Awesome Astronomy

What to look out, and up, for in March. This month we look in the direction of Cancer the Crab for the beginners guide – taking a look at open clusters Messier 67, The Beehive Cluster and the planet Jupiter beaming down from up on high. Next we round up the planets that are visible in March 2015, say goodbye to Comet Lovejoy, take a look at this month’s eclipse, explore the phases of the moon and finish off by rounding up the galaxies and globular clusters for telescope observers in Canes Venatici.

Download Episode! The full length discussion between Ralph & Paul about the merits of rockets against spaceplanes - the risks, costs and current availability of technology. With Elon Musk's SpaceX committed to landing expendable rocket parts and Reaction Engines' Sabre Rocket being backed by ESA and the UK Space Agency, is the future of spaceflight along NASA's disposable rocketry lines, SpaceX's resusable rockets or Skylon spaceplanes?

The Discussion: Enjoying views of Comet Lovejoy, engaging in astronomy outreach at schools, looking forward to the Spring AstroCamp in the Welsh Brecon Beacons dark sky reserve and catching up with the Project Helium Tears high altitude balloon team. The Competition Thanks to the Project Helium Tears team, we’re offering you the opportunity to see your name in space! Just tweet or email us and we’ll pick a winner (or winners) to have their name on the side of the spacecraft and have it photographed with the curvature of the Earth and the blackness of space in the background! Use the hashtag #TakeMeToSpace The News: A full-to-bursting round up of the news over the last month, starting with the phoenix-like Kepler Space Telescope and the latest ‘Earth-like’ exoplanet and the possibility of life on Mars getting more likely following Curiosity’s detection of methane on the Red Planet. Next up is NASA’s options for an asteroid redirect mission, SpaceX’s attempt to land spent rocket stages and we finish with

We start with the big bold northern hemisphere constellation of Orion. The swollen supergiant Betelgeuse, 5 stars in one in Sigma Orionis, and the magnificent Orion Nebula stellar nursery in our beginner's guide. Next up, we have a four body conjunction of Venus, Mars, Uranus & the moon, while Jupiter continues to dominate overhead, reaching opposition on 6th February. There are a good few stars occulted by the moon this month, while Comet Lovejoy continues to delight binocular and telescope observers. Then we round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month in the constellation Ursa Major.

Download Episode! In this podcast extra we go off piste and digress from a discussion about the successes of the Rosetta mission. We ask whether the fantastic comet mission of 2014/2015 marks a turning point in ESA's exploration and marks Europe's coming of age as a space agency? Two instances of bad language.

The Discussion: Christmas in Cydonia and teaching science to children through astronomy education. The News: Kicking off 2015 we round off the events that concluded 2014: the successful test flight of NASA’s Orion capsule; NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory pieces together the clues that tell us how Mount Sharp (the mountain Mars Curiosity is exploring) was formed; and science findings from ESA’s Rosetta and Philae spacecraft that suggest water was not delivered to Earth by comets like 67P Churyumov Gerasimenko. The 5 Minute Concept: This month Paul delves into the fundamental nature of our universe. We take a look at the Cosmological Principle, which tells us that the universe and the forces within it are the same wherever we look, and explore huge structures that put strain on this accepted model of cosmology. The Interview: Ralph & Paul speak with the creators of the ‘Essex Space Agency’, Matt Kingsnorth and Phil St Pier who are building a high altitude balloon with cameras to photograph the Earth’s

What to look out, and up, for in January. We start with three Messier open clusters in Auriga and a tougher nebula in our beginner’s guide. Next up Mercury rises high in our Northern Hemisphere skies, Jupiter dominates the night sky and Saturn, Venus, Uranus & Neptune can be found with the right timing. We bring you the phases and libration events of the moon, the Quadrantid meteor shower and a new comet to take a look for. Then we round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month in the winter constellations of Cancer & Lynx.

This pantomime episode contains some mild bad language and puerile humour Join us for a round up of our favourite stories & events from 2014 and discuss the most exciting space missions and astronomy events in 2015. For this festive season we welcome you back to our secretive Cydonia bunker - the scene of each Earth invasion attempt - as we pull a few crackers over Christmas dinner and inflict some pain on the Earthling slaves. Naturally, no end of year Awesome Astronomy show would be complete without the habitual gaffes and outtakes from 2014. So, happy holiday season, thank you for downloading as listening to us in 2014 and we look forward to spending 2015 with you too. Ralph. Paul, Damien & John

The Discussion: The historical landing of the Philae probe on Comet 67P, lunar imaging and astronomy outreach in the UK. The News: In the news we relive the events around the comet landing and the latest science findings from Churyumov Gerasimenko, the upcoming first test flight of America’s new manned space capsule Orion and the tragic accident aboard Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two, resulting in the death of one of the crewmembers The 5 Minute Concept: Fresh on the heels of the European Space Agency’s latest successful mission, Paul turns his attentions this months to the beacon of knowledge, space exploration and engineering that rose from the ashes of Europe’s darkest days: ESA. The Interview: Ralph speaks with NASA’s Orion Project Manager, Paul Marshall, about the upcoming test flight and the future of manned American space exploration. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stre

What to look out, and up, for in December. We start with the broad constellation of Gemini and an easy binary star, a planetary nebula and a group of star clusters for astronomy beginners to find, before emabarking on a spot of exogazing! Next up is the return of resplendent Jupiter and Venus to our skies. We bring you the phases and conjunctions of the moon and the Geminid meteor shower in December. Then we round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month in the winter constellations of Orion, Eridanus & Lepus.

