The Skyentists

This episode of "The Skyentists" brings the very first guest to the show. We invited our guest to describe the project they are conducting regarding observing the Moon... Well, our guest actually doesn't say too much at the end, but our Skyentists, Kirsten Banks and Ángel López-Sánchez, can't stop talking. They provide some general overview of what we know about Earth's natural satellite and a summary of the lunar exploration, including some "fun facts" about the Moon brought by Kirsten. They also give some details about the Chinese mission, Change-4, that is right now exploring a region in the far side of the Moon. They also answer some of the questions about the Moon received by social media, as well as provide some feedback about previous episodes. For "Space News" Kirsten talks about the New Horizon spacecraft, that just did a flyby of the "cosmic jelly bean" (a.k.a. "Ultima Thule" or, the real official name, 2014 MU69) and Ángel explains what means that the rings of Saturn are "raining" over the planet. The bright red star Betelgeuse is the object chosen for "What's Up". Don't forget to send us your questions and feedback for the next episode!

For the first episode of The Skyentists in 2019 astronomers Ángel López-Sánchez and Kirsten Banks jump into the exciting field of finding planets around other stars. They provide a summary of the observational techniques used by astronomers to discover exoplanets, emphasizing the two main methods: the transit (or mini-eclipses) method and the radial velocity or doppler shift (or "wobbly") method. They also characterize the general properties of the almost 4000 exoplanets already discovered and provide a list of the ~20 most exciting exoplanets (some of them seem to be taken from "Star Wars"). In "Space News" Kristen summarizes Space-X launches in 2018 and their plans for 2019, while Ángel talks about the recent research of 20 protoplanetary disks using the radio-interferometry ALMA. We answer some questions received for feedback (thanks!) and use the brightest star of the night sky, Sirius, for our "What's Up" section. More in 2 weeks!

In this episode our Skyentists, astronomers Kirsten Banks and Ángel López-Sánchez, recommend some good Apps for Astronomy as well as give some few advises if you are considering getting your first amateur telescope. Indeed, Kirsten is very excited (although a bit sleepy) as she just bought a very new telescope and she was able to see comet 46P/Wirtanen! In "Space News" Ángel talks about a very interesting discovery in asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission and Kirsten reminds us that it is the 50th of the amazing "Earth Rise" sequence obtained by the astronauts of the Apollo 8 mission when orbiting the Moon. For "What's Up" we recommend to have a look to the Hyades star cluster in the Bull. Some feedback is also answered. More in 2 weeks, although we are still "on holidays"!

This is another long (59 minutes!) episode of The Skyentists, where astronomers Ángel López-Sánchez and Kirsten Banks talk about Mars with the excuse of the successful landing of NASA's InSight mission. But, how easy is landing on Mars? Actually, not at all, and to show this they play the game "landing on Mars" enumerating the failure or success of every mission humans have sent to the Red Planet. Ángel also talks a bit about the Viking program and Kirsten about the rovers Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. In "Space News" Kirsten discusses star-formation in galaxies and Ángel suggests to try to find an exoplanet using real NASA's TESS data included in the new Zooniverse citizen science project "Planet Hunters". We have some feedback (yeah!) and in some way 3 recommendations for "What's Up!": Mars, the bright comet 46P Wirtanen (that has been called "The 2018 Christmas Comet"), and the Geminids meteor shower peaking on December 15th. Be quick to observe them, though, as they will go away very soon!

In this episode our Skyentists, astronomers Kirsten Banks and Ángel López-Sánchez, talk about comets and meteor showers. Ángel tells some few "old stories" about enjoying the big comets of 1996 (Hyakutake), 1997 (Hale-Bopp) and 2007 (McNaught), as well as the very amazing meteor shower of the Leonids in 1999. Kirsten, however, is sad because she has not had the chance, yet, to see any bright comet or a very active meteor shower. We also mention famous object ʻOumuamua, the very first interstellar object to be discovered, recommending to all our listeners the reading of "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke. In Space News we talk about a very peculiar Wolf-Rayet star recently discovered and our excitement with NASA Insight mission, that is landing Mars just few hours after we recorded this episode. For "What's Up" we talk about the wonderful star Mira, "the Wonderful". We don't have feedback on this episode but we are expecting a lot next fortnight!

In this episode of "The Skyentists", astronomers Ángel López-Sánchez and Kirsten Bank talk about the minor bodies of the Solar System: asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and trans-neptunian objects. They explain the difference between a "meteorite", a "meteor" and a "meteoroid" as well as provide a global overview of the content of the Solar System and the many kind of objects we are finding in its outskirsts. In "Space News" we talk about the recent observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud using the ASKAP radio-interferometer in Western Australia, and we say a very sad "bye bye" to the beloved Kepler "exoplanet-hunter" spacecraft. For "What's Up" we recommend to have a look to, well, an asteroid! 4 Vesta is visible in Sagittarius at the moment. Finally, we are very excited because we have something very special in this episode related to feedback. Yeah!

This is a very special episode of "The Skyentists", where astronomers Kirsten Banks and Ángel López-Sánchez answer many "spooky" astro-questions, including what is the scariest thing in the Universe. Of course, this is an excuse to talk about Halloween and the origins of this festivity that, yep, it is very related to Astronomy. Plenty of feedback (and auto-feedback) is also answered in this episode. In "Space News" we talk about the new citizen science project "The Hunt of Galaxy Clusters" and how neutron stars are related to different kind of pasta. For our "What's Up" segment we talk about the giant star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the "Tarantula Nebula". We also mention some few other astronomical objects with a Halloweeny theme. We wrap up the episode with some thoughts about losing the dark and a nice surprise!

And we are back! In this first episode of Seasons 2 of "The Skyentists", episode thirteenth, astronomers Ángel López-Sánchez and Kirsten Banks try to define what "Seasons" are. It is easy following the astronomical definition, but not so when considering other arbitrary conventions. Do other planets have seasons? Of course they do! For "What's up" they invite us to observe NGC 253, the Sculptor galaxy, or the Silver Coin galaxy, which is visible even with binoculars. Kirsten introduces the new section: "Space News!", where she updates Ángel about the most recent astronomical discoveries (he still have a lot to catch up after being "away" for three months!). Some feedback is answered, but we need much more for future episodes, so don't be shy!

In the twelfth episode of "The Skyentists", astronomers Kirsten Banks and Ángel López-Sánchez talk about the nasty problem of the light pollution, explain why we are still in Autumn (and not in Winter as many Australian and New Zealanders believe) as seasons are defined by Astronomy, and also discuss some of the main results found in Saturn, its rings, and its moons by the Cassini-Huygens mission. For "What's Up!" we have, well, more Saturn! Angel also explains the transition that the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) is experiencing next month. Some feedback is answered but we are waiting for much more after our break, once we're back from "Season II" in August during "National Science Week". Clear skies!

In this episode we find two very excited Skyentists: Kirsten receives an unexpected birthday gift and Ángel tells us his intense experiences at the Anglo-Australian Telescope trying to observe for his research program while also helping in the TV show "ABC Stargazing Live", 22-24 May 2018. White dwarf stars and type-Ia supernova are the main theme of this episode, but also the amazing contribution of citizen scientists who, inspired by "ABC Stargazing Live", helped to discover not one but two transients in distant galaxies. Interestingly, it was Ángel and his team who, using data collected with the AAT the nights of the TV shows, confirmed the classification of these two transients as type-Ia supernova. Their discoveries were discussed in two science papers led by Ángel that included famous physicist Prof Brian Cox and ABC journalist Julia Zemiro as co-authors! The Skyentists also answer some questions received as feedback and solve the problem of the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system. "What's Up!" is dedicated to Omega Centauri or, as Kirsten prefers, "Oh My God Centauri!". Next episode in just 1 week!