Author: Damien Phillips

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The Discussion: Enjoying views of Comet Lovejoy, engaging in astronomy outreach at schools, looking forward to the Spring AstroCamp in the Welsh Brecon Beacons dark sky reserve and catching up with the Project Helium Tears high altitude balloon team.

The Competition

Thanks to the Project Helium Tears team, we’re offering you the opportunity to see your name in space! Just tweet or email us and we’ll pick a winner (or winners) to have their name on the side of the spacecraft and have it photographed with the curvature of the Earth and the blackness of space in the background! Use the hashtag #TakeMeToSpace

The News: A full-to-bursting round up of the news over the last month, starting with the phoenix-like Kepler Space Telescope and the latest ‘Earth-like’ exoplanet and the possibility of life on Mars getting more likely following Curiosity’s detection of methane on the Red Planet. Next up is NASA’s options for an asteroid redirect mission, SpaceX’s attempt to land spent rocket stages and we finish with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter finding a Beagle on Mars.

The 5 Minute Concept: This month Paul puts a few myths to rest as he explores the facts about the asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter.

The Interview: Ralph catches up with the European Space Agency’s Project Scientist for the Rosetta mission, Dr Matt Taylor, to get the latest on Rosetta and Philae results and find out what we can expect next from these intrepid comet explorers

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 Ralph & Paul answer:

• How many active satellites are there in orbit? Elizabeth Chamberlain in Worcester via email.
• What’s the difference between a comet, asteroid and a meteor? Christine L in Derbyshire via Twitter (@ChrispyDoDa) .

The Discussion: Christmas in Cydonia and teaching science to children through astronomy education.

The News: Kicking off 2015 we round off the events that concluded 2014: the successful test flight of NASA’s Orion capsule; NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory pieces together the clues that tell us how Mount Sharp (the mountain Mars Curiosity is exploring) was formed; and science findings from ESA’s Rosetta and Philae spacecraft that suggest water was not delivered to Earth by comets like 67P Churyumov Gerasimenko.

The 5 Minute Concept: This month Paul delves into the fundamental nature of our universe. We take a look at the Cosmological Principle, which tells us that the universe and the forces within it are the same wherever we look, and explore huge structures that put strain on this accepted model of cosmology.

The Interview: Ralph & Paul speak with the creators of the ‘Essex Space Agency’, Matt Kingsnorth and Phil St Pier who are building a high altitude balloon with cameras to photograph the Earth’s curved horizon from the edge of space in their Helium Tears project.

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 Ralph & Paul answer:

• Are there Van Allen Belts & Aurora on other planets? Any photos from satellites orbiting other planets in our solar system? Mariecor Agravante in San Diego via twitter.
• Why was the moon so large the other night?Ian Cheale in Cambridgeshire via the Facebook Group.

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The Discussion: The historical landing of the Philae probe on Comet 67P, lunar imaging and astronomy outreach in the UK.

The News: In the news we relive the events around the comet landing and the latest science findings from Churyumov Gerasimenko, the upcoming first test flight of America’s new manned space capsule Orion and the tragic accident aboard Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two, resulting in the death of one of the crewmembers

The 5 Minute Concept: Fresh on the heels of the European Space Agency’s latest successful mission, Paul turns his attentions this months to the beacon of knowledge, space exploration and engineering that rose from the ashes of Europe’s darkest days: ESA.

The Interview: Ralph speaks with NASA’s Orion Project Manager, Paul Marshall, about the upcoming test flight and the future of manned American space exploration.

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 Ralph & Paul answer:

• How far away is Voyager from the Oort Cloud and how many years will it be before it gets there? Lee Garner via Twitter.
• I’m bored of reading sniffy comments about the cost of Rosetta. Can u do a piece next podcast about the benefits vs low budget?Alex Speed via Twitter.

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The Discussion: Enjoying light pollution-free skies in the Ionian Sea and soaking up the atmosphere at the North West Astronomy Festival.

The News: In the news we have more findings about the interior and evolution of our moon from the GRAIL and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions; Russian and Chinese lunar ambitions ratchet up a notch; the ExoMars mission narrows down its possible 2018 landing sites; sampling the atmospheres of Neptune-sized exoplanets; Comet Siding Spring brushes past Mars; Lockheed Martin claim to have made a breakthrough in fusion reactors; more doubt on the gravitational waves detection by the BICEP2 team and dark matter particles streaming from the sun.

The 5 Minute Concept: In a solar maximum year when we have tons of solar activity that we can enjoy in the form of visible details on the sun and auroral activity that’s even reached as far south as central latitudes recently, this month Paul explains sunspots.

The Interview: Live interviews recorded from the North West Astronomy Festival from Jodrell Bank’s Professor Philippa Browning, Astrophotographer of the Year 2011’s Damian Peach, BBC Sky at Night presenter Professor Chris Lintott, writer and comedian Helen Keen and the host of the NWAF Andrew Davies.

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 Ralph & Paul answer:

• I know the moon doesn’t spin and that we cannot see the rear of it from Earth, but I wondered if we can ever see a little more of the right or left side (like at different times of the day or year or location on earth)? Ollie Broad from Thailand via Twitter.
• In your opinions should we send manned mission back to the moon or should we head straight to Mars? Lee Garner from the UK via Twitter .