Pythagorean Astronomy

The Total Eclipse of 2017. Copyright: Martin Ratcliffe August marked one of the most publicised astronomical events of 2017 – a total eclipse of the Sun which was visible the US. Totality, where the Moon completely covered the Sun, was visible from a narrow strip stretching from Oregon in the northwest to South Carolina in the southeast, while the partial eclipse was visible from the whole of North America – and beyond – making this the most viewed eclipse in history. As well as those living in the US travelling to see it, many other people travelled thousands of miles to see this event. I spoke to US-based astronomer Martin Ratcliffe, former Cardiff Physics student Peri Jones, and UK-based astronomer Will Gater, about their experiences of this eclipse. Here in Cardiff we’ve had a few interns working over the summer on a number of projects, in collaboration with Las Cumbres Observatory and the Ogden Trust. From building 3D printers, to designing robots, and from playing with Lego to translating educational re

Artist’s illustration of Supernova 1987A. Image credit: Credit: A. Angelich / NRAO / AUI / NSF It’s been a busy month for Cardiff astronomers (and their colleagues). From gravity’s role in star formation to molecules found in a supernovae explosion, and from debris around neutron stars to organic molecules emitted from one of Saturn’s moons, there’s a lot to talk about. I took the opportunity to chat to Emily Drabek-Maunder, Mikako Matsuura and Gwen Williams about their work. As usual, Edward Gomez and I also talk about stories from around the world. Astronomers from the US travelled to Argentina to witness the occultation of 2014 MU69 – the next icy world to be visited by the New Horizons spacecraft. Finally, July saw the end of the very successful LISA Pathfinder mission. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 26th July 2017 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff. For an archive of Pythagorean Astronomy, visit pythagastro.uk.

At the start of June the LIGO team announced that they had made the third firm detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes. This latest detection, from the second observing run, adds to the collection of massive binary black holes detected by LIGO. One of the things that can be determined from LIGO’s measurements is the speed and spin of the black holes relative to the direction in which they orbit around each other. That can imply how the two black holes came to be together. To learn more I spoke to Dr Laura Nuttall, a researcher here in the Gravitational Physics group here in Cardiff. I also spoke to Dr Annabel Cartwright, a lecturer here in Cardiff, who has developed a hypothesis relating to the evolution of life on Earth. Specifically, Annabel’s “Venus Hypothesis” relates to the Cambrian Explosion, a period around 500 million years ago when the number and variety of species present on Earth expanded in a way never seen before or since. Annabel hypothesises that life may have come t

This month we don’t just look back at a few news stories, but also ahead to what’s happening over the coming months for one of the most successful space missions ever: Cassini. Having orbited Saturn for 13 years, Cassini’s fuel is running out and the mission has embarked on a “Grand Finale” before its final plunge into the planet’s atmosphere. Dr Leigh Fletcher, a planetary scientist at the University of Leicester, gives us a personal viewpoint of this groundbreaking mission to the ringed planet. We find out about a few of the highlights of the mission, as well as what’s in store for the spacecraft on its last few terrifying orbits. There’s also a look to the future, for whatever missions may come next to the outer Solar System. In other news, Edward and Chris discuss renegade black holes, newly discovered (potential) dwarf planets, possible future missions to the Moon, and how humanity is altering the Earth’s radiation belts. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 31st May 2017 as part of Pythagora

April’s edition of our monthly astronomy podcast, presented by Chris North and Edward Gomez. Earlier this month we were treated to a talk in Cardiff by Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal and Professor of Astrophysics at University of Cambridge. This afforded us the opportunity to speak to Professor Rees about the subject of his talk: “The World in 2015 – and beyond”. After discussing the challenges facing the long-term survival of humanity, and possible solutions, we also discussed Lord Rees’ role in the House of Lords, and recent developments in astronomy and cosmology. There have been (yet) more exoplanet stories recently as well, so we also discussed atmospheres of exoplanets. And not wanting to limit ourselves to the biggest issues, we also discussed growing potatoes on Mars (well, the Andes, but that’s pretty close)… An extended edition of an original broadcast on 26th April 2017 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff. For an archive of Pythagorean Astronomy, visit pythagastro.uk. [Update

At the end of last month, there was a lot of interest in the discovery of seven roughly Earth-sized planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. One month on, Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the implications of this discovery. We also get an update from the Amaury Triaud, of the University of Cambridge, about TRAPPIST and its successor, SPECULOOS. Here in our own Solar System, there’s the discovery of a cometary landslide from Rosetta, a milestone in wheel-wear on the Mars Curiosity Rover, and an update on some of Saturn’s darker rings from Japan. Further afield, a study of the rotation of galaxies in the distant Universe came under some scrutiny, shedding a bit of light on the process of scientific discovery. An extended edition of the an original broadcast on 27th March 2017 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff. For an archive of Pythagorean Astronomy, visit pythagastro.uk.

