Episode 797: Fusion Rockets, Ditching Heat Shields, Looking Beyond the Edge of the Universe | Q&A 176

In this week's live Questions and Answers show, I explain how a more powerful rocket could reduce the need of a heat shield, if we could detect objects beyond the edge of the observable Universe through their gravity, and what are the largest objects (or spacecraft) that could hang out at a Lagrange Point? 00:00 Start 00:13 Why do we even need heat shields? 03:12 Could we detect objects beyond the observable Universe through their gravity? 05:42 Can massive objects last at Lagrange Points? 08:03 Will fusion drives enable interstellar travel? 11:35 Why does gas need to be cold to form stars? 13:11 Why do we assume dark energy is accelerating the expansion of the Universe? 17:08 Can Webb look in all directions? 19:01 Could we detect the Earth from 100 light-years away? What about our satellites? 22:24 Is everything still trapped inside the Big Bang? 24:34 How can people support Universe Today? 27:06 Are black holes really dark stars? 28:10 Would geothermal work on Mars? 30:53 How can Webb orbit L2 if nothing's there? 34:24 Can smaller black holes eat bigger black holes? 35:25 When will we stop wanting to colonize Mars? 36:48 Can dark matter be explained by black holes? Want to be part of the questions show? Ask a short question on any video on my channel. I gather a bunch up each week and answer them here. 🚀 OUR WEBSITE: ════════════════════════════════════ https://www.universetoday.com/ 🚀 PODCAST LINKS: ════════════════════════════════════ RSS: https://universetoday.com/audio iTunes: https://universetoday.com/itunes Spotify: https://universetoday.com/spotify 🚀 EMAIL NEWSLETTER: ════════════════════════════════════ Read by 50,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads. Subscribe Free: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🚀 OTHER PODCASTS: ════════════════════════════════════ Weekly Space Hangout: Weekly news roundup with Fraser, special guests, and other space journalists. RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/feed/wshaudio/ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/weekly-space-hangout-audio/id836926769 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: Award-winning, long-running deep dive into space and astronomy with Fraser and Dr. Pamela Gay. RSS: https://astronomycast.libsyn.com/rss/ iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/astronomy-cast/id191636169?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg 🚀 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY: ════════════════════════════════════ Patreon: https://patreon.com/universetoday 🚀 OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA: ════════════════════════════════════ Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcain Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday Facebook: https://facebook.com/universetoday Instagram: https://instagram.com/universetoday Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain 🚀 CONTACT FRASER: ════════════════════════════════════ Email: frasercain@gmail.com 🚀 LICENSE: ════════════════════════════════════ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.