Category: Special

To illustrate the epic saga of the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse, in this podcast extra, we revisit all our previous discussions of the red supergiant – collated just for you in one handy dandy place!

We cover all the previous major studies of the Great Dimming event from the past year and a half, to let you relive the glorious adventure that is scientific investigation!

Tune in to see how this amazing story has evolved and remind yourself of the previous theories; from coincidental pulsation cycles, to surface temperature drops, and, of course, cosmic dust (as predicted by the Dust Queen herself).

We finish with a brief summary of the newest research published in Nature, using data from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT).

**Also download Episode 109 Part1 on 1st July 2021 to hear our full discussion of the seemingly final instalment of this incredible adventure.**

This week we saw the first ever powered flight on another planet. So this is a podcast extra episode to mark this remarkable achievement, explain what happened and why this is such a paradigm shift for future space exploration.

Download the episode!

As the European Space Agency gears up to opening its next recruitment campaign from 31 March to 28 May 2021, we take you through:

• The entry requirements
• The selection process
• The missions successful candidates are expected to fly
• The first astronaut recruitment trawl for candidates with physical disabilities

If you want to take a look and see if being an astronaut suits you, go to www.esa.int/YourWayToSpace. 

If you want to apply, applications should be submitted to the ESA Careers website, from 31 March, at https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA

Download the episode!

As the exciting news of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus turns into a point of contention in the astronomy world, we caught up with the study’s lead scientist Professor Jane Greaves for the inside track. In this interview we discuss:

• Getting time on a range of professional telescopes time for a risky hypothesis
• How life could survive in the extreme environment of Venus’ highly acidic atmosphere
• Floating graphite balloons in Venus’ atmosphere
• Scientific challenges to this discovery being helpful rather than unwanted
• Blinding NASA pilots in the name of science

Download the episode!

At your suggestion we did something we should have done years ago and reached out to @universetoday and @AstronomyCast’s Fraser Cain (@fcain) to wax and yarn about all things space and astronomy. We think you’ll enjoy!

Come join your favourite martians Ralph and Paul and their pet earthling Jeni record episode 95 of the Awesome Astronomy Podcast.

The stream takes place on 27th April and starts at:

• PST Midday
• EST 3pm
• UK 8pm
• Central Europe 9pm

This show is a response to the many requests we get to do an episode dedicated to answering listeners’ space & astronomy questions. Producer John thought lockdown would be the perfect time to do it, when we can try and help ease the stress, boredom and isolation.

The Guests: We invited some of our friends from the astronomy world to answer your questions too:

• University of Oxford Professor of Astronomy, Creator of the Zooniverse and BBC’s The Sky at Night Presenter, Chris Lintott. We asked him:
  • Are there ways for an amateur astrophotographer to get involved in contributing to actual science? From David Schlaudt
  • Square Kilometre Array or JWST. Which is going to generate the most exciting science? And if each one could answer just 1 question about the Universe, what would you like it to be?  From Mark De Vrij

• Director of Public Engagement for Cardiff University’s Gravity Exploration Institute, Dr Chris North. We asked him:
  • Why are astronomers so sure that Oumuamua and Borisov are from outside the Solar System? From Derry North (Chris’ Dad!)
  • Square Kilometre Array or JWST. Which is going to generate the most exciting science? And if each one could answer just 1 question about the Universe, what would you like it to be?  From Mark De Vrij

• Senior Astronomer and Institute Fellow at the SETI Institute, Seth Shostak. We asked him:
  • What’s currently big in the world of extraterrestrial hunting?
  • What happens when we discover possibly habitable planets? From @WrathfulTumbles
  • Square Kilometre Array or JWST. Which is going to generate the most exciting science? And if each one could answer just 1 question about the Universe, what would you like it to be?  From Mark De Vri

• US Spaceflight researcher and chronicler, Gavin Price. We asked for:
  • An overview of the Apollo 13 mission that was limping back to Earth 50 years ago today
  • The key Apollo 13 decisions and preparations that were underway at this point – a day before splashdown
  • A discussion about, and nod to the BBC World Service podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon. From Peter Ellinger

 Other listener inspired topics discussed by the podcast crew:

• What astronomy equipment do we use?
• Are the current clear skies a product of fewer airplanes and lower pollution?
• What would happen if a small stellar-mass black hole collided with a much more massive star? Could the star ever ‘win’? From Glenn Diekmann in California
• You talk about the ELT in April part 1. But how on God’s green Earth do you keep a mirror like that clean? From @SeamasterGMT
• A discussion on the ‘Ashen light of Venus’ inspired by @Blixbuller

This is the history of flight told from the perspective of the amateurs and hobbyists who allowed humankind to slip the surly bonds of Earth and set out towards the stars.

To tell this story Ralph journeyed to the Cradle of Aviation museum in Garden City, New York, to get a tour of the early flight and exhibits from the museum’s curator and speak with an engineer who worked on the lunar modules before they flew.

Our thanks in making this episode goes to the wonderful people at https://www.cradleofaviation.org/.

A pantomime look back at the biggest and most exciting news and events from 2019; a look forward to the best astronomy and space exploration events of 2020; the science of Santa’s deliveries and the traditional outtakes.