Radio Astronomy
287 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★ - 23 ratingsThe weekly astronomy podcast from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
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Episodes
How the Great Debate changed astronomy forever
April 23, 2021 11:55 - 32 minutes101 years since astronomy's Great Debate challenged our understanding of the Universe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: Light pollution from satellites
April 19, 2021 11:00 - 31 minutesWe talk with John Barentine from the International Dark Sky Association about an emerging source of light pollution – satellites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Star Diary: What's in the night sky, April 2021
March 31, 2021 12:00 - 36 minutesDiscover the stars, planets, conjunctions and other observing highlights in the night sky this month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space
March 25, 2021 18:00 - 48 minutesWe look back on cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's historic spaceflight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: How to photograph an exoplanet
March 22, 2021 18:30 - 28 minutesAstronomer Beth Biller reveals the new instrument that can directly image planets orbiting distant stars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How Uranus's rings were discovered
March 13, 2021 09:29 - 32 minutesWe speak to astronomer Jessica Mink about her discovery of rings around Uranus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Star Diary: What's in the night sky, March 2021
February 27, 2021 10:00 - 31 minutesFind out what to see in the night sky this month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: How SPHEREx will track the history of the Universe
February 23, 2021 18:00 - 34 minutesNASA scientist Jamie Bock discusses a new mission to track the evolution of the cosmos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OSIRIS-Rex and the Asteroid belt
February 18, 2021 18:00 - 25 minutesWe take a look at the asteroid belt and NASA's space-rock-investigating spacecraft OSIRIS-Rex as it prepares to return to Earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: The Emirates Mars Mission with Hessa Al Matroushi
February 08, 2021 13:11 - 16 minutesWhat will the UAE's first space mission reveal about the Red Planet? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Star Diary: What's in the night sky, February 2021
January 30, 2021 13:00 - 30 minutesDiscover the best things to see in the night sky this month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2021: A new year for astronomy and spaceflight
January 22, 2021 13:00 - 1 hourA guide to stargazing and space missions over the coming year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: Kellie Gerardi on the future of spaceflight
January 19, 2021 10:02 - 35 minutesSuborbital scientist Kellie Gerardi reveals the secrets of the space industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2020's spaceflight and astronomy highlights
December 17, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour2020 has been quite a year, but for many of us the ever-present cosmos has been a source of inspiration and comfort. This episode we look back on the biggest astronomical discoveries of 2020 and reveal our stargazing highlights from the past 12 months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: NASA astronaut Terry Virts
December 12, 2020 09:00 - 44 minutesFormer NASA astronaut Terry Virts discusses life in zero gravity and the future of human spacelflight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A history of Palomar Observatory
December 09, 2020 13:00 - 35 minutesAstronomer Linda Schweizer discusses the history of California's Palomar Observatory, the subject of her new book Cosmic Odyssey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What next for New Horizons?
November 20, 2020 18:00 - 44 minutesNASA's New Horizons spacecraft heads deeper into the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the Solar System. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Is there life beyond Earth?
November 17, 2020 13:26 - 42 minutesBiologist Wallace Arthur reveals why he believes the Universe could be teaming with life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What's a black hole? Interview with astrophysicist Janna Levin
November 06, 2020 13:00 - 41 minutesUS astrophysicist Janna Levin reveals the secrets of black holes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: NASA astronaut Jeff Williams
October 30, 2020 13:00 - 31 minutesNovember 2020 marks 20 years of continuous occupation of the International Space Station. We speak to former NASA astronaut Jeff Williams about the space station's construction, what it's like working in the Earth-orbiting laboratory, and the future of human spaceflight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20 years of the International Space Station
October 22, 2020 12:00 - 41 minutesWe're marking 20 years of continuous occupation of the ISS with a look at its past, present and future, its many achievements, and what it's like to live on the floating laboratory. Plus, astronomer and cosmologist Dr Emma Chapman discusses the history of the Universe and the moment the first stars began to shine throughout the cosmos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: Getting The Right Stuff right
October 09, 2020 07:00 - 26 minutesRobert Yowell served as a technical consultant on Dinsey+ new series, The Right Stuff. The series chronicles the story of the US’s first astronaut class, the Mercury 7 and Yowell helped ensure that the missions depicted were as accurate as possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: Stuart Clark on the history of astronomy
October 02, 2020 12:00 - 42 minutesHave you ever wondered what early humans thought as they looked up at the night sky? How did our ancestors interpret the motion of the stars, constellations and planets? How did it develop into the science of astronomy as we know it today? This episode Stuart Clark discusses his new book Beneath The Night, and how stargazing has shaped the development of our species. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ASTHROS: the stratospheric balloon observatory
September 25, 2020 12:00 - 32 minutesNASA’s Jose Siles discusses ASTHROS, a new mission that will see a 2.5m telescope attached to a helium balloon and sent into the stratosphere, in order to give astronomers a closer look at galactic star formation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Galaxies
September 19, 2020 08:00 - 48 minutesWhat are the different types of galaxies, and how have astronomers studied them over the years? Also this episode, we speak to Andrew Griffith MP, co-chair of an all-party parliamentary group seeking to protect the UK's dark skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: Life on Venus?
September 18, 2020 12:00 - 23 minutesCould life exist elsewhere in the Solar System? Astronomers have announced the presence of phosphine in the clouds of Venus, which could be evidence of microbial life around the hellish planet. This episode Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, one of the astronomers behind the discovery, reveals how they did it, and why we need a new mission to explore Venus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Interview: Libby Jackson on the history of human spaceflight
September 03, 2020 13:51 - 30 minutesWe talk to Libby Jackson – one of the UK's leading experts in human spaceflight and author of Space Explorers: 25 stories of space exploration and adventure – about the history and future of human spaceflight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The life and death of stars
August 13, 2020 12:00 - 33 minutesWe reveal how stars are born, evolve and die, and discover that a star's mass determines its ultimate fate. Plus, we speak to astronomer Emily Cannon about her research into the dimming of Betelgeuse, a red giant star that forms part of the Orion constellation. Could it be about to go supernova? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Trident: a new mission to explore Neptune's moon Triton
August 10, 2020 17:00 - 30 minutesNeptune's icy moon Triton may host an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface. We spoke to planetary scientist Louise Prockter to find out about Trident, a proposed mission she's leading to send a spacecraft to explore the frozen satellite. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The End of Everything: interview with US cosmologist Katie Mack
July 25, 2020 09:00 - 42 minutesHave you ever wondered how the Universe will end? We spoke to Dr Katie Mack to find out what it means to contemplate the final days of the cosmos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The edge of the Solar System
July 16, 2020 17:00 - 38 minutesHow far away is the edge of the Solar System? What even is 'the edge'? How do we know it's there? In this month's episode we take a look at the outer limits of our planetary neighbourhood. Plus: we talk to Keith Hayward of the Royal Aeronautical Society about the Chinese space programme and reveal how to make the most of August's Perseid meteor shower. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cluster Special: marking 20 years of the European solar mission
July 14, 2020 13:59 - 28 minutes16th July 2020 marks 20 years since the launch of the European Space Agency's Cluster mission. For two decades, Cluster has been examining how the solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetosphere and its effect on life on our planet. This episode we spoke to space weather expert and Cluster mission scientist Dr Mike Hapgood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Deflecting asteroids with DART and Hera
June 19, 2020 10:00 - 48 minutesAhead of Asteroid Day on 30 June, we take a look at NASA's DART and ESA's Hera mission. Starting in 2022, these two missions will work together to test how we might one day deflect a potential deadly asteroid. Later on, we interview Andrea Riley, the DART's programme executive and give you our stargazing tip of the month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CHEOPS: Interview with exoplanet scientist Kate Isaak
June 10, 2020 15:00 - 30 minutesThe European Space Agency's CHEOPS mission is currently studying planets orbiting distant stars, known as exoplanets. We spoke to CHEOPS Project Scientist Kate Isaak to find out how the spacecraft operates and what it might discover. The links Kate refers to in the interview can be found here: https://esa.int/cheops https://sci.esa.int/cheops https://cosmos.esa.int/cheops https://cheops.unibe.ch/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices....
Venus special: farewell to the evening star
May 21, 2020 14:58 - 39 minutesWe bid Venus farewell as the planet begins to disappear from our evening sky, and take a look at the planetary geometry that has made it such a glorious sight over the past few months. Plus, we explore the science of Venus and take a look at the history and future of the planet's exploration. Also this month, The Sky at Night's Chris Lintott talks satellite megaconstellations, and how they may prove a threat to our view of the night sky. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
WFIRST: a new era for exoplanet hunting
May 16, 2020 09:00 - 24 minutesWe speak to Dr Savannah Jacklin about the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, a new mission to discover planets orbiting distant stars using a technique predicted by Einstein over 100 years ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hubble at 30: how the space telescope changed astronomy forever
April 23, 2020 09:55 - 57 minutesOver the past three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionised our view of the cosmos. It has given us unprecedented views of galaxies, nebulae, new-born stars and planets, revealing clues about the nature of dark energy, supermassive black holes and the expansion of the Universe. This episode we look at how the mission was conceived, how astronauts repaired its faulty mirror, and some of the highlights from 30 years of incredible science. But we also look to the future. NASA sci...
Apollo 13 special: interview with Mission Control's Jerry Woodfill
April 09, 2020 11:12 - 53 minutesThousands of people helped bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts home. Jerry Woodfill was working at Mission Control when the spacecraft's oxygen tank exploded, and was responsible for the onboard alarm system that led to the crew uttering the immortal words “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” This episode, Jerry talks to us about what it was like working at NASA during the rescue and throughout the Apollo Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your...
Apollo 13 special: how astronauts and Mission Control averted disaster
March 25, 2020 18:00 - 52 minutes"Houston, we've had a problem". This issue we mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13, revealing what went wrong and how Mission Control reacted on the ground. We also take a look at what science goals Apollo 13 might have achieved, had everything gone to plan. Plus, Professor Jason Wright discusses NEID, a new instrument that can measure the masses of exoplanets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Eight – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 09, 2020 07:00 - 8 minutesIn the final episode of our special series of daily podcasts for Back Garden Astronomy Week we take a look at some of the culture and stories that have grown up around the Moon. If the series has inspired you to get involved with lunar observing or astronomy in general, you can still get your free guide fromwww.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Seven – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 08, 2020 07:00 - 7 minutesThe Moon can look vastly different throughout the month, and so we take a look at the different ways colour and shadow can affect your lunar observing experience. For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Six – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 07, 2020 07:00 - 8 minutesCraters are one of the Moon’s most striking features, so we tell you how to make the most of observing them. PLUS, we look at how astronomers use craters to date the age of the lunar surface. For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Five – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 06, 2020 07:00 - 7 minutesThere are lots of things to see in the night sky, but how does our biggest, brightest companion effect the view? For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Four – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 05, 2020 07:00 - 7 minutesEven a modest set of binoculars can really enhance your view of the lunar surface, and so we take a look at how to use them to get the most out of a clear night’s view of the Moon. For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Three – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 04, 2020 07:00 - 7 minutesIn today’s episode we use astronomical sketching as a way to help learn our way around the face of the Moon. PLUS we look at one of the most elusive lunar sights to catch – clair obscure. For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day Two – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 03, 2020 06:00 - 7 minutesLearn all about the lunar phases in the second instalment of our special series. PLUS, a simple experiment to help you explain how the phases change from night to night. For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Day One – Back Garden Astronomy Week: The Moon
March 02, 2020 07:00 - 7 minutesTo celebrate Back Garden Astronomy Week, Radio Astronomy is running a special series of daily podcasts to help you start observing the Moon. With tips and tricks that work at any time of year, there’s no excuse to not get out there and observe our nearest neighbour. For more info, visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/backgarden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Trailer: Back Garden Astronomy Week special series
February 28, 2020 08:00 - 3 minutesBack Garden Astronomy Week is back between 2-9 March 2020! We're running a special series of daily podcasts throughout the week telling you everything you need to know about observing the Moon. Be sure to subscribe to Radio Astronomy podcast to make sure you don't miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Europe in space: the next decade
February 20, 2020 08:00 - 51 minutesWe look at the European Space Agency missions coming up over the next decade, including a crewed lunar orbiter, a spacecraft that will explore the icy moons of Jupiter and probes that will analyse planets orbiting distant stars. Plus, Emma Marrington of the countryside charity CPRE reveals how you can get involved in this year's Star Count citizen science project. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The story of the BBC’s Horizon programme
February 14, 2020 11:52 - 33 minutesThis bonus episode of Radio Astronomy is a Horizon special, as we speak to former producer Alec Nisbett to find out how the long-running BBC science programme covered space and astronomy, and what it was like touring the world in search of the latest scientific advances. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices