AWESOME ASTRONOMY

The Discussion: New Year resolutions, veganism, a little spoiler-free chat about the latest/last Skywalker movie and the new series of Dr Who, before some listeners' emails.

The News: Rounding up the space exploration news this month we have:

• Christina Koch racks up a flight time record on the ISS
• China's moon rover breaks a lunar endurance record
• Ethiopia becomes the 10th African nation to send a satellite into orbit
• ESA launches their CHEOPS Exoplanet characterising spacecraft
• Space Force is go – and the world joins in
• NASA's new (22nd!) intake and what skills are needed to become an astronaut
• OSIRIS-REx now has a target for return samples on asteroid Bennu

Main news story: Boeing's test of its Starliner space capsule

Q&A: Why does NASA search for signs of life rather than directly looking for life? From Gavin Price in the UK on Twitter (@pilliarscreatio)

The Discussion: As we begin the new decade we struggle to find a consensus on whether it actually is a new decade. We discuss the busy Xmas period and thank any listeners who helped Dartmoor Skies reach their funding target for a new telescope. Then we take a look at a few listeners' emails and tweets.

The News: Rounding up the astronomy news this month we have:

• An old galaxy containing as much dust as one third the amount of its stars
• Mapping the magnetic fields around the Whale Galaxy
• An interstellar comet makes its way back out of the solar system
• A burst of supernovae in the Milky Way's not-to-distant past
• Is Betelgeuse about to go supernova?

The Sky Guide: Shaking up the format of the sky guide, we're taking a look at the constellation of Monoceros with a guide to its history, how to find it, a couple of deep sky objects and a round up of the solar system objects on offer in January.

Q&A: If there are no plate tectonics on the moon, how did the lunar mountain regions form? from @gkt_wales on Twitter

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.

The News: Sharing our news picks from the space exploration and astronomy world this month we have:

• A late risk of Exomars being cancelled
• Boeing's Starliner spacecraft abort test and cost controversies
• Sierra Nevada's Dreamchaser shuttle gets a trailer

Main news story: Far from being unlikely, Tatooine worlds turn out to be very common

The Interview: This month Jeni has a sit down chat about the discovery of the collapsed neutron star from supernova 1987a with Dr Phil Cigan of Cardiff University.

The Discussion: A look at the BBC's new Martian invasion documentary, The War of the Worlds; the recent transit of Mercury; Celestron's new phone adapter; Jen's upcoming talks in Wales, an update on Jen's research paper, a new research project and a debate over the start and end of a decade. Then we take a look at a couple of listeners' emails.

The News: Rounding up the astronomy news this month we have:

• Water vapour geysers on Europa
• Ultima Thule loses its Nazi moniker
• Locating the stellar remnant from the closest supernova to Earth
• Are Axions dark matter particles? (no)
• And a round up of spaceflight news from NASA, ESA, India, New Zealand & UK

The Sky Guide: Covering the solar system and deep sky objects on offer to amateur astronomers in December:

• Jen: A round up of the planets available to northern hemisphere observers in December, and a look at the Pleiades in Taurus.
• Paul: The best meteor shower of the year and naked eye visible open cluster Messier 35.

The Debate: A look back at the debates and votes over the past year with your result for The Best Space Mission of All Time.

The Discussion: Ralph's been in Washington – which, of course, means a visit to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, we say goodbye to Russian cosmonaut, Alexi Leonov, and take a look at listeners' emails.

The News: Rounding up the space exploration news this month we have:

• James Webb Space Telescope inches ever closer
• The USAF's autonomous space plane sets a new record
• SpaceX are back on the right path with its crew capsule
• NASA are sending a viper to the moon and an orbiter to Pluto
• Plans are revealed about Scotland's new spaceport.
• Project Artemis technologies being funded by NASA
• The findings and recommendations of NASA's Planetary Protection Review

Main news story: NASA's new moonsuit is revealed.

The Debate: Now that we've whittled down the contenders for the greatest space mission of all time (the last fifty years anyway), it's your time to crown the winner!.

The Discussion: Before we start the show proper, we discuss Jeni's encounter with Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne, her new research paper undergoing a painfully slow peer review and we take a look at Chris Lintott's book, The Crowd and the Cosmos: Adventures in the Zooniverse. Then it's over to the listeners for a few emails suggesting cooler names for the phenomenon of the Pair Instability Supernova.

