Astrophiz Podcasts

Astrophiz 58 Dr Jessie Christiansen ~ Flying with @NASA_TESS to a billion planets Today our feature interview is with Dr Jessie Christiansen who started out in rural Queensland in Australia and is now a NASA Staff Scientist and working on exoplanet discovery with the just-launched TESS Mission. Follow @aussiastronomer on Twitter And that’s followed by university toxicology lecturer, amateur astronomer and astrophotographer Dr Ian Musgrave of Astroblogger fame, who will tell us ‘What’s Up Doc? Whats up in the evening, night and morning skies for the next two weeks, and in ‘Ian’s Tangent’ we hear about how lasers are used in astronomy. Follow @ianfmusgrave on Twitter In the news: 1. The just-launched relay satellite for the Chang’e 4 lunar mission to the ‘dark side’ of the moon. 2. A new hypothesis to explain repeating FRBs 3. An exciting supernova discovery live during the ABC/BBC Stargazing show. Follow @Astrophiz on Twitter, FB & Insta

Astrophiz 57: Dr Elaina Hyde ~ Data Science & Astrophysics Our feature interview is with Dr Elaina Hyde. Dr. Hyde speaks four languages, has four undergraduate degrees in astronomy, physics, optical engineering and planetary sciences; two masters degrees in engineering and astronomy and astrophysics; and a Ph.D. in astronomy and physics. She is an artist, a cool coder, and shares her code on Github. She uses data creatively to understand how our universe works. Follow on @AstroHyde on Twitter For observers and astrophotographers Dr Ian Musgrave gives us ‘What’s Up Doc’ and he tells us what to look for in our morning and evening skies, what planets, galaxies and nebula to look for and what occultations are happening. In Ian’s Tangent, we look at CO2 on Mars and Comet PanSTARRS In the news: The Breakthrough Listen Initiative has signed up for 1500 hours of observation time in 2018 with the multi-beam receivers on ‘the Dish’, CSIRO’s famous Parkes telescope and the recent tech upgrade with the multi-beam

In this episode we hear about weird Magnetars, Supercomputers and Gravitational Wave discoveries from Professor  Matthew Bailes. Dr Bailes  is the founder and Director of the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav). He is an advisor to the Breakthrough Listen project as well as leading the MeerTIME project. His team also developed a supercomputer for the 50 year-old Molonglo telescope to transform it into a pulsar timing and FRB discovery machine.We should note here that Duncan Lorimer and Professor Bailes  were the original discoverers of FRBs, Fast Radio Bursts, which we have featured in a few previous episodes.  Dr Bailes has a huge number of papers published with 16 thousand professional citations in Astrophysics journals.  Most recently he is co-author of a paper about some puzzling discoveries about a re-awakening magnetar, using instruments including the new SKA precursor MeerKAT telescopes

Our feature interview is with Kathryn Neugent, who is PhD Astronomy student researching massive stars at the University of Washington in Seattle, research associate at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, discoverer of an amazing runaway Yellow Supergiant in the Small Magellanic Cloud, Photographer, Backpacker, and animal lover pretty much anywhere and everywhere! Follow @KathrynNeugent on Twitter and her blog at http://kathrynneugent.com Find out about massive Wolf-Rayet stars and Kathryn's team's discovery of a new class of WR Stars, and a new mystery for astronomers to grapple with. This is a wonderful example of how great science, while answering one question, will point to new avenues of discovery.  For observers and astrophotographers Dr Ian Musgrave gives us ‘What’s Up Doc’ and he tells us what to look for in our morning and evening skies, what planets, galaxies and nebula to look for and what occultations are happening. In Ian's Tangent, we look at a solar flare likely to eliminate  the possibility of l

In this episode our feature interview is with Laura Driessen who is an astrophysicist and PhD candidate based at Manchester University who is working with the MeerTRAP team using radio and optical data from the SKA precursor MeerKAT array to pinpoint the sources of mysterious Fast Radio Bursts. For observers and astrophotographers Dr Ian Musgrave gives us ‘What’s Up Doc’ and he tells us what to look for in our morning and evening skies, what planets, galaxies and nebula to look for, what occultations are happening, strategies for imaging both faint and bright objects, and how various imaging and stacking softwares can be used to do this. We mention how sometimes Mars can be ‘ rediscovered’ and in Ian’s Tangent, we talk about the reasons for the premature demise of Humanity Star and the much anticipated re-entry of Tiangong I over the upcoming Easter Weekend, which coincides with a very rare second Blue Moon in one year. In the News: 

1. Launch preparations for the Parker Solar Probe 2. Brendan has a gentl

In this episode we are speaking with astrophysicist and Indigenous Astronomer Kirsten Banks who is the Indigenous Astronomy Educator at the Sydney Observatory. She is a multiple award winner and CSIRO STEM Award finalist. For observers and astrophotographers Dr Ian Musgrave gives us ‘What’s Up Doc’ and tells us what to look for in our morning and evening skies. What planets, galaxies and nebula to look for, what occultations are happening, and in Ian's Tangent, we talk about the demise of Tiangong I and when and where it may fall to earth. In the News: 1. A brief tribute to Prof Stephen Hawking 2. All galaxies take the same time to rotate 3. The brightest FRB is discovered by ICRAR/Parkes/Swinburne team

Today we are at FRB2018 speaking with Dr Emily Petroff who is a Post-doc Researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy in Dwingeloo. Hosted at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne and sponsored by CAASTRO, this conference was dedicated to the still mysterious Fast Radio Bursts and attracted FRB researchers from all over the world. Among the first to conduct diagnostic research into FRBs and Perytons, Emily presented her most recent research at the conference and gives us a fascinating insight into this ongoing cosmic mystery. For observers and astrophotographers Dr Ian Musgrave gives us ‘What’s Up Doc’ and tells us what to look for in our morning and evening skies. He tells us how to observe some of Jupiter’s moons visible to the naked eye. In ‘Ian’s tangent’ he challenges us to use Calsky or Heavens-above websites to observe the ‘disco ball in the sky’ Humanity Star. In the news: * Earliest signals from the very first stars detected by a simple antenna at the Murchison Radio Obser

Astrophiz 51: Dr David Gozzard - Telescope pilot taking the pulse of the Universe. In this episode we are speaking with Dr David Gozzard who is a Post-doc Researcher at the The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and lecturer at the University of West Australia. He is also a surf lifesaver, a 3D printer and model aircraft pilot, Astrophysics blogger and recipient of the 2017 West Australian Student Scientist of the Year Award. His work on synchronising multi-signal systems has been successfully tested on SKA precursor radio telescope arrays in Australia and Africa. Then Dr Ian ‘Astroblog’ Musgrave tells astrophotographers, naked eye observers, binocular and telescope wranglers, what to look for in the skies over the next two weeks.

We're baaack, after a fabulous EuroTour, with our second Asteroid Hunter show where we talk with Daniel Bamberger in Marburg Germany, then Guy Wells in London UK, who are the founders of the Northolt Branch Observatories, who are our most prolific confirmers of Asteroids, comets and NEOs. Then we cross to Adelaide in Australia to speak with regular presenter Dr Ian Musgrave, who features the upcoming eclipses and tells us what to look up for in 2018.

Have a fabulous Festive Season and Happy New Year Everyone! Some of the Astrophiz team is off on a jaunt through Europe/UK over December/January, so we will not be posting as usual. We are doing some interviews on our trip so we'll have some more fabulous Astrophiz episodes for you early in 2018. Today we leave you a beautiful festive tune, arranged by my daughter Lara for Piano, Cello & violin. Lara's friends Emma (violin) and Tom (cello) work together beautifully for this classic Led Zeppelin composition "Stairway to Heaven"

Astrophiz 48: Dr Jacinta Delhaize 'Star-forming frenzy' In this fabulous extended 60min episode we feature Dr Jacinta Delhaize who is a Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science in Croatia. Jacinta has devolved a ‘stacking technique’ to combine data to overcome the problem of detecting weak hydrogen signals from distant galaxies. She has been using data from the Parkes Dish and the Hershel instrument to helps us understand the role of hydrogen in the evolution of galaxies. After recently moving from ICRAR in Western Australia to Croatia, her research is now looking at how black holes at the centres of galaxies can effect star formation, and is now using data from the Jansky VLA to continue this collaborative research. For observers and astrophotographers, Dr Ian ‘Astroblog’ Musgrave tell us what to look for in our morning and evening skies over the next days and weeks, and how to best observe the imminent Geminid Meteor Shower. In ‘ian’s tangent’ he tells us about Australia’s ea

Astrophiz 47: Dr Phil Edwards - The SKA Today we are speaking with Dr Phil Edwards, Australia’s SKA leader from the CSIRO. He is now Head of ATNF (Australia Telescope National Facility) Science at the CSIRO and SKA Project Scientist. Phil is originally from South Australia and did his BSc, BScHons and PhD at the University of Adelaide, and he gives some great insights on the often meandering career paths of scientists. As well as giving us an inside look at the Square Kilometre Array (the SKA), he explains about a recent discovery of high energy neutrinos from beyond our galaxy. He is one of the Australian members of an international team that follows up some neutrino detections that came about by bugging a cubic kilometre of ice down in the Antarctica. This is big science, using monstrous detectors looking for the tiniest particles that give us new understandings of our cosmos. For observers and astrophotographers, Ian ‘Astroblog’ Musgrave tells us what when and where to look for objects in the morning an

Astrophiz 46: Dr Tamara Davis “The Dark Universe" Today we are speaking with Professor Tamara Davis from the University of Queensland. Tamara is a renowned and extensively cited cosmologist who has won numerous prizes for her research. Dr Davis talks us through our understanding of dark energy and it’s role in the accelerating expansion of our universe and what it means for the ultimate fate of our cosmos. For observers and astrophotographers, Ian ‘Astroblog’ Musgrave tells us what when and where to look for objects in the morning and evening skies, and in ‘Ian’s Tangent’ he introduces us to some spooky Halloween phenomena and the rare interstellar comet that flashed past our home star a few days ago. In the News: A follow-up from our last episode on Gravitational waves and ‘multi-messenger astronomy’ we look into what may be inside neutron stars … apart from neutrons … enjoy!

This week will be remembered as the ‘first light’ of the emerging science of Gravitational Wave Astronomy. To explain this breakthrough we speak with research astronomer, science communication and outreach officer Dr. Ángel López-Sánchez from the AAO, the Australian Astronomical Observatory, which played a key role in detecting and verifying radio wavelength observations of the neutron star kilonova collision which sent both electromagnetic waves and gravitational waves from this nearby event 130 million years ago. Then we cross to Adelaide to speak with Dr Ian Musgrave to discover ‘What’s Up Doc’ … what’s up in the morning and evening sky and in ‘Ian’s Tangent’ he gives us the skinny on the recent ring system discovery and the fine prospects of catching some Orionid Meteor from Halley’s Comet this year. In the news: There is no other news this week! It’s wall to wall Gravity Waves and Neutron Star Kilonovae and how your bling was created. Enjoy!

To understand how galaxies evolve, Dr Rebecca Allen uses Hubble and Keck images to study star-forming galaxies and galaxies that are not forming stars. Rebecca’s passion for both outreach and research makes for a exceptional episode as she paints a clear picture of galactic evolution. to help us understand some of the fundamental elements of our cosmos. For observers and astrophotographers, Dr Ian ‘Astroblog’ Musgrave continues with ‘What’s Up Doc’ and tells us when, where and what to look for in morning and evening skies. In Ian’s Tangent, Ian helps us understand more about the new discovery of Binary Comets. In the news: The discovery of the 4th Gravitational Wave announced as a result of a collaboration between researchers at the Italian GW facility and the LIGO detector. The 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics awarded to 3 men (out of the hundreds of) researchers who created LIGO and the first GW detection. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnett still not recognised by the Nobel Committee for her discovery and analysis of

Astrophiz 43 – Cassini’s Legacy. As one of 30 very lucky Astrogeeks, Andrew P Street was a guest of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex on Friday 15 September 2017 to witness first hand the #GrandFinale of the astonishing 20 year Cassini Mission to Saturn. In this episode: With permission, we read Andrew P Street’s great article published in the Guardian the next day. Then Dr Ian Musgrave and I discuss my awed impressions of this amazing night at Tidbinbilla CDSCC as a guest of CSIRO/NASA, and my new understanding of the importance and capabilities of the 3 NASA/JPL Deep Space Network earth stations at Goldstone USA, Madrid Spain and Tidbinbilla Australia. Ian recounts some of Cassini’s iconic achievements. For observers and astrophotographers, Ian continues with ‘What’s Up Doc’ and tells us when, where and what to look for in morning and evening skies. In Ian’s Tