http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod en-us ℗ & © 2008 Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge An astronomy podcast from the graduate students at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge The Astropod is a jam-packed, monthly astronomy podcast from the graduate students at the Institute of Astronomy (IoA), University of Cambridge. Each episode we bring you exclusive interviews with researchers at the IoA, answer your questions and brighten your day with the astronomy joke of the month! We also give a sky at night guide for Cambridge and keep you up-to-date with worldwide astronomy news. You'll find lots of extra goodies in the cargo bay area of our website too, click the website link to explore! The Astropod is a jam-packed, monthly astronomy podcast from the graduate students at the Institute of Astronomy (IoA), University of Cambridge. Each episode we bring you exclusive interviews with researchers at the IoA, answer your questions and brighten your day with the astronomy joke of the month! We also give a sky at night guide for Cambridge and keep you up-to-date with worldwide astronomy news. You'll find lots of extra goodies in the cargo bay area of our website too, click the website link to explore! AstroPod astropod@ast.cam.ac.uk The AstroPod Crew Merry Christmas! Coming up in this month's Christmas episode: The Christmas elves have visited the AstroPod and insisted on a festive theme so we bring you news of Santa tracking, along with a discussion of the possible astrophysical explanations of the Star of Bethlehem. Our interview this month is with Dr Mark Wyatt about debris disks - the remains of planet formation such as the asteroid belt in the Solar System, and how they help us learn about other planet systems. We also have our usual news round up, the latest from events in Cambridge and of course the astronomy joke of the month. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website, just click the link in iTunes! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/dec08_astropod.mp3 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:00:00 GMT 22:00 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Stars that wink Coming up in this month's episode: We are very pleased to announce a special AstroPod interview with Dr Don Pollacco from Queen's University Belfast about the Super Wide Angle Search for Planets. He explains how their dedicated telescopes scour the skies for extrasolar planets and talks about the future plans for the survey. It's the International Year of Astronomy! Anna tells us all about the astronomer who made 2009 a very special year for astronomy. Listen to the history section to find out more! Dark Matter: The Poetry of Space - a special outreach event at the IoA on Thursday 5th February 2009 - listen in for more details! We also welcome a new crew member, Alex Calverley, who will be giving us the latest info on what's up in the sky at night. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website, just click the link in iTunes! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/feb09_astropod.mp3 Wed. 5 Feb 2009 15:37 GMT 24:25 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Jets across the Universe Coming up in this month's episode: Better late than never folks, sorry for the delay! Our interview this month is with Dr Kris Beckwith and is all about the power relativistic jets that exist in a huge varity of astronomical objects, from black holes to young stars. For those of you in Cambridge we have inportant info about the upcoming Open Day on 21st March so listen out for details! Plus, the AstroPod will be doing some live recording at the Open Day so come along and say hi, we'd love to meet you! And as always we have the news round-up with Laura, a quick delve into astronomy past with Anna and a light sprinkling of comedy gold from Michelle. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website, just click the link in iTunes! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/mar09_astropod.mp3 Wed. 11 Mar 2009 15:37 GMT 25:19 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The sharpest eyes on the planet Welcome to our special Open Day edition! At the end of March the IoA held a public open day with activities for all and the AstroPod was there to catch your questions, jokes and comments. Listen out for clips! Our interview this month is with Prof. Andrea Ghez who recently gave a fantastic lecture at the IoA for the Eddington Lecture Series. She talks to us about adaptive optics, the newest advancement in telescopes, and how she uses it to observe the black hole at the centre of our very own galaxy. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website, just click the link in iTunes! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/apr09_astropod.mp3 Mon. 13 Apr 2009 16:35 GMT 28:27 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The Universe on your laptop Welcome to the May edition of the AstroPod! This month we have an exciting interview with Jonathan Fay about the World Wide Telescope which allows anyone in the world to view the Universe in spectacular detail on their computer. Anna tells us all about the history of the astronomical survey and how they have a huge impact in astronomy. And finally Quinton investigates the smell and taste of space...! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website, just click the link in iTunes! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/may09_astropod.mp3 Wed. 27 Apr 2009 17:15 GMT 28:41 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Origins: Planet nurseries at submillimeter wavelengths Welcome to the June edition of the AstroPod! We were lucky enough to catch Dr. Jonathan Williams from IfA, Hawaii during his whirlwind visit to the UK this month and got to find out how astronomers use signals from some of the coldest material in the universe to look at the birth of planets. Check it out in this month's interview! In honour of the recent Hubble servicing mission, Anna tells us all about Edwin Hubble in the history feature. Alex has some great tips for astrophotography this month and Michelle brings out the comedy gold with a Trekie theme... Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/jun09_astropod.mp3 Tue. 9 Jun 2009 14:45 GMT 21:17 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew What is dark energy? Welcome to the July edition of the AstroPod! This month we're talking with Dr Nic Ross from Penn State University about the elusive dark energy and how astronomers have designed a new survey that hopes to determine its nature. With Anna away, Michelle tells us about the turbulent history of the cosmological constant, and Alex gives out some tips on observing the night sky this month. Be sure to catch Quinton as the unwilling victim for the Joke of the Month! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/jul09_astropod.mp3 Wed. 15 Jul 2009 21:53 GMT 22:40 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The Fate of the Solar System Welcome to the September edition of the AstroPod! We're a little later than usual this month as we've been on our summer holidays but we're back a ready to deliver the astronomy goodness that you've been craving! This month, we interview Dr Jay Farihi Leceister from University, who explains to us how recent findings of debris disks around the dying remnants of stars like our Sun may hold the key to the fate of the solar system. Anna delves into the past exchanges between astronomers researching white dwarfs stars and how disagreements may have held back the field for many years. Laura keeps us up-to-date with the AstroNews, Alex gives some tops tips for observing this month and Michelle brings us more astro comedy gold! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/sep09_astropod.mp3 Fri. 18 Sep 2009 15:30 GMT 24:09 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The Hubble Constant Redefined Welcome to the October edition of the AstroPod! This month the Director of the IoA and recent recipient of the Gruber prize, Prof. Rob Kennicutt, tells us all about the exciting key project from the Hubble Space Telescope that accurately measured the expansion rate of our universe and its age. Anna's feature this month delves into the history of the Plumian Professorship held here at Cambridge and the outstanding astronomers that have filled the role over the centuries. And of course we have Alex with the Sky at Night and Michelle with your monthly installment of astro-comedy gold! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/oct09_astropod.mp3 Thu. 15 Oct 2009 17:00 GMT 30:29 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew When Galaxies Collide Welcome to the November edition of the AstroPod! This month we talk to Prof Mike Irwin at the IoA about our nearest neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda, and how astronomers are piecing together is surprisingly violent history! Anna delves into the mythological in this month's history feature, looking at how certain objects in the sky got their names. And of course we have Alex with the Sky at Night, Laura with the news and Michelle with your monthly installment of astro-comedy gold! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/nov09_astropod.mp3 Thu. 26 Nov 2009 10:45 GMT 26:23 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew A New Decade Welcome to the December edition of the AstroPod and a Happy New Year to you all! We've put together a show to celebrate the start of a new decade. The new PhD students at the IoA have been keen to get involved with the AstroPod. Listen out for Quinton's interview with the new crew! We have Joe reading the news, Alex with the Sky at Night, and Michelle strikes again with a particularly terrible astronomy joke of the month! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/dec09_astropod.mp3 Tue. 29 Dec 2009 15:08 GMT 32:57 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The Music of the Spheres Hear all about a new audio composition, 'Observations', which will be premiered at the Institute of Astronomy in March. Combined with this, Anna gives us some background about how music is connected to Astronomy. We also have the latest Astronomy news stories from Laura, the guide to what to see in the night sky this month with Alex and the joke you've all been waiting for! This month we bid farwell to Jayne and Quinton but fear not! The Astropod lives on! Thank you for all their hard work! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/mar10_astropod.mp3 Fri. 5 Mar 2010 15:25 GMT 32:07 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Exploring Mars This month is a Mars special! We have an interview with Dr Peter Smith of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona who is in charge of the Phoenix mission to Mars. Anna also tells us about the history of Mars exploration. Thank you to everyone who came to talk to us at the IoA Open Afternoon - we hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did! Included this month are some of the questions you asked us along with our answers. Of course we also have Alex's guide to the Sky at Night in April, the latest news stories from Laura and some astro comedy from Michelle. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/apr10_astropod.mp3 Fri. 9 Apr 2010 15:25 GMT 37:37 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Astronomy Technology This month you can hear all about CCDs (charge-coupled devices) in our interview with Craig Mackay and also Anna's history section. Find out how advances in Astronomy affect your everyday life! Alex guides us around the night sky in May, we have the latest news stories from Laura and, of course, we have the Astro joke of the month from Michelle. Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/may10_astropod.mp3 Mon. 10 May 2010 10:49 GMT 20:01 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Royal Astronomical Society This month hear about the Royal Astronomical Society and its presidents in the history section and our interview with Prof. Andy Fabian. Listen to the latest Astro news from Laura and find your way around the night sky with Alex. Don't forget the joke of the month too! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/jun10_astropod.mp3 Fri. 18 June 2010 14:49 GMT 28:29 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The Sun To celebrate summer finally coming to England we hear all about the Sun this month in our interview with Prof. Douglas Gough and our history section about Sun gods. We also have the latest Astro news from Laura and your guide to the night sky with Alex. Not forgetting Michelle's monthly Astro joke too! Sit back, enjoy and don't forget you can find more info on our website at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/jul10_astropod.mp3 Mon. 12 July 2010 09:46 GMT 33:59 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew ESO The October Edition is now available! We apologise for the delay - but it is worth the wait! This month is jam packed full of banter, Anna gives an interesting history of ESO and Maciek interviews the IoA's Mark Gieles. We, of course, also have the latest Astro news from Laura, your guide to the night sky with Alex and Michelle's monthly Astro joke! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/oct10_astropod.mp3 Mon. 22 October 2010 10:10 GMT 23:50 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Gravitational Lensing This month, along with the usual banter, Anna's history section is all about gravitational lensing and Maciek talks to Joseph Hennawi about his research. Of course we also have the latest news from Laura, a guide to the night sky from Alex and Michelle provides us with another awesome Astro joke of the month. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/nov10_astropod.mp3 Sat. 11 November 2010 12:12 GMT 28:17 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew The Cosmic Climate Change Merry Christmas from the AstroPod Crew! This month, Dr George Becker from the Institute of Astronomy talks to us about cosmic climate change and our new historian, first year PhD student Alex Hall, tells us about the history of quasars. Of course this episode is also packed with the latest news from the world of astronomy and Alex Caverley tells us what we can currently see in the Sky At Night, while Michelle entertains us with a festive joke of the month. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/dec10_astropod.mp3 Thu. 23 December 2010 12:00 GMT 29:13 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Survey Astronomy This month, astronomer Pat Hall from York University in Canada tells us about the science he does using astronomical surveys, while our resident historian Alex Hall tells us all about the history of survey astronomy. And of course we also bring you the latest news from the world of astronomy and what you can see in the Sky At Night and the comedy-stylings of Michelle with the Astronomy Joke of the Month. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/feb11_astropod.mp3 Sat. 29 January 2011 15:00 GMT 33:22 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Prize Winner at the IoA This month, we congratulate our very own Vasily Belokurov who has won the Royal Astronomical Society's Fowler Prize. He tells us all about his award-winning research while Alex gives us a history of the Milky Way in astronomy. Of course we also bring you the latest astronomy news, your guide to the Sky At Night and another fabulous joke of the month from Michelle. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/mar11_astropod.mp3 Mon. 07 March 2011 17:40 GMT 33:12 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Multiwavelength Astronomy Welcome to the April Edition of the Astropod! This month we hear all about the history of multiwavelength Astronomy from Alex H. and Maciek has a fascinating time talking to Shri Kulkarni about this life in Astronomy. Of course we also have the latest news from Laura, your guide to the night sky from Alex C. and a fabulous joke of the month from Michelle. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/apr11_astropod.mp3 Fri. 01 April 2011 09:00 GMT 34:05 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Einstein and Gravitational Waves This month Maciek talks to Jonathan Gair about the exciting field of Gravitational Waves, finding out all about how they could be detected. Alex H. gives us the fascinating story of Einstein's life and career and we, of course, have the latest news from Laura, your guide to what is in the sky this month with Alex C., and an epic joke of the month from Michelle. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/may11_astropod.mp3 Sun. 08 May 2011 21:00 GMT 37:54 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Astronomer Royal Get prepared for a hugely exciting interview this month - Maciek talks to the Astronomer Royal - Professor Martin Rees. Alex H. gives us a history of the Astronomers Royal and we have the news from Laura, your guide to the night sky from Alex C. and Michelle's last ever joke of the month! Listen next month to meet our new joke teller! http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/jun11_astropod.mp3 Fri. 03 June 2011 21:00 GMT 34:16 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod The AstroPod Crew Cosmology This month Maciek talks to Professor George Efstathiou, congratulating him on receiving the Gruber Prize for Cosmology. We also hear all about the Planck satellite and collaboration. Alex H gives us a history of Cosmology, Laura provides us with the most recent news stories, Alex C guides us around the night sky and we welcome Chris to the team, providing us with the best in Astronomy humour. http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/astropod/podcast/jul11_astropod.mp3 Fri. 10 July 2011 21:00 GMT 38:28 astronomy, sky, night, Institute, Cambridge, university, IoA, PhD, student, AstroPod, astro, pod