In this episode, Cormac, Lucia and Cole lift the lid on the lifecycle of space missions by peering into a preponderance of proposals. If you’ve ever wondered how your favourite telescope, rover or probe made it into space, then wonder no more. Lucia brings us a novel way to track potentially hazardous space junk using 5G, while Cole teases us with some magnetic results from the LISA Pathfinder mission. We also discuss our favourite proposed space missions, and debate the right balance between risk and reward.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2024/08/13/5g-signals-to-track-space-trash/

https://astrobites.org/2024/12/21/template-post-15-2/

Space Sound:

https://www.nasa.gov/audio-and-ringtones/

Episode 101: Weather Woes

In this episode, we take a dive into weather phenomena in space. Shashank, Cormac and Lucia discuss what the terms hot and cold mean in space and the temperature ranges we tend to see outside the Solar System and the galaxy. Then, Cormac tells us about the climate on Venus, and Lucia delves into cold fronts between galaxies. Finally, we round off with some hot takes about the most underrated parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in astrophysics!

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2024/12/24/its-getting-hot-in-here-so-take-off-all-your-h2o/

https://astrobites.org/2024/11/11/cold-front-outside/

Space sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYXAdXf5gWU

Astrobites turns 100! For our ten squared-th episode we take a tour of all of the extremes of astrophysics: the heaviest and the lightest, the fastest and the slowest, the brightest and dimmest. In doing so, Shashank covers an astrobite on itty bitty particles that pack a big punch, Lucia talks about medium-ish galaxies and their black hole hearts, and Cormac panics about the danger of violent kilonovae. To help us celebrate, we meet up with some old friends to discuss dark matter, exoplanets, and how ridiculously long a Ph.D. takes. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2024/06/06/agns-quenching-dwarf-galaxies/

https://astrobites.org/2013/06/04/cosmic-rays-from-the-telescope-array/

https://astrobites.org/2023/11/20/kilonova-safety/

https://astrobites.org/2018/08/16/do_the_milky_ways_stellar_streams_have_that_fuzzy_dark_matter_feeling/

https://astrobites.org/2022/11/28/evaporating-exoplanet/

Space sound:

http://soundcloud.com/alexhp-1/supernova-sonata

MIT study on children thinking logarithmically:

https://news.mit.edu/2012/thinking-logarithmically-1005#:~:text=Cognitive%20scientists%20theorize%20that%20that's,is%2031%2C%20or%203.

Danger - explosive! This week’s episode is all about supernovae. These star-ripping, neutrino spewing explosions are important to various fields of astrophysics. Cormac, Cole, and Lucia discuss just when stars actually go supernova. And also, whether we can use gravitational waves to tell which compact object is left behind. Everybody gets to share their favourite supernova science and (as we all love to do) to complain about how much astronomers love old, inconsistent nomenclature. Enjoy!  

Space Sound: https://youtu.be/S-saaAyaW0c

In this episode, Cormac, Shashank and Cole dig deep into Galactic Archaeology as we look into the past of our Milky Way. Cole brings us a catastrophic computational collision, while Shashank gives us the low-down on low-metallicity, and we see just how the (Gaia) sausage gets made. We also discuss the rights, wrongs and funnies of Astronomers trying to name things, and the diverse design philosophies behind some of our favourite observational facilities.

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2023/07/27/colossal_collisions_and_the_milky_way/

https://astrobites.org/2024/08/03/pigs-sagittarius/

Space sound:

https://www.aip.de/en/news/exploring-the-history-of-the-early-milky-way-with-sound/

DOOFAS Acronyms website:

https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~gpetitpas/Links/Astroacro.html

In this episode, Shashank, Cole and Lucia bend time in their debut podcast together as we talk about the various ways astronomy is like time travel. Lucia gives us a peek into the past with the storied supernova Cas A, while Cole brings us on a nostalgic quest into gravitational wave memory. We hope you enjoy time traveling with us!

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2024/08/26/cas_a_jwst/

https://astrobites.org/2024/08/28/gwmem/

Space sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9vGpkQurfc

JWST Cas A images:

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/149/01HGGZ4TPD8XFNPCBTZ2QYM0ZM

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2023/121/01GWQBBY77MHGFV3M3N63KDCEJ

This episode marks Kiersten’s last astro[sound]bites episode (and also side note – we’re posting this on her birthday!). To recognize Kiersten for her incredible time as a co-host, we take a journey through her academic paper trail by discussing her papers on how magma and metallicities affect how we think about exoplanetary formation and observations. Then we take a deep dive into Kiersten’s time as a co-host and graduate student including her stance on “publish or perish” and what she’s most excited about starting her NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowship this fall.

Kiersten’s Papers: 

1. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2307.13726

In this week's episode, we take you on a two-part journey to Europe! First, Lucia and Cormac guide you through the differences of graduate programs in Europe and the US. Then, we jump into a series of mini-interviews with fellow PhD students about their research. We journey through a wide range of topics, including black holes big and smalls, the powerful winds of massive stars, and much more. If you would like to learn more about any of these topics, check out the links below! The mini-interviews were conducted as part of the IMPRS-Astro Hackathon, an unconference organised by Cormac and a few colleges, which brought together students from Heidelberg and Munich.

IMPRS-Astro Hackathon

Statistics on physics students in Germany (unfortunately in German)

Mini-Interviews

The circumgalactic medium - Joanne's personal website

Past episodes relating to topics that came up in the mini-interviews

Episode 93: Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Primordial Black Hole Machiney

Episode 72: A Trip to the Optometrist

Episode 71: Galaxies Say Halo

Episode 70: Astronomy 10 Years into the Future Part II

Episode 49: A Fine Dining Experience

Episode 3: 6 Unbelievable Facts about Black Holes

Credit for the jingle (transition to the mini-interviews): SergeQuadrado on freesound.org

Was the floor in your childhood home ever lava? If so, you may have been training to visit these spicy magma-filled exoplanets! In this episode, we're turning up the heat and investigating what makes magma/lava so important for potential extraterrestrial life. Sabrina takes us to the poster child of strange lava worlds and finally gives exoplanteers an answer to the long debate of whether it has an atmosphere or if its star blew it away. Then, Cormac tells us all about how water can play well with magma. Kiersten is convinced that these lava worlds might just be the perfect place for a hot summer vacation.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2024/06/19/template-post-17/

https://astrobites.org/2023/09/21/magma-oceans-and-surface-water/

Kiersten’s paper: 

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/acea85/pdf

Space sound:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3clDSXN26N9lQtCwJgMb2tR/sonification

In this week’s episode, we take a look at the hottest trend in dark matter candidates - Primordial Black Holes. They’re like black holes, only smaller (in some cases)! Join us as we see what all the fuss is about. Kiersten shares a story of a black hole playing video games inside a star and glitching out of the mainframe, while Shashank makes his a[s]b debut with an explosive transient conundrum that *might* explain the mystery of dark matter once and for all. We round off with a discussion about our favourite pet dark matter theories and the merits of direct experimental searches.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2024/05/31/are-pbhs-detonating-white-dwarfs/

Astrobite Paper with Pretty Orbits: 

Space Sound: