Awesome Astronomy

The Discussion: Jeni talking exoplanets and aliens at Cardiff Museum and we take a no spoiler look at the Neil Armstrong biopic, First Man. The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: Commercial spaceflight update New Zealand’s Rocket Lab build a new launch site in the US The winners & losers in USAF’s launcher funding competition China’s Long March 5 rocket failure induces delays The death of the Kepler space telescope Russian Soyuz failures risk human access to space Hubble dead? Don’t believe the hype OSIRIS-Rex begins its final manoeuvres to land on an asteroid Main news story: Europe and Japan’s Bepicolumbo mission to Mercury. The Interview: Jeni interviews Bethan James, astronomer & astrophysicist currently working as an ESA/AURA Astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) on the Hubble instrument team. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our

In this podcast extra episode we're talking to Libby Jackson, physicist and engineer, who's the Manager of Human Spaceflight and Microgravity at the UK Space Agency and was a European ISS flight controller and the spokesperson for Tim Peake’s spaceflight. Being weightless The value of space research to everyday life Following your dreams Her new book: A Galaxy of Her Own Forgotten heroines of the world’s space programmes

The Discussion: Jeni’s tells us about her gig at the Cardiff Book Talk and an upcoming talk at Usk Astronomical Society, Paul had a hairy moment giving a talk on the Herschels only to find their descendants in the room and we run through listeners’ emails The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: Low metallicity stars seem to harbour the rocky exoplanets A possible satellite galaxy to Mirach’s Ghost may have been discovered by amateur kit Aliens may not be green but purple A plume-like cloud of water ice over Mars A review of the Galileo data shows no signs of cryovolcanic plumes on Europa The slowest rotating pulsar found Magnetism around Cygnus A supermassive black hole gives us some clues Has the first exomoon been discovered? Sky Guide: Taking a look at the astronomical objects above our heads this month that you can enjoy with a small telescope or binoculars. Paul: Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Neptune & a risky greatest elongation of Mercury on 6th November. And Comet

The Discussion: It’s almost Halloween and Jeni’s getting the knives out. Paul’s been recording astronomy voiceovers for the Discovery Channel, Jeni’s got the Cardiff BookTalk coming up and Ralph’s excited by the return of Doctor Who. The News: Rounding up the space exploration news this month we have: ESA tell us that radiation is too dangerous for a Mars voyage The new Nobel Prizes are announced It might be all over for both Kepler and Hubble The Case of the ISS Leak detective story Israel’s SpaceIL has an upcoming moonshot NASA are about to announce their plans for human space exploration Japan’s Hayabusa 2 impresses us all Black History Month: To honour Black History Month, the crew take a look at the non white, middle-aged males that have pioneered and excelled in making our world what it is today in the fields of astronomy and space science. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding

Download Episode! The Discussion: Paul has snubbed the show to do astronomy on TV so we’re keeping our spirits up with tales of AstroCamp and the inspirational Libby Jackson from the UK Space Agency. Jeni updates us with the progress of her PhD and invites you all along to her Q&A session at Cardiff Book Talk on 22nd October, before Ralph runs through listeners’ emails The News: With 3 minutes to round up the astronomy news stories you might have missed, we overshoot the time constraints by about 70%: Jeni: JAXA and NASA are exploring asteroids Jupiter’s magnetic field gives us yet more surprises Saturn’s hexagonal Jetstream appears to be hovering More ‘research’ trying to get Pluto reclassified… again. Ralph: Hubble & BUFFALO image of gravitationally lensing galaxy cluster An unusual ring of black holes (or neutron stars) in a distant galaxy The galactic wind in the early universe The 3rd Magellanic Cloud. The big news story: TESS finds its first exoplanet, amidst a little astro-controv

Download Episode! The Discussion: Lt Col Dave from Florida gives us his more informed take on Space Force. The News: In the new revamped show format we have 3 minutes to round up the astronomy news stories you might have missed: Jeni: An incredible Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Aristarchus Crater New life in the Kepler spacecraft Ralph: ESA’s Aeolus weather data spacecraft launches NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft enters its science phase China’s Chang’e 4 lander headed for the far side of the moon The big news story: The Parker Solar Probe on its way to ‘touch the sun’ The Debate: In this section the team debate a pressing question or issue in astronomy or space flight and in this inaugural debate, Ralph takes on Jeni to make arguments for what should be the next big human spaceflight destination: Moon or Mars? Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our

