What’s the opposite of high-energy astrophysics? In today’s episode, we recognize the unsung heroes of astronomy: the low-energy, sleepy objects that keep on chugging in spite of it all. Will describes recent findings that the Sun is a bit sleepier than its peers, Alex Illustr(is/ates) how galaxy cluster fly-bys can make an ultra-diffuse galaxy a little more chill, and Malena delivers an uncharacteristically non-thematic space sound. To top it off, we learn about the slowest song ever written (hold your applause until the end).

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2021/10/04/dead-udgs/

https://astrobites.org/2022/01/29/is-the-sun-a-lazy-star/

Space Sound: 

https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann19045/

In this episode, the gang struggles to come up with a title (and Will manages to still get it wrong in the outro). More importantly, we are joined by PhD student Sophia Lilleengen, who tells us about her research into stellar streams and dark matter in the Milky Way, as well as her career in astronomy so far. Malena presents research about a quirky stellar stream and wonders if it could contain the answers to everything, all of it.

Sophia Lilleengen’s website: sophialilleengen.me

Twitter: twitter.com/sophililleengen

Space sound: 

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

How are your sunglasses like the stars, planets, and galaxies that comprise our universe? Not only do they look cool – they’re also no stranger to polarization! In today’s episode, Will describes a mysterious transient lurking within our own galaxy, while Malena shares how baby magnetic fields might have polarized the baby Universe. Alex guides us through a trashy symphony of delightful debris, showing that even space junk can be eerily beautiful.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2021/10/18

astrobites.org/2021/10/05

Space Sound: http://www.projectadrift.co.uk/#jumplisten

Pop the champagne and blow out the candles, it’s our fiftieth episode!! To celebrate, we’ve prepared a list of fifty different paths that you can take with a degree in physics or astronomy. What’s the difference between soft money and hard money? What does Sir David Attenborough think about the moon? How do you really pronounce the word “potpourri”? Listen to this episode to have two of these questions answered.

Career Resources: 

https://beyondprof.com/

https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

https://versatilephd.com/options-4-success/

https://theprofessorisin.com

https://astrobites.org/2018/08/17/what

https://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/Possible+Career+Paths

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/31/1076978534/the-trouble-with-passion-when-it-comes-to-your-career

Space Sound(s):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tvA3Ezqjl8

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5Xi9mIvDg&t=394s

For the first time ever, astro[sound]bites is holding a hiring call. We’re looking to add a new co-host to the show! Why is that? Listen to this bite-sized episode to find out, and head over to astrosoundbites.com to learn more about the application process and what our team is looking for. Applications are due March 5th, 2022. We’re delighted to be adding a new voice to the team – and it might just be yours!

Link to application: astrosoundbites.com/astrosoundbites-is-hiring2022

Alex and Malena sit down for a gourmet meal and Will, with curved mustache and slicked hair, pours the wine. Alex enjoys his star cluster soup as he tells us about the state-of-the-art in star formation simulations. The gang then enjoys a space sound entremet (served chilled) before moving onto a main course of freshly seared planet. Malena explains how we might tell if a sun-like star has dined on a planet, and shockingly enough, we learn that these stars like to eat. Malena also tells us all about the kind of puns she’d like to make…but she doesn’t actually make them. 

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2022/01/17/recipe-for-star-cluster-soup/

https://astrobites.org/2021/09/28/yum-planets/

Space Sound: (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/Univ of Iowa) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_09R6jIo74U&ab_channel=JPLraw

We’re kicking off the new year by spinning a record from a few months back, about all the ways that rotation teaches us about the universe. Malena describes a few energetic stars lurking around the Main Sequence, and Will keeps his opinions about MOND to himself. Alex brings us home with an orchestral sonification to rival Stravinsky’s best. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2020/05/20/blue-lurkers-and-blue-stragglers-rapidly-rotating-stars-and-their-fountain-of-youth/ 

https://astrobites.org/2021/03/25/galaxies-in-more-crowded-environments-rotate-slower-implications-for-gravity/

Space Sound: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtymxN67eEE&t=24s

In today’s episode, we learn all about the clues that Kevin has benevolently placed within the Universe to teach us about the graceful and multifaceted field of galaxy evolution. Alex describes how much the galaxies of today can learn from their wise, high-redshift ancestors through Lyman-alpha emission, while Will segues into the mysterious properties of one of the most nearby aged galaxies. Malena shares a snazzy sonification of a hidden neighbor, as well as her school bus seating habits.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2021/01/22

astrobites.org/2021/10/13

Space sound: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2021/sonify4/ 

(Chandra sonification of  M87)

Ever misplace a brown dwarf? If re-tracing your astrophysical steps doesn’t help, it’s probably where you least expect to find it. In this episode, Alex and Malena bring us some brown dwarfs discovered in truly unusual locations. Alex sees the glass half full when he tells us how brown dwarfs could explain long secondary periods in red giants, solving a longstanding mystery. Malena guides us to a brown dwarf oasis in the phase space desert and manages to still talk about planets.

(Listen to the outro to hear Alex’s impersonation of an asteroid.)

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/05/13/red-giants-and-brown-dwarfs-an-unusual-friendship/

https://astrobites.org/2021/04/05/template-post-4/

Space sound: https://youtu.be/o0UOguMeaAE

(Ruben Garcia-Benito and CosMonic project)

CosMonic: http://rgb.iaa.es/cosmonic/#1559689666254-6a21da11-a004

Astronomy Beyond the Common Senses: https://accefyn.com/microsites/nodos/astroco/ii-workshop-on-astronomy-beyond-the-common-senses-for-accessibility-and-inclusion/

It’s time to talk radio on the radio! In this episode, we explore some of the research beaming out of the world's largest fully steerable radio dish -- the Green Bank Telescope (GBT)! We hear from Brenne Gregory, a Scientific Data Analyst at GBT, about her trek from the rolling hills of Scotland to the heart of the Allegheny Mountains. Will keeps his finger on the pulse of a pair of neutron stars, and Alex listens for a lawn mower at the heart of the Crab Nebula.

Astrobite: 

https://astrobites.org/2021/08/21/double-neutron-star-trouble/

Space Sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5BQV3WX80E

Green Bank REU and Internship page:

http://greenbankobservatory.org/about/careers/