-to-code-computing-the-cosmos.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}