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Science & Medicine

IRrelevant Astronomy

NASA / SSC-IPAC

It's the series Aint-It-Cool-News calls ''the most (intentionally) hilarious series of educational films you'll find...the pieces carry a Muppets-esque charm.'' Alan Dyer at Discovery.com sa...

Episodes

20 of 28 episodes

Stampy, the Science-Loving Postage Stamp

Stampy helps a student learn about the engineering behind NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Featuring Richard Horvitz, Robert Picardo, and Dan...

Dec 16, 2015

NOTGLaDOS: Fusion vs. Fission

When a science-mad A.I. system is installed at NASA, two hapless computer technicians learn the process behind nuclear fusion in the Sun, an...

Feb 12, 2014

Ask an Astronomy Brain Parasite: Why are astronauts weightless in space?

Deep inside an astronomer's head, a parasite (voiced by Alan Tudyk) taps into his brain to learn about...science! Specifically, about why as...

Jul 16, 2013

Robot Astronomy Talk Show: The Mass of Asteroids (Cameron Diaz, Ed Wasser)

Cameron Diaz teaches Robot IR-2 (Ed Wasser) how astronomers can measure the mass of asteroids from tremendous distances.

Feb 26, 2013

Big Bang: The Musical

Did you know 13.7 billion year old radiation from the Big Bang can be seen on any analogue TV set? In this mini-musical, a fictional couple...

Mar 18, 2011

Astronomy Anemone

Veronica Belmont co-hosts a space-themed talk show with Astronomy Anemone, a carnivorous man-eating sea polyp. WARNING: contains scenes of c...

Feb 16, 2011

Robot Astronomy Talk Show: Destroyer of Worlds (Ed Wasser, Wil Wheaton)

Robot IR-2 (Ed Wasser) meets The Physician (Wil Wheaton), an intergalactic buttinsky in a small blue box spaceship. Together, they work to e...

Nov 28, 2010

Behind the Scenes: Dead Stars (Sean Astin, Sandeep Parikh)

Actor Sean Astin is hired by a bullying educational film Director and her Flunky sidekick to explain about the life and death of stars. But...

Aug 10, 2010

Spaceship Spitzer: Bots of Both Worlds (Amy Okuda, Ed Wasser, Wil Wheaton)

Amy Okuda flies to Saturn to observe a new giant ring around the planet: the largest ring ever discovered in our Solar System, but one that...

May 25, 2010

Spitzer Space Telescope: The Musical

A singing NASA supervisor uses song to explain about NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and how infrared astronomy differs from visible-light t...

Mar 9, 2010

Behind the Scenes: When Galaxies Collide (Felicia Day, Sean Astin)

Felicia Day explains some of the science behind galactic "collisions," including the upcoming collision between the galaxy Andromeda and our...

Oct 26, 2009

Back in Time - Robot Astronomy Talk Show (Linda Hamilton, Dean Stockwell, Ed Wasser)

Linda Hamilton attempts to foil the robots' plans of Universal conquest; meanwhile, Dean Stockwell explains the concept of "looking back in...

Aug 24, 2009

Part Two: The Warm Mission (Sean Astin, Betty White)

In this spoof of old TV action shows, Sean Astin, Osa Wallander, and Betty White search for a way to help the Spitzer Space Telescope after...

Jun 22, 2009

Gravity and the Great Attractor - Robot Astronomy Talk Show (George Takei, Mark Hamill, Ed Wasser))

George Takei, Mark Hamill, and Ed Wasser provide voices as IR-2 and the robot crew take a look at the Great Attractor, a massive hidden obje...

Apr 23, 2009

Twin Brown Dwarfs (Robot Astronomy Talk Show)

While trapped in an interdimensional portal between two brown dwarfs, IR-2 and the robots encounter their evil twins from an alternate unive...

Mar 11, 2009

M51 & Gizmo: Half-Baked Plan

Hoping for his birthday to come around sooner, innocent alien M51 moves the Earth into a closer, faster orbit around the sun, and learns an...

Jan 23, 2009

The Slowlian Web (Spaceship Spitzer)

During a tense face-off with a sinister (but extremely slow-moving) alien race, Dr. Michelle shows IR-1 how scientists can determine what ex...

Nov 25, 2008

Sculpting With Stars (Robot Astronomy Talk Show)

IR-2 opens diplomatic relations with the Earth, as a first step toward ruling over all humans on the planet.

Oct 22, 2008

Psych Out

Does the Helix Nebula look like a human eye? Why do we think we see well-known objects in nebulous images from space? An astronomer and his...

Aug 25, 2008

The Building Blocks of Life (Robot Astronomy Talk Show)

IR-2 and his crew learn about PAHs, which may be the building blocks of all life in the Universe, and decide to put them to good use.

Jul 21, 2008