In this podcast extra episode, we go a step further than just talking about astronomy and look forward to a long weekend of practical astronomy. This episode discusses the value of star parties and whets your apetite for Awesome Astronomy’s AstroCamp event in the Welsh Brecon Beacons International Dark Sky Reserve. Come share the eyepiece with us, enjoy a talk from the UK Space Agency's Libby Jackson and win some astronomy prizes!

Download Episode! The Discussion: Jeni returns after getting the flu, Paul’s science shows were a wash out at Camp Bestival and Ralph gets a great email about a telescope library service. The News: In the new revamped show format we have 3 minutes to round up the astronomy news stories you might have missed: Jeni: New Gaia data shows us the distance and shape of familiar objects like never before India’s Chandrayaan-1 finds water ice in the moon’s north and south pole craters The Andromeda Galaxy’s dwarf companion was canibalised by a galactic collision Ralph: An ultra-hot 4,000ºC exoplanet An ultra compact dwarf galaxy with a huge supermassive black hole Astronomy favourite Albireo isn’t a binary star after all The big news story: New Horizons spacecraft confirms Voyager data on the Heliosphere The Skyguide: Jeni runs through some top facts about the planet Neptune Paul tells you where to find it and what you can expect to see Ralph runs through the autumn equinox, the constellation

In this podcast extra episode, Jeni teams up with our good friend Dr Chris North from the Pythagoras Trousers podcast to speak to Caltech’s Linde Professor of Physics and Nobel Laureate Barry Barish. In this interview we discuss: The early days of experimental particle physics Building the advances in technologies for today’s experiments and detectors The fear of failure creating resistance to building LIGO Wanting to collect direct detections of signals from the Big Bang The first detection of gravitational waves The pomp, circumstance & minutiae of a Nobel Prize award Post Nobel science influence Advice for people wanting a career in STEM

The Discussion: Jeni cares so little for our listeners that she didn’t even bother to show up this month (except for the interview section) and with no discipline Paul’s defacing valuable space artefacts and the emails to the show take a plunge south. The News: The news section gets a revamp with a quick round up of the space exploration and astronomy news, covering: The United Kingdom’s new spaceports Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission to return asteroid samples New optics on ESO's Very Large Telescope 10 more moons discovered on Jupiter and volcanoes on Io The latest data from ESA’s Planck mission A rare extra solar neutrino discovery The Interview: Jeni talks to Josh Borrow from Durham University’s Institute of Computational Cosmology about their simulations of the universe using supercomputers - and how you can make and control your own universe (yes, for reals!) at galaxymakers.org The Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that h

What to look out, and up, for in August. With no Jeni this month, Ralph & Paul pick their highlights for this month’s skies; starting with the solar system objects on offer to observers and imagers: Mars just past opposition as impressive as last month A round up of the other planets on view The Perseid Meteor Shower peaking on 12/13th August Next up, we take a deep sky pick from our list of favourites for this time of year: Open clusters Messier 11 & Messier 26 in Scutum Globular cluster NGC6712 & planetary nebula IC1295 in Scutum Peculiar galaxy NGC7727 in Aquarius And we finish this sky guide with August’s moon phases.

In this podcast extra episode, there was only one thing playing on all our minds - Space Force. What is it? Why is it? What will it look like? Just like us, I’m sure you’ll be none the wiser after this in-depth look into: President Trump’s plan to create the US Space Force The lesser known Welsh Force The International Space Treaty A few diversions into the future of aircraft technology

The Discussion: Jeni tells us about her more recent astronomy conferences in Eastbourne and Copenhagen. Paul gives us a round up of his astronomy outreach with interesting facts from and a rooftop star party. And Awesome Astronomy gets in deeper than intended with the Alan Bennet/Thora Hird gag that far outstayed its welcome. The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: AMI in the Sky with Diamonds! Farewell Apollo 12 moonwalker, Alan Bean An old mystery about our moon is solved Has the Mars Opportunity rover bitten the dust? The Interview: This month Jeni speaks to Dr Tana Joseph about the MeerKAT telescope and how outreach is impacting science in South Africa. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month we take a look at solar physics: Will the Parker Solar Probe really touch the surface of the sun and what science will it