The News: Rounding up the astronomy news this month we have:

• An enigmatic radio burst opens up a new method of probing the universe
• Hubble takes a look at interstellar comet
• Hygiea becomes the latest candidate to be recategorized as a dwarf planet
• Spiral galaxies give more clues to discredit the MOND theory of dark matter
• Venus going pop and perhaps a 2 billion window of habitability
• More confusion over the age of Saturn's rings

The big news story: perhaps heavier elements in the Universe are not only forged in supernovae, but also from neutron star mergers.

The Sky Guide: Covering the solar system and deep sky objects on offer to amateur astronomers in November:

• Paul: A round up of the planets available to northern hemisphere observers in November, a tour of the comets currently in our skies and Vest at opposition. In the deep sky, Paul recommends a few overlooked objects in Cetus and Sculptor.
• Jen: The upcoming Transit of Mercury on 11/12th November.
• Ralph: 3 lunar/planetary conjunctions and a couple of meteor showers. Then further afield, the Orion Nebula

Main Object: The innermost planet, Mercury

Q&A: What actually is the solar wind? From our good friend Andrew Osborne.

The Discussion: As a reward for good behavior, we've dispensed with wittering on about us and gone straight into the news.

The News: Rounding up the space exploration news this month we have:

• The last of the Delta IV mediums
• India's Vikram lunar lander failure
• ESA move a satellite to avoid crashing with a SpaceX satellite
• NASA award funding for a Lunar Gateway pathfinding cubesat
• Australia & Japan commit to supporting NASA's moonshot, Project Artemis
• NASA place orders for the first of possibly 12 Orion moon capsules.

Main news stories: A roundup of Elon Musk's Herculean benevolent/malevolent efforts to get giant phalluses on Mars.

The Debate: Court is in session for the fifth and final round of advocacy to get a winner from your top ten historic space missions. This month Judge Damien presides over arguments between the International Space Station and the Pioneer missions.

Q&A: With the news of a near collision between a SpaceX and an ESA satellite, does that mean more satellite collisions in the future? From our good friend Noah Kraus in Bremen Germany.

The Discussion: A look back at our 50th anniversary of the moon landings-themed dark sky star party, AstroCamp, and some wonderful suggestions as an alternative name for a 'pair instability supernova'.

The News: Rounding up the astronomy news this month we have:

• Discovery of an exoplanet stripped of its atmosphere
• Understanding more about the features you can observe in Jupiter's storms
• Gaia tells us more about the evolution of open clusters
• Chandra probes black hole clusters
• Planet 9 (groan…) could be a tiny black hole (it couldn't)
• Amateur astronomer discovery of an interstellar comet
• Understanding the evolution of globular clusters
• NASA's Insight lander suggests weird magnetic chirping at midnight on Mars

The main news story discussion: Water vapour in the atmosphere of an exoplanet in its habitable zone - leading to discussions on the importance of science journalism and the search for Earth 2.0

The Sky Guide: Covering the solar system and deep sky objects on offer to amateur astronomers in October:

Paul: A round up of the planets available to northern hemisphere observers in October and a tour of the comets currently in our skies. In the deep sky, we recommend a look at globular cluster Messier 2 and the NGC7009 planetary nebula in Aquarius.

Ralph: 3 lunar/planetary conjunctions and a glut of meteor showers. Then further afield, the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies.

Main Object: Messier 44, The Beehive Cluster

Q&A: Advice on upgrading telescopes for our good friend Jeremy Hanson in Wisconsin, USA.

Also this month, a close friend of Jen's, Chris Duffield, got ill and died in China aged 27. The foreign office have told his family that the ballpark figure for getting him home will be between £15,000-£20,000. If you'd like to help repatriate the friend's body, please do consider giving a donation to the gofundme account at tiny.cc/lpvgdz. Thank you.

The Discussion: Nuking hurricanes and the lessons of Chernobyl.

The News: Rounding up the space exploration news this month we have:

• A new adaptor on the ISS making two emergency exits
• Russia sends a gunslinging robot into space (no, really!)
• ESA's ExoMars mission is in hot water again
• NASA's Europa Clipper on track to meet its mid-2020s launch window
• The companies being funded to develop tech for NASA's moonshot
• Ramping up of commercial assistance to Project Artemis

Main news stories: A NASA astronaut accused of a crime in space, issues of jurisdiction and what happens to sock dust in space.

The Debate: Court is in session for the fourth round of advocacy to get winner from your top ten historic space missions. This month we pit Mars against the Outer Limits as Spirit & Opportunity take on the Voyagers.