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The Star Spot: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Justin Trottier
The astronomy and space exploration podcast
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- Sep 28, 202041 min
Episode 185: Did a Supernova Cause a Mass Extinction?, with Brian Fields
Feature Guest: Brian Fields By now we are all familiar with the theory that an asteroid brought to an end the age of the dinosaurs, a period of domination that had lasted 167 million years. But asteroids are not the only harbingers of doom that lurk in the darkness of space. Today we're joined here at The Star Spot by Brian Fields, whose research team has found evidence linking supernovae events in deep space to mass extinction events in deep time. Current in Space Tony reports on the mystery of the vanished star. Then Jeff describes electromagnetic flare from a gravitational wave event caused by two merging black holes. And Camilla brings news of two new super-Earths. Finally Amelia and Priyanka offer an explanation for radio waves caused by pulsars. About Our Guest Brian Fields is Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the University of Illinois
- Sep 14, 202041 min
Episode 184: The Milky Way's First Fast Radio Burst, with Sandro Mereghetti
Feature Guest: Sandro Mereghetti Fast radio bursts are a new mystery in astronomy. These highly energetic events of unknown origin were first discovered in 2007 out in deep space. Now a team is reporting the first fast radio burst to emanate from our own Milky Way Galaxy. Today we're joined here at The Star Spot by Sandro Mereghetti, whose team is on the hunt for the source of this unusual phenomenon. Current in Space Camilla shares the remarkable discovery, or rather re-discovery, of the heartbeat of a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy, found still alive and kicking ten years after being first observed. In addition to the supermassive black hole shaping the environment at the centre of our home galaxy, Amelia and Priyanka explain that something else there is also calling the shots (and no, it's definitely not like what we saw in Star Trek V). In other black hole news, Finally, Jeff brings us back down to Earth (though still above Earth), as SpaceX is launching ever more Starlink satellites into orbit to provide high-speed Internet coverage to citizens of our planet. There's only one problem: the future of ground-based astronomy may be at stake. About Our Guest Sandro Mereghetti is research staff member at the National Institute for Astrophysics in Milan.
- May 25, 202038 min
Episode 183: COVID-19 Meets the NASA Space Apps Challenge, with James Slifierz
Feature Guest: James Slifierz The NASA Space Apps Challenge is a feverish annual hackathon engaging teams of coders, scientists and storytellers around the world. Each year thousands of participants in over 75 countries compete to solve real-world problems in Earth and in space. As the Challenge celebrates its 10 year anniversary it faces one of the most demanding challenges of our generation: COVID-19. To discuss how NASA is turning the global pandemic from a challenge into an opportunity, today we're joined here at The Star Spot by James Slifierz, Co-founder and CEO of Skywatch and a 2014 NASA Space Apps global winner. Current in Space Camille reports on the closest black hole to Earth. Then Jeff announces the Artemis Accords. Anshool shares a new high-resolution infrared image of Jupiter. Finally Amelia and Priyanka describe a planetary system with six planets that orbit in near-perfect rhythm. About Our Guest James Slifierz is Co-founder and CEO of Skywatch, a private company with a mission to make earth observation data accessible to developers for a wide variety of applications. He is also responsible for bringing the NASA Space Apps Challenge to Waterloo, Ontario, where each year it proves to be one of the top locations in the world.
- May 11, 202040 min
Episode 182: Planet Nine or Black Hole One, with Jakub Scholtz
Feature Guest: Jakub Scholtz We've long believed that membership in the solar system's planetary family was limited to those eight planets we learned about in grade school. But then astronomers began to raise the possibility of a new super-Earth-sized planet, five to ten times the mass of Earth, orbiting far off in the outer solar system. Now if you thought the concept of Planet Nine was astonishing, consider if the mysterious body wasn't a planet at all - but a black hole. That's right, Planet Nine might be Black Hole One, our own solar system's very first singularity. Today we're joined here at The Star Spot by astrophysicist Jakub Scholtz, co-author of a new study making the case for this fascinating proposal. Current in Space Tony celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. Then Jeff reports on water loss from mysterious interstellar comet Borisov. About Our Guest Jakub Sholtz is Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology at Durham University in the UK. He earned his PhD at the University of Washington, where he was awarded the Hadley Fellowship, and performed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University.
