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>Astronomy news and interviews with scientists involved in the discoveries.

Chris North and Edward Gomez


    • May 25, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 33m AVG DURATION
    • 119 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Pythagorean Astronomy

    Northern Lights, New Camera, Cosmological Action

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2024 53:57


    Edward and Chris discuss the recent Northern Lights show seen across the UK, the discovery of new free-floating planets, massive black holes and the completion of the largest camera ever built. Ian Harrison joins us to report on the latest tensions in cosmology, and the potential solutions to a problem that has been concerning cosmologists for the last few years.

    Dust to dust

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2024 42:25


    Edward Gomez and Chris North discuss names going to Jupiter on the Europa Clipper mission, which is currently being assembled. Then there is a new cannibal star, suspected of eating its own planets, and the detection of new "Galactic Streams" of stars that all formed together but have since spread out through the Galaxy. Finally, we move onto planet formation and the detection of ices in forming planetary systems. But where does all that planet-forming material come from originally? Haley Gomez and Cosimo Inserra tell us about a new object that's changing our view of where all the dust in the Universe originates.

    XRISM and Matter's Final Screams

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2024 49:15


    This month Edward and Chris talk the recent lunar missions - Astrobotic's Peregrine and Japan's SLIM. There's also the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars on what turned out post-recording to be it's final flight! Further afield we talk mega-structures on a galactic scale and asteroids crashing to Earth. January also saw the first light from the XRISM satellite, the latest X-ray satellite. We hear from Prof Chris Done (University of Durham and University of Tokyo) about the mission and the future of x-ray astronomy.

    2023 Review and 2024 look-ahead

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 2, 2024 23:41


    Chris North and Edward Gomez review some stories from 2023, with asteroid missions, lunar rovers and aurora sightings. Plus a look forward to 2024, including launches of missions to asteroids and Jupiter's moons, and more commercial missions to the moon.

    The "What the Heck" Particle

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2023 21:41


    Chris and Edward discuss the announcement of the detection of a highly energetic cosmic ray, dubbed "Amerterasu" or the "What the Heck" particle. Elsewhere, there is a new study of star formation in "pristine" dwarf galaxies, and the first every discovery of a disc around a star in another galaxy!

    Planet Bashing and Dipsticks of the Universe

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2023 46:20


    Recorded in late October, Chris and Edward discuss recent proposals for an all-British mission to space, the launch of Psyche to...erm...Psyche, and Edward's involvement with the detection of something called a Synestia - planets bashing together. Cardiff University also hosted Prof Duncan Lorimer, who was jointly awarded the 2023 Shaw Prize for the detection of "Fast Radio Bursts". These mysterious cosmic events seemingly come form nowhere, but provide an intersting way of investigating energetic processes in the Universe. They also make a nice "dipstick of the Universe". Prof Lorimer spoke to Chris about their detection, what we're learning about them, and his career to date Contents: 00:00 British space mission 05:20 Psyche mission 10:15 Synestia and planet bashing 16:50 Prof Duncan Lorimer and Fast Radio Bursts

    Life, but not as we know it?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2023 20:01


    Chris and Edward discuss some recent stories, such as tantalising possible (emphasis on the possible) detections by JWST of interesting molecules on an exoplanet which coul (emphasis on the could) indicate signs of life. There's also new data on Europa, also from JWST, showing carbon dioxide on its surface - what does this mean? And further afield, astronomers have used ALMA to measure magnetic fields in incredibly distant galaxies, opening a potential new way to study the early Universe.

    National Astronomy Meeting - part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2023 30:10


    Dr Ian Harrisonreports from the National Astronomy meeting, which we held in Cardiff back in July. You can hear a couple of interviews we conducted on the previous episode, but in this episode we have a bit of a deep dive into machine learning with Ashley Spindler, what we mean by a modelling in astrophysics with Niall Jeffrey, and what we're learning from the cosmic microwave background with Dr Susanna Azzoni.

    NAM 2023

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2023 60:40


    July marked the UK's annual National Astronomy Meeting, which this year took place in Cardiff. Chris North, Edward Gomez and Ian Harrison discuss a few recent stories from this month and at the conference, including the Euclid space telescope launch, India's Chandrayaan 3 moon mission, gravitational waves from supermassive black holes, feeding black holes and exoplanets with metal rain. We also have interviews with University of Manchester's Dr Emma Alexander and University of Bristol's Dr Hannah Wakeford.

    Tidal Transients

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2023 44:37


    In 2020 astronomers spotted an object slowly getting brighter, but it wasn't until 2021 tha they quite understood how unusual it was. In 2021, they studied it in more detail, and found that it was something we don't think has ever been seen before. It was also the most energetic single event ever witnessed. Going by the catchy name of AT2021lwx, or simply "lwx" to its friends, this month we learn more about it. Dr Phil Wiseman, from University of Southampton, and Dr Cosimo Inserra, from Cardiff University, explain more. Elsewhere in the news, Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss how the JUICE mission has been jolting one of its antennas, the retirement of NASA's long-serving astronaut Peggy Whitson, and of course more from JWST.