Artist’s impression of the proposed Planet Nine. Image Credit: Caltech/R,. Hurt (IPAC) February saw the first launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Rocket from Launchpad 39A – the same launchpad used by the Apollo missions and the Space Shuttle. In this month’s Pythagorean Astronomy, Edward Gomez and Chris North discuss these impressive structures along with the study of a supernova (the explosive death of a massive star) just hours after it exploded, providing crucial insights into the very early stages of these extreme events. A new Zooniverse project, Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, was also announced designed to let “citizen scientists” (i.e. you!) help track down Planet Nine – whose existence was seriously proposed a year ago. Project leader Marc Kuchner told us about that project. For those wondering, we recorded this before the announcement of both TRAPPIST-1 and the SpaceX announcement of their planned lunar missions – but they’re pretty safe bets for discussion next month! An extended edition of the an original bro

Image courtesy of National Museum Cardiff Join Chris North and Edward Gomez as they discuss the month’s astronomy news. Not only were there two new NASA missions announced this month, but Space-X successfully returned to flight with their Falcon 9 rocket. Further afield, there are predictions of a pair of stars that are set to explode in a few years. Being January, the National Museum in Cardiff hosted its annual public event celebrating all things space. With exhibits, demonstrations and shows for all ages, several thousand people attended “Star Attractions” and get to learn a bit more about astronomy and space. While we were there with a stand from the School of Physics and Astronomy, Chris spoke to a few people who were there to find out what they got out of it. Originally broadcast on 30th January 2017 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Close-up of star near a supermassive black hole (artist’s impression) Image credit: ESO, ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser When is a supernova not a supernova? The brightest supernova on record was discovered in 2015 by the All Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN). Named ASASSN-15lh, this remarkable event – what looked like a huge brightening of a star in a distant galaxy – was observed by many other telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Las Cumbres Observatory network. With careful study, it became apparent that ASASSN-15lh was not quite what it seemed. Rather than being the explosion of a massive star, it is now thought that it was the final flash as a star was swallowed by a supermassive black hole. This month, Morgan Fraser, from University College Dublin, and Las Cumbres Observatory’s Edward Gomez explain the story of this discovery – and rediscovery! We finish with a brief recap of 2016, and a look forward to 2017. Originally broadcast on 19th December 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ T

The GLEAM Survey We’ve got a lot of news items to discuss this month. In the outer Solar System, Edward Gomez and I discuss the Cassini spacecraft, which has made its final major orbital manoeuvre, and the Juno spacecraft, which has had a few issues getting into its main science orbit. Further from home, we’ve got the first “official” star names from the International Astronomical Union, and the discovery of the roundest known star. Our main guest this month is Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker, based at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) at Curtin University. Natasha works on the Murchison Widefield Array, and has produced GLEAM: an all-sky image of the sky at radio wavelengths at very high resolution and in a wide range of radio “colours”, or wavelengths. This gives us a better understanding of some of the most energetic processed taking place in the centres of nearby galaxies, but the end goal is somewhat further afield. Natasha tells me all about the MWA, the GLEAM project, and even how

This month sees the start of one mission and the end of another. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission launched at the start of the month to go and study asteroid Bennu, and even bring back a sample to Earth. Meanwhile, the end of the month sees the finale of ESA’s Rosetta mission, which has spent two years studying comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. With stunning images accompanied by fascinating results from other instruments, not to mention the plucky little Philae lander, Rossetta has been one of the most exciting missions of recent years. This month, the Open University’s Professor Monica Grady tells me about comets, asteroids, and these two exciting missions. Originally broadcast on 26th September 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Artist’s impression of the view from Proxima b. Image credit: ESA/M/ Kornmesser After a few weeks of rumours, the announcement of the discovery of an Earth-size (maybe!) planet around the Sun’s nearest neighbour has caused quite a stir. The planet is more massive than the Earth, but probably not by much, and sits in a location where liquid water could (at least in principle), exist on it’s surface. The detection was made by an international team using data, and relied on observations from a number of telescopes around the world. One of those was the Las Cumbres Observatory‘s network of telescopes, working as part of the Pale Red Dot campaign, as Edward Gomez explains in this month’s episode. Proxima b isn’t the only story. There’s also the happy news of the re-awakening of STEREO-B, a solar observatory that dropped offline a couple of years ago and has finally responded to NASA’s hails (more on that from Sounds Like Science). And there’s also the discovery of a Niku, a small object out beyond Neptune which i

Artist’s Impression of a Juno and Jupiter. Credit: NASA In July 2016 NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed its five year journey to the planet Jupiter. On board is a suite of instruments and experiments that will provide exquisite insight into the history of our Solar System’s largest planet. The process of Jupiter’s formation is a long-standing mystery that planetary scientists have been trying to answer for decades. As the University of Leicester’s Dr Leigh Fletcher explains, Juno will make careful measurements of Jupiter’s gravitational field and yield crucial information about its interior. Originally broadcast on 28th July 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Artist’s Impression of a black hole in a binary star system. Credit: ESA/Hubble On 15th June 2016 the LIGO collaboration released more detections of gravitational waves. As with the first detection, announced back in February, these gravitational waves were emitted by pairs of black holes, spiralling together and merging, But of course, those black holes need to come from somewhere, and in this case it’s thought to be the deaths of some of the most massive stars in the Universe. To understand more about the deaths of massive stars, and the formation of black holes, I talked to Professor Stephen Smartt, from Queen’s University Belfast, who’s been on the hunt for black holes. Originally broadcast on 30th June 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Artist impression of the Kepler spacecraft This month’s focus is on two different stories, but both involving the same spacecraft: Kepler. Edward Gomez and I discuss a result from the outer edge of our Solar System, regarding the icy world that goes by the catchy name of “2007 OR10”. By combining information from the Kepler Spacecraft, now in the second phase of its mission with a partially-functioning spacecraft, with results from the Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have made a new estimate of its size. But Kepler’s main mission was to search for planets around other stars, and that’s what the other notable result this month involves. Through a careful analysis of data, the Kepler team have identified over 1000 objects that are probably planets. I spoke to Professor Don Pollacco from the University of Warwick, about what this result means, and its impact on future space missions such as ESA’s Plato spacecraft. Originally broadcast on 26th May 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

In this month’s instalment, Edward Gomez and I chat about interplanetary explorers to the icy worlds of Pluto and Ceres, and Cassini’s capture of interstellar dust as it passed through the Saturn system. And, of course, we look ahead to May’s Transit of Mercury, which we’ll be viewing with members of the public and school groups here in Cardiff. Further afield, in both time and space, is the Breakthough Starshot initiative, which aims to send a fleet of tiny spacecraft to another star system – if they can pull it off, that is! Originally broadcast on 28th April 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

March 2016 saw the launch of the first part of Europe’s two-part mission to Mars. The mission, called ExoMars, comprises the “Trace Gas Orbiter” – the part that’s just launched – and a large rover, which launches in 2018. The orbiter will sniff the atmosphere to test for evidence of past  – or maybe even present – life. Elsewhere in the world of astronomy, this month has also seen the discovery a cluster of “monster stars”, and the most distant galaxy ever seen. I chatted to Edward Gomez and Tim Davis, a relatively new arrival here in Cardiff, about these discoveries. Originally broadcast on 31st March 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Unless you’ve been under a bush for the past month, you can’t have missed what could be described the news of the Century – the first direct detection of gravitational waves. This month, I speak to Edward Gomez about what this discovery means, and catch up with some of the gravitational physicists here in Cardiff, Andrew Williamson, Frank Ohme and Lionel London. They tell me quite how sensitive the LIGO instruments are, and how gravitational waves are the voice of Einstein. Originally broadcast on 25th February 2016 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

It’s been a very exciting year in astronomy and space science, with missions exploring distant reaches of the Solar System. There was a huge media storm about New Horizons passing Pluto back in July, with staggering results still coming back, and continuing revelations from Rosetta. But there was even more excitement about Tim Peake’s launch to the International Space Station as part of his Principia mission. This month Edward Gomez and I discussed the year’s astronomy news, while at the celebrations of Tim Peake’s launch here in Cardiff I spoke to Chris Castelli from UK Space Agency, and Pedro Duque, an ESA astronaut who flew to the International Space Station in 2003. Originally broadcast on 18th December 2015 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

November 2015 marks the centenary of the publication of one of the most important theories in physics: Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. On this month’s episode I chatted to Prof Mark Hannam and Dr Patrick Sutton. As part of the Gravitational Physics group here in Cardiff, Mark and Patrick try to understand the implications of General Relativity, and are leading the search for direct proof one of its last remaining predictions: gravitational waves. On Wednesday 9th December Cardiff University is hosting an evening reception to celebrate the centenary, with free wine and soft drinks, and a selection of talks by Cardiff researchers. The event is free, but don’t forget to book tickets if you’d like to come along. Originally broadcast on 26th November 2015 as part of Pythagoras’ Trousers on Radio Cardiff. And if you want a quick introduction to General Relativity, the following video was produced for the Science and Technology Facilities Council: [iframe width=”560″ height=”315″  src=”https://www.y