From the Autumn AstroCamp 2014, Cardiff University astrophysics student, Jeni Millard, presents our latest understanding of the structure, formation, and future of our neighbouring galaxies and the evidence for and against dark matter.

Download Episode! The Discussion: Enjoying light pollution-free skies in the Ionian Sea and soaking up the atmosphere at the North West Astronomy Festival. The News: In the news we have more findings about the interior and evolution of our moon from the GRAIL and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions; Russian and Chinese lunar ambitions ratchet up a notch; the ExoMars mission narrows down its possible 2018 landing sites; sampling the atmospheres of Neptune-sized exoplanets; Comet Siding Spring brushes past Mars; Lockheed Martin claim to have made a breakthrough in fusion reactors; more doubt on the gravitational waves detection by the BICEP2 team and dark matter particles streaming from the sun. The 5 Minute Concept: In a solar maximum year when we have tons of solar activity that we can enjoy in the form of visible details on the sun and auroral activity that’s even reached as far south as central latitudes recently, this month Paul explains sunspots. The Interview: Live interviews recorded from the N

What to look out, and up, for in November. We start with the welcome return of the winter constellation of Taurus in our beginners’ and young observers’ challenge. Next up is the planets, the phases and conjunctions of the moon and the Leonid meteor shower to enjoy this month. We then round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month with the open clusters and binary stars in the constellation Auriga.

The Discussion: Enjoying dark skies at the National Trust, Paul’s astronomy outreach endeavours with Sirius Astronomy and predictions for the upcoming AstroCamp. The Tour: In this special episode, Ralph and Paul bring record from the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey in Guildford. We tour this world leading centre of excellence for low cost satellite design and innovation and explain the sights and work being conducted in the Ground Station and laboratories from where 30 satellites have already been launched and many more are currently in design. The News: In the news we have the latest on the European Space Agency’s ambitious Rosetta spacecraft as it circularises its orbit around Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko; Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission to return pristine asteroid samples; watching asteroids colliding 1,000 light years away and yet another reminder of the asteroid lottery we’re playing. The 5 Minute Concept: Recording from the UK centre of satellite design and construction, what else should

What to look out, and up, for in October. We start with the constellation of Perseus in our beginners’ and young observers’ challenge. Next up is planets, the phases and conjunctions of the moon and the meteor showers to enjoy this month. We then round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month with the globular clusters and galaxies in the constellations Andromeda & Pegasus.

Download Episode! A podcast extra episode to get you in the mood for the biannual dark sky weekend run by the podcast crew. We have BBC's The Sky at Night's Chris North joining us again to give a talk on the Herschel Space Observatory and Cardiff Uni's Jeni Millard explaining galaxies and dark matter. And of course, 3 nights of enjoying the wonders of truly dark skies. If you're not coming to AstroCamp in April 2014, there's still a sky guide in this episode to give you stargazing inspiration wherever you are.

The Discussion: Sirius Astronomy and The Knowledge Observatory’s educational outreach and preparation for our dark sky observing weekend in Wales: AstroCamp. The News: In the news we have the latest on the European Space Agency’s ambitious Rosetta spacecraft as it settles into it’s science program at Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko; details of the science payload for NASA’s ‘Curiosity 2’ Mars rover; revealing images of the Pluto system from the New Horizons spacecraft; China’s lunar orbit & spacecraft return mission and turbulent happenings on Uranus (sorry). The 5 Minute Concept: Distant radio sources that reveal unknown monsters from the past, unleashing hell from afar. In this month’s 5MC, Paul takes us billions of light years away from home to explain one of the brightest and most energetic objects in the universe. Quasars. The Interview: This month we return to the most exciting current space mission. In an attempt to understand the life of comets and unlock the secrets of the birth of the solar s

What to look out, and up, for in September. We start with the constellation of Cassiopeia in our beginners’ and young observers’ challenge. Next up is planets, the phases and conjunctions of the moon to enjoy this month. We then round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month with the large clusters and a nice easy nebula in the constellation Sagitta & Vulpecula.

The Discussion: Enjoying the delights of July’s skies, writing articles for Astronomy magazine, STEM education and Paul becomes a European Space Agency ambassador. The News: In the news we have the Rosetta spacecraft’s approach to the almost unpronounceable comet Churyumov Gerasimenko – revealed to be a binary comet, and the Very Large Telscope in Chile takes a 2.5 year study of a supernova to crack the riddle of how dust is created and survives the extreme temperatures of its birth. The 5 Minute Concept: In this month’s 5MC, Paul looks at the summer phenomenon of noctilucent clouds and asks ‘why is there no record of them before 1885’? The Interview: We welcome back the General Secretary of the International Astronomical Union, Professor Thierry Montmerle to tells us about the International Year of Light, the IAU’s new look communications strategy and their new project to allow the public to name exoplanets and their host stars. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us

What to look out, and up, for in August. We start with the constellation of Cepheus in our beginners’ and young observers’ challenge. Next up is planets and the standout phases of the moon to enjoy this August. We then round up the best of the deep sky offerings for the month with a galaxy, two globular clusters and a couple of planetary nebulas in the constellation Aquarius.