AstrotalkUK

AstrotalkUK

By Gurbir SinghNatural Sciences
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AstrotalkUK episodes

  • Episode 109: The Antikythera Mechanism with Prof Xenophon Moussas
    I first came across the Antikythera Mechanism just over a decade ago. It is still the most incredible artefact from history. It is as out of place in our time as William Shakespeare using an Iphone or Vasco De Gama travelling in a speedboat.
    The Antikythera Mechanism is a complex mechanical (clockwork) device that can determine the position of the planets and phases of the Moon and predict when solar and lunar eclipses will occur. Constructed about two thousand years ago, it was discovered in 1901.
    46 min
  • Episode 108: NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission
    The Clarke Exobelt is the name that Dr Hector Socas-Navarro has given to perhaps the largest structure humans have built. A collection of satellites in earth orbit (geosynchronous) 36,000 km radius. All circling the earth at the same speed in the same direction. The density of this orbit has been increasing since the 1960s but is not yet sufficiently dense for detection from interstellar distances. But in 200 years it may be. In the meantime, this concept works the other way around too. SETI researchers can search for these megastructures or Tecno Signatures to look for extraterrestrial intelligence
    26 min
  • Episode 107: SETI’s new tool – Technosignatures
    The Clarke Exobelt is the name that Dr Hector Socas-Navarro has given to perhaps the largest structure humans have built. A collection of satellites in earth orbit (geosynchronous) 36,000 km radius. All circling the earth at the same speed in the same direction. The density of this orbit has been increasing since the 1960s but is not yet sufficiently dense for detection from interstellar distances. But in 200 years it may be. In the meantime, this concept works the other way around too. SETI researchers can search for these megastructures or Tecno Signatures to look for extraterrestrial intelligence
    41 min
  • Episode 106: ESA’s new science missions
    European Space Agency's Dr Paul McNamara was studying low-frequency gravitational waves just before they were discovered in 2015. Now he is the astronomy and astrophysics coordinator for the European Space Agency. In this interview, recorded in Athens during Cospar2022, he speaks about some of the exciting science missions that ESA will be launching later this decade.
    43 min
  • Episode 105: Return to Titan – Dragonfly
    Dr Ralph Lorenz speaks about Dragonfly, a return mission to land on Titan. This mission, for which he is the mission architect, is like no other. It is not really a lander or rover but a quadcopter that will sample different regions near the landing site during its 3.3-year lifetime.
    45 min
  • Episode 102 – Martian Geology with Prof Sanjeev Gupta
    In 1972, Harrison Schmitt became the first (and so far only), scientist to walk on the surface of the Moon. Since then many scientists have brought their scientific insights to understanding to the solar system and their moons. geologist @sanjeevgupta45 from @imperialcollege talks about Mars
    31 min

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Not for Profit podcast – Astronomy, Deep Space Exploration and International Collaboration