- Apr 27, 202041 min
Episode 181: Reports of Betelgeuse's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated, with Emily Levesque
Feature Guest: Emily Levesque In December 2019, amateur and professional astronomers held their breath as the red supergiant Betelgeuse started dimming beyond anything on record, a sign the behemoth might be preparing to go supernova. But over the ensuing few months, things seemed to be returning to normal for this fascinating star. To solve the mystery, a team set out to investigate this bizarre behaviour and to shed light on the fate of Betelgeuse. Today we're joined here at the Star Spot by Emily Levesque to discuss their findings. Current in Space A supergiant haul of stories this week. First Camilla reports on the largest ozone hole ever seen over North Pole. Then Jeff shares evidence of an elusive mid-sized black hole. And Anshool brings news of many more satellite galaxies around the Milky Way. Followed by Amelia and Priyanka's obituary on the passing of astronomer Margaret Burbidge. Finally Joseph updates us on the proposed mission to Enceladus. About Our Guest Emily Levesque is Assistant Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington. Previously she worked as a Post Doc at the University of Colorado, during which she held Einstein and Hubble Fellowships. She is a recipient of the Sloan Fellowship and the Annie Jump Cannon Award. Her work focuses on massive stars and galaxy formation.
- Apr 6, 202051 min
Episode 180: Wormholes through Space and Time, with John Cramer
Feature Guest: John G. Cramer They are the stuff of science fiction, but wormholes are also the subject of intense scientific debate. Can wormholes provide a mechanism for faster than light travel through space and, even more intriguing, do they open the door to travel through time? Today we're joined here at The Star Spot by one of the world's foremost authorities on wormholes, Professor John G. Cramer, to share results from his thought experiments on wormholes and his laboratory experiments aimed at changing the past. Current in Space Jeff starts us off with a bang... the largest bang we've ever seen in the universe. Then Camilla unveils the name of the next generation Mars rover. And Anshool ponders the chances of finding life around a black hole. Finally Amelia and Priyanka pay tribute to pioneering mathematician Katherine Johnson. About Our Guest John G Cramer is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Washington. He has made contributions to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider project at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the particle accelerator at CERN. He is known for his experiments in quantum retrocausality, which explore the possibility of effects preceding causes. Cramer is a regular guest on the Science Channel and NPR, and he has authored multiple books of hard science fiction.
- Mar 2, 202028 min
Episode 179: Dreams of Floating Cities, with Geoffrey Landis
Feature Guest: Geoffrey A. Landis When we think of terraforming, we probably envision turning the Red Planet blue. But Mars isn't the only world in our solar system that ambitious scientists have considered transforming. Imagine a network of floating cities in the clouds of Venus, or sailing ships plying the oceans of a newly thawed moon in the outer solar system. Today we're going to dream here at The Star Spot with NASA scientist and award-winning science fiction author, Geoffrey Landis. Current in Space After NASA's InSight lander touched down on Mars in late 2018, it's already gathering fascinating data, but as Camilla explains, its latest discovery is literally groundshaking: Mars is officially a seismically active planet! Then Jeff reports on the launch of Solar Orbiter, a new Sun-exploring spacecraft that will enhance our knowledge of the Sun's influence on the entire Solar System. And while Pluto's heart made us fall in love with the famous dwarf planet all over again, Anshool describes an influence that goes far beyond its aesthetic qualities. Wrapping it up with a special double bill on our local star: The most detailed image so far of the Sun's surface has been captured, and Amelia and Priyanka provide the details. About Our Guest Geoffrey A. Landis is a scientist at the NASA John Glenn Research Centre where he works on Mars missions and on developing advanced concepts and technology for future space missions. He has expertise in photovoltaic device design, for which he holds four patents. Landis received bachelors degrees in physics and in electrical engineering from MIT, and a PhD in physics from Brown University. In addition to his pure science work, Landis has published over fifty science fiction short stories, including "Ripples in the Dirac Sea" which won the Nebula award for best short story and "A Walk in the Sun" which won the Hugo award.
- Feb 3, 202042 min
Episode 178 Sibling Rivalry at the Centre of the Galaxy, with Smadar Naoz
Feature Guest: Smadar Naoz We've long known that most galaxies contain at their core a supermassive black hole that can be millions of times the mass of the sun. But now researchers are discovering galaxies with more than one supermassive black hole at their centre. To understand the implications of this discovery and what it could mean about the history of the Milky Way, should our own galaxy be among this collection, today we're joined here at The Star Spot by astrophysicist Smadar Naoz. Current in Space Stars like the Sun are a no-brainer when it comes to finding habitable planets, but Amelia and Priyanka say another star is even better; say hello to the orange dwarf. In other habitable planet news, Jeff reports on the discovery of two super-Earth exoplanets that just may be home to life. Finally, Anshool looks to the ancient history of our own planet with the finding of the oldest known asteroid impact, one which may have marked a major climate shift. About Our Guest Smadar Naoz is Howard and Astrid Preston Term Chair in Astrophysics and Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCLA. She is a member of the executive committee of the Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics. She received her PhD from Tel Aviv University before working as an Einstein Fellow at Harvard University.
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