This month we meet the new SPIDER Radio Telescope which has become the latest addition to the Kielder Forest landscape. Director of Astronomy Dan Pye give us a tour, and explains some of the things we will now be able to detect in space with it. 

This addition means that even on a cloudy night, visitors will be able to take in some radio observations, and for schools and universities they will have a new resource to help with research into aspects of space.

We also bring you a full round of of the things to watch out for in the night sky over the final part of 2021.

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Hello and Welcome to The official monthly podcast from Kielder Observatory situated in the Northumberland Dark Sky Park in the UK, under some of the darkest skies in Europe.

Our special guest is Dr Natalie Starkey a cosmochemist and author   who joins us to talks about some of the amazing findings from her new book called Fire & Ice, and how Volcanoes could be key to supporting life in other worlds..

It’s a fascinating chat and we’ll learn how not all volcanoes erupt with fire, some with ice. Plus we’ll learn why some of the biggest unsolved mysteries of the solar system are right here on earth.

First though we’ll begin by updating you on the news from right here in the North East, and from Kielder Observatory…

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On September’s Kielder Observatory Podcast Ian Brannan is joined by Director of Astronomy at Kielder Dan Pye, and one of our newest astronomers Finn Burridge. This month we explore how a visit to Kielder Observatory is more than peering into the night sky, it’s a full education on our place in the universe, and we hear from some recent guests about the things they’ve learned which have boggled their mind..! We also look ahead to the major astronomical events taking place through the course of September, as we approach the equinox and our days are filled with more dark than light. And how if you’re very lucky, you could see our Solar System’s furthest planet Neptune. Plus Dan Pye give us his “Pye in the Sky” challenge from the month, can you spot the constellation for September?! All this and much more, listen now and don’t forget to like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!

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In this episode we talk to the Reverend Professor David Wilkinson, who began his career as an astrophysicist before becoming a Methodist minister and is currently a professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.

We discuss the connection between science and faith throughout history and bridging the gap between the two (often conflicting) topics.

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Coming up in this months episode we’ll take you to a couple of our recent sessions up at the observatory, but both with very different themes. First was our space kids event which is one of our most popular daily events which take place in the daytime, ending with youngsters building and launching their own rockets! And then it was the turn of another of our most sought after evenings, the Aurora Night, where you can learn about the aurora phenomenon, and discover how to see it for yourself. We’re also talking cosmology in this month’s episode too, with Dr Sam James who is the chair of the NE Branch of the Institute of Physics, finding out why we can still see the remnants of the big bang, and why the universe could be moving!

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Ken MacTaggart has worked on NASA’s Apollo Lunar Surface Journal with editor Dr Eric Jones and colleagues for 20 years, and is co-editor of the Apollo 11 Flight Journal established by W. David Woods.  He has interviewed and written about spaceflight for The Independent, The Herald, The Scotsman, Spaceflight and numerous other magazines and newspaper, plus TV programmes.

Ken is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and works as a technology consultant, advising public agencies on science and space policy.  As well as his interest and deep knowledge of spaceflight, he has published on a range of other historical subjects, so his angle on Apollo is often quite different from the purely technical.

In this episode Ken reveals some of the finer details of that mission to the moon in 1969 which perhaps went unnoticed, but bring a whole new dimension to the incredible story of the moon landings.

 

 

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In this month’s episode we get ready for the Lyrid Meteor shower with 2 people who know what it takes to be a meteor hunter. Steve Arnold is one the TV’s Meteorite Men, and has travelled the world searching for fragments of space rock, and he offers his tips for would be meteor hunters. We also speak to Aine o Brien, who was part of the search team that recently found the first meteorite to be recovered in the UK for 30 years.

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Coming up, the month of March sees International Women’s Day, and in this episode we speak to a true pioneer of Women’s Health, Dr Saralyn Mark. Dr Mark joined the astronaut training programme at NASA and became a senior medical advisor at the space agency for over 18 years taking care of the health of the health of men and particularly women heading into space. She has also worked at the White House during the Obama administration as the first Senior Medical Advisor to the office of women’s health, and today is the MD of iGiant, a nonprofit organisation looking to translate some of this things we’ve learned from space research, into technologies to improve the lives of both genders here on earth. She’s also worked on every public health emergency since the 90’s, and she reveals how lockdown is having a similar effect on many of us which is often found in astronauts returning from space.

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In the February 2021 episode we speak to Prof John Girkin about some of the research and advancements taking place at Durham University's centre of advanced instrumentation, which is one of the worlds leading authorities in helping space programmes around the world improve their images from both telescopes on earth and satellites in space. Plus how that research has also had benefits here on earth including with learning more about the Covid 19 virus. Kielder's Director of Astronomy, Dan Pye updates us on the latest from the observatory and a few things to look out for in the night sky over the coming weeks.

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In this months podcast we chat to Astrophysicist and keen enthusiast of Astro-Engineering Hayden Goodfellow BSc (Hons) about ExoMars. Being constructed by Boeing in the UK, ExoMars is heading to the red planet with a delayed schedule of 2022, but what’s it going to learn on its journey? Find out more about the first British mission to Mars since Beagle and your usual “what up this month” in this months stellar edition of the Kielder Observatory Podcast..

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