We chat to Dr Kathy Thornton, nuclear physicist turned NASA astronaut who went on to fly on four Space Shuttle missions. Dr Thornton flew for over 40 days and completed over 21 hours of EVA, including the famous operation to fix the blurry Hubble Space Telescope. We talk about her life as an astronaut, the Hubble fix and that fateful day in mission-control on Columbia’s last re-entry.
#132 – June 2023 Awesome Astronomy
This month Jeni and Paul talk about the recent supernova in galaxy M101; volcanic exoplanets; the growing observational evidence putting the current Big Bang theory under strain and the history of water on both Earth and Mars.
There is discussions on alien contact; exoplanet detection and how long it would take to accelerate to the speed of light.
Paul does a summer reading book review with three space books to keep you entertained on the beach this summer.
Jeni has a look at the Juice mission, Axiom 2, future space station plans and a round up of launches.
This months skyguide includes discussion noctilucent clouds and deep sky in the centre of our galaxy.
Skylab 50 – Interview with Astronaut Jack Lousma
To celebrate the Skylab 50th anniversary here is one our favourite astronaut chats from 2012 where we caught up with Skylab 3 and STS-3 astronaut, Jack Lousma. Jack was also capcom during Apollo 13 and he tells us about taking that ominous ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem’ call and how they solved each life-threatening issue in sequence to get the astronauts back alive. He talks about missing out on flying Apollo 20 to the moon, being a crew member on the Skylab space station and taking one of the first space shuttles out for a test drive.
#131 – May 2023 Awesome Astronomy
This month Paul and Jeni in astronomy news talk about new data on the M87 blackhole, the architecture of planetary systems, the hottest stars, an impact crater in France and how Mars might not have been oxygen rich.
In exploration news there is the latest on JUICE and they welcome an old friend back to the show to talk about Starship.
There is a review of the recent AstroCamp where the team witnessed one of the biggest geomagnetic storms of recent times and saw one of the most impressive Auroral displays while standing on a Welsh mountain.
Interview with Joshua Western CEO of Space Forge
Jeni visits Space Forge for an update on their mission to build reusable satellites to manufacture materials that that are impossible on the ground.
She talks to CEO Joshua Western about that fateful launch from Cornwall on Virgin’s Cosmic Girl, how they are getting ready for their next test aboard a Falcon 9, their re-entry tech nicknamed ‘Mary Poppins in Space’ and the company’s future plans to scale up the manufacturing process from grams to tons!
#130 – April 2023 Awesome Astronomy
In this episode Jeni and Paul talk about exoplanet atmospheres, the latest thinking on solar system visitor Oumuamua, Vigin Orbits woes, Relativity’s 3D success, and the oldest orbiting satellite.
There is the sky guide for April, a discussion about what new telescope Jeni should buy and listener emails as well as Paul’s miserable weather and Jeni’s gala dinner talk for International Women’s Day.
Interview with Solar Astronomer Professor Robert Walsh
Paul takes time out from outreach at the Festival of Tomorrow at the Swindon STEAM museum to chat with Professor Robert Walsh of the University of Central Lancashire, who with artist Alex Rinsler has created a giant representation of the Sun as an outreach and art project that uses the data of the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
They talk about solar science, the coronal heating problem, sounding rockets, space missions professor Walsh has been involved with, space weather and why he has his own Sun.
Podcast Extra: The Dimming of Betelgeuse!
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.**
#108 – June 2021 Part 1
The Discussion:
- Buying and selling astronomy kit
- A possible resolution to the Wiltshire Audio Anomaly
The News: Rounding up the astronomy news in February, we have:
- Heavy metal vapours detected around comets
- A weird supernova
- Seafloor volcanoes on Europa
The Sky Guide: This month we’re taking a look at the constellation of Ophiuchus with a guide to its history, how to find it, a couple of deep sky objects and a round-up of the solar system views on offer in June.
Q&A: What’s the difference between a nova and a supernova? From our good friend Steven Age in Derby.
#107 – May 2021 Part 2
The Discussion:
- Farewell to Michael Collins
- Jeni back on the radio, other podcasts and TV – cc/crhxtz
- Listeners’ emails
The News:
- Blue Origin prepares to take space tourists
- The launch of China’s new Space Station & falling space debris
- Can you help the Royal Astronomical Society find the UK’s moon trees? cc/rrhxtz
- SpaceX reaches a production/economic milestone with a 10th reuse of a Falcon 9 booster
The big news story: NASA awards and then pauses the contract to develop the next lunar lander.
Moons of the Solar System: Our show segment exploring the discovery, exploration and our knowledge of the solar system’s moons. And we move onto Saturn’s enigmatic satellites, Titan and Enceladus.
Q&A: ‘What is the future for Hubble once the JWST launches and could there be new servicing missions with the development of the SpaceX Starship‘ From our good friend Mark de Vrij in the UK.