The 365 Days of Astronomy

Paul Hill, Ralph Wilkins and Jenifer Millard host. Damien Phillips and John Wildridge produce.

Summary of content: 

The Discussion: Paul continues his herculean travels around the UK promoting the European Space Agency and teaching people about the science of spaceflight. Ralph’s waxing lyrical about a waxing moon and Venus, while Jen has a big announcement regarding her PhD research.

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

Another asteroid hits the news as NASA look elsewhere for future missions

ESO’s ALMA array turns its attention to the Sun

Making refinements on the age of the Moon

A new star to look out for in the sky in 2022

Hat of Woo: With the hat now empty and the world still full of loons, we reach out to you to tell us what you’d like to see replace this segment of the show.

Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month we take a look at a listener’s submitted graph and explain the Roche Sphere:

Can you please explain why the Hill Sphere of Neptune is greater than that of Jupiter? Gavin Price, @Pillarscreatio, Wales.

http://www.awesomeastronomy.com

Enter the code for this week into this site: https://cosmoquest.org/achievements/code for a chance to win.

This week's code is afhcNB.

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

This podcast is sponsored by Eclipse Glasses.

Enter the code for this week into this site: https://cosmoquest.org/achievements/code for a chance to win.

This week's code is afhcNB

What are the most clever physics and astronomy experiments of all time? What did we learn from them, and what made them so dang clever? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!

Learn about the Iceland excursion: http://www.AstroTouring.com

Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/pmsutter
All episodes: http://www.AskASpaceman.com

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Keep those questions about space, science, astronomy, astrophysics, physics, and cosmology coming to #AskASpaceman for COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF TIME AND SPACE!

Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Mathieu B., Justin G., Jerry, Tim F., Helge B., Alan M., Tim R., Ray S., Michael C., Bill S., Lars H., David C., Silvan W., David B., Kevin O.,  Justin R., and Jessica K.!

Music by Jason Grady and Nick Bain. Thanks to WCBE Radio for hosting the recording session and Cathy Rinella for editing.

Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist at The Ohio State University, Chief Scientist at COSI Science Center, and the one and only Agent to the Stars (http://www.pmsutter.com).

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftEROGoE44Q

Streamed live Feb 3, 2017.
So we know humans are having an impact on planet Earth. But what if we REALLY put our backs into it and intentionally tried to change the entire planet? Either to make it better or to fix some terrible mistake we've made. The technique is called geoengineering. Could it work?

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006.

Today's 2 topics:

- Catalina Sky Survey teammates Alex Gibbs, Greg Leonard, Carson Fuls and Richard Kowalski followed 2016 EJ203 for a month to determine that it was a TNO, a Trans-Neptunian Object and poses no threat to Earth.

- Dr. Elizabeth Austin studied polar vortex winds and the stratospheric polar night jet wind. When this wind joins with the jet stream 130,000 foot high 'waves' can result. The 400mph Airbus Perlan II glider will be able ride these waves to 90,000' in atmosphere that's similar in density to that on Mars. A flight in the August to October 2017 time frame is expected. The correct weather conditions for a flight did not happen in 2016, unfortunately.

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

Planets you can see around Sunset – Venus (SW), Mars (SW)

Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (ES)

Planets you can see in the Morning – Jupiter (S), Saturn (SE)

1st – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Venus – Look to the SW between 5:30pm and 8:30pm and you can catch a nice crescent Moon making a straight line with ruddy red Mars and brilliantly bright Venus all within 15˚ of each other.

14th–16th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter – Look E after 11:00pm or S before 6:30am.  On the 14th/15th, the Moon, Jupiter, and Arcturus will make a nice triangle or arc in the sky, with the Moon above the very bright Jupiter, and Arcturus down and to the right of Jupiter.  On the next night (15th/16th), the Moon will be to the left of both Jupiter and Arcturus, making a nice triangle.

28th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus, Mars – Look to the W after sunset, but before 8:00pm and you can see a beautiful triangle made by a thin crescent Moon.  Venus will be 10˚ up and to the right of the Moon, with Mars 13˚ directly above the Moon.

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_3_BJ0uAzc

Streamed live January 27th, 2017.

Host: Fraser Cain ( @fcain )
Special Guest: This week's special guest is Kimberly Cartier ( http://KimberlyCartier.org & @AstroKimCartier ), a PhD candidate in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the Pennsylvania State University. Kimberly is the lead author on a recent paper in which the atmospheric characteristics of exoplanet WASP 103b are analyzed.

Regular Guests: (Possibly)

Morgan Rehnberg ( http://www.morganrehnberg.com/ & @MorganRehnberg )

Dr. Paul Matt Sutter ( http://www.pmsutter.com/ & @PaulMattSutter )

This week's stories:

- Metallic Hydrogen

- Using AI to study supernovae

- Ultra cool Keck video of exoplanets orbiting their star!

- Russian rocket problems

- Testing for life on other planets

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

http://www.unawe.org/kids/unawe1702/

Starting in late January, 2017, two enormous radio dishes, on opposite sides of the Earth, in New Norcia, Western Australia and Malargüe, Argentina, are listening for whispers from Saturn.

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

Wed 01: Awesome Astronomy - February Sky Guide

Paul Hill, Ralph Wilkins and Jenifer Millard host. Damien Phillips and John Wildridge produce. A podcast beamed direct from an underground bunker on Mars to promote science, space and astronomy (and enslave Earth if all goes well).

Summary of content:  What to look out, and up, for in February.

Our highlights of this month’s skies with the planets on offer to observers and imagers:

- A last chance look at Mercury in the morning sky

- Mars a few degrees from Venus

- Jupiter in Virgo, above Spica.

- Saturn in the early morning sky

Next up is the return of a couple of comets to our observing tick list:

Comet 45P at its best on the 11th February in Hercules

Comet 2P Encke returns to our skies in the constellation Pisces

Then we each take a deep sky pick from our list of favourites for this time of year:

Ralph – the Rosette Nebula and open cluster NGC2244 in the constellation Monoceros

Paul – open cluster M93 in Puppis.

Jeni – supernova remnant, Messier 1 – the Crab Nebula - in Taurus

And we finish this sky guide with February’s moon phases, a conjunction with the Hyades Cluster on the 5th and a penumbral eclipse on 10th/11th February.

http://www.awesomeastronomy.com

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y354iPNI8p8

Streamed live on Mar 15, 2016.

Special guest: Dr. Michael W. Busch ( @michael_w_busch ), research scientist with the SETI Institute.
The near-Earth asteroids are a population of objects on orbits around the Sun that cross or come near that of Earth.  They are important to understand the history of small bodies in the solar system, as targets of spacecraft missions, and because of the asteroid impact hazard.  Radar astronomy using transmitters at the Arecibo Observatory and at the Goldstone Deep Space Network site has allowed detailed imaging and characterization of a large number of near-Earth asteroids.  I will review the techniques of radar astronomy and describe results for selected objects; with a particular focus on targets of past, current, and future space missions.

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!

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

Streamed live on Jan 27, 2017.

We love to destroy the Universe, and also rebuild it. Today we begin a new series where we destroy and rebuild. Let's talk about some existential threats we face and ways we could recover, starting with the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads: killer asteroids.

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/

"Dr. Gay, or How to learn to stop worrying and love the asteroid."

Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness!

http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.

Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/

Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].

While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site:

https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace

Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!