What to look out, and up, for in July. With no Jen this month (she’s off sciencing), it’s just Paul & Ralph’s highlights for this month’s skies; starting with the solar system objects on offer to observers and imagers: Mars at its most favourable opposition since 2003 Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto A super-long lunar eclipse Next up, we take a deep sky pick from our list of favourites for this time of year. Ralph – Messier 16, The Eagle Nebula Paul - NGC 6822, Barnard’s Irregular And we finish this sky guide with July’s moon phases.

In this podcast extra episode, released during Pride month, we return to this April’s European Week of Astronomy and Space Science where we spoke to Dr Ashley Spindler to find out more about: Galaxy evolution, the evolution of galaxy structures and star formation from the MaNGA project using Sloan Digital Sky Survey data South East Physics Network placement opportunities for post graduate students The challenges and obstacles that still exist for the LGBT community in the workplace and education efforts to make science environments more open and welcoming to all people. Ashley can also be found at @Ashley_Nova_ on Twitter.

The Discussion: Jeni’s talking science conferences while Paul’s doing impressions from his Who’s Who of Yorkshire legends. Ralph runs through this month’s pick of listeners tweets & emails with a focus on exoplanets and a big congrats to listener Dustin Ruoff The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: The earliest stars formed earlier than we thought! NASA’s latest wow-piece is a helicopter on Mars The first interstellar immigrant settles in our solar system The Interview: This month we have two short interviews - something for the adults, something for the kids: Astronomy on Tap and International Astronomical Youth Camp. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month we take a look climate change (don’t groan!): What do you think the general (or astronomy/space) science community's approach to the problem of climate chan

What to look out, and up, for in June. Ralph, Paul & Jen pick their highlights for this month’s skies; starting with the solar system objects on offer to observers and imagers: Asteroid Vesta at opposition Saturn An overview of Venus, Jupiter and Mars Comet 21P - Giacobini–Zinner in Cygnus Next up, we take a deep sky pick from our list of favourites for this time of year. Ralph - The Double Double, Epsilon Lyrae, in Lyra Paul - Globular Clusters available to view in Ophiuchus Jen – Colourful binary star Albireo in Cygnus And we finish this sky guide with June’s moon phases.

This podcast extra is a re-release of our full length interview with the 4th man to walk on the moon aboard the Apollo 12 mission in 1969. Alan Bean was not only a fighter pilot, Navy test pilot, astronaut, moonwalker, space station commander and artist, but he was also a very considerate, genuine and self-effacing gentleman. We are hugely saddened by the loss of such a lovely man but heartened that he passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. In this interview, recorded in October 2015 we discussed: journeying to the moon on a Saturn V rocket your rocket getting struck by lightening the mission's colourful commander (Pete Conrad) what the moon looked and felt like underfoot the science conducted on the surface of the moon the future of human spaceflight and the Martian Olympics Farewell Alan Bean. You leave us with only four humans that have memories of walking on the moon but a rich legacy of technological and scientific accomplishments.

In this podcast extra episode, we take a look back at the extraordinary life and work of Stephen Hawking who died on 14th March 2018, leaving a legacy rich with cosmology insights, humour, altruism, science education and a changed landscape in astronomy.

The Discussion: Jeni, Paul & Ralph survived the wilds of the Brecon Beacon’s AstroCamp festival of astronomy, Jeni gathers a whole heap of astronomy interviews from the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science, and we read out a couple of emails requesting advice on amateur astronomy mounts, berating us for our April Fools’ Twitter gag and asking for more content relevant to the southern hemisphere. The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: A galaxy containing no dark matter NASA launches its new exoplanet hunting satellite An exoplanet spotted using amateur astronomy equipment The Interview: This month Jeni caught up with Dr Jane Greaves & Dr Phil Cigan from Cardiff University to talk about their work finding phosphorus in the Crab Nebula – and why phosphorus is so important to life. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credu