    From exploding rockets to burping galaxies

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2023 30:44


    A news roundup of the last couple of months with Chris North and Edward Gomez. With a few failures - the SpaceX Starship launch, iSpace's moon landing and Virgin Galactic's bankruptcy, it might seem things are going wrong. But it's not all bad news - ESA's JUICE spacecraft has successfully launched on its way to Jupiter! Elsewhere in the Solar System, archives of data from the Magellan mission to Venus have revealed further evidence of a volcanic activity on the hard-to-reach surface of Earth's evil twin planet. And there's Phaethon, the unusual asteroid that is the source of the Geminid meteor shower, and about which the mystery has deepened. Much further afield, there's new research on what leads to quasars, the energetic "burps" of galaxies as their central black holes gorge themselves on infalling gas. And finally, there's the mystery of the "impossible galaxies" seen in one of JWST's first ever images, which turn out to be, well, less impossible!

    Black Holes: Saviours of the Universe?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2023 56:59


    In terms of what might be called “pure science”, there's one topic that tends to get people excited, and that's black holes. A few weeks ago, in February 2023, a pair of papers came out that linked theories about black holes to dark energy – something we really don't understand. If correct, this could mean that black holes, by their very nature, could explain the accelerating expansion of the Universe. Black holes, of course, are often mis-understood. To find out a little more about them, Chris spoke to Dr Becky Smethurst, from University of Oxford. We also get into a few of the details about what the research suggests might be is going on, with lead author Dr Duncan Farrah from the University of Hawaii. Finally, it's back to Becky, who is sceptical about these new results.

    Staring at the Dawn of Time - part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2023 30:00


    In the last month there was a show of the Northern Lights - or aurora - visible from the UK. If you didn't get to see it (spoiler: neither did we!), then you might get a chance in the future if there's another outburst. Edward Gomez and Chris North discuss how to increase your chances of seeing them next time there's an alert. In science news, some new thoughts on how the Moon could have formed, and an intriguing (and controversial) story about how balck holes might - possibly - be the answer to the mystery of dark energy. Chris also continues the conversation started in the last episode with Dr Ian Harrison and Dr Bob Watson about observing the cosmic microwave background. This time we discuss the advantages and challenges of launching in to space, and the problems caused by increasing numbers of satellites. There's also a new observatory being built in Chile - the Simons Observatory - which will present a huge leap forward in ground-based observations of the early Universe.

    Staring at the Dawn of Time - part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 41:38


    Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the first attempt to launch a rocket from UK soil, albeit via a piggyback on (or under) a plane. There's also an interesting supernova, the first exoplanet confirmation from JWST. Meanwhile, on Mars, does no news mean bad news for China's Zhurong rover? We also speak to Dr Ian Harrison, from Cardiff University, and Dr Bob Watson, from the University of Manchester, about the telescopes that are trying to unpick what happened at the dawn of time, by looking at the Universe's oldest light, and how a telescope in Tenerife is helping.

    Happy Birthday JWST

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2022 42:54


    The Future of Space Exploration

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2022 22:11


    On board with DART

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2022 27:44


    Gravitational Field Trip - part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2022 37:44


    Gravitational Field Trip - part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2022 48:10


    Amateur Advances

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2022 33:29


    Space Environmentalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2022 52:40


    Routine Spaceflight?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 21:37


    Shadow of War

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2022 28:08


    Venus resurfaces

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2022 28:19


    Radio repeater

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2022 41:49


    Mysterious travellers bearing gifts

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2021 33:58


    The Cosmic Webb

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2021 48:38


    Lucy in the Sky with Trojans

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2021 41:31


    Supernova Detective Story

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2021 22:31


    It's the Small Things - Exomoons

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2021 32:47


    Herding Megacomets

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2021 34:17


    Cosmic Developments

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2021 28:48


    Learned Societies and Society Learning

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2021 47:25


    Revisting Venus

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2021 24:49


    Catching a Shooting Star

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2021 38:58


    Astrobiology and Technosignatures

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2021 37:26


    The Martian Triple

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2021 50:17


    Review of the decade and Galactic dynamics

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2020 26:06


    Watery Worlds and Tumbling Telescopes

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2020 38:16


    Asteroid Tagging and Stellar Spaghettification

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2020 30:14


    It's (Almost) Never Aliens

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2020 23:21


    Black holes - too big and too small

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2020 42:48


    Solar Orbiter: Not Suitable for Vegetarians

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2020 33:12


    Mass Gaps and Radio Bursts

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2020 41:16


    SmallSpark

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2020 26:57


    Hubble at 30

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2020 50:06


    Isolation Space

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2020 28:42


    Out with the old, in with the new

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2020 35:16


    Dimming stars, Galactic waves and misbehaving gas clouds

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2020 25:49


    What the future holds

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2019 27:20


    Stellar Explosions and Interstellar Visitors

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2019 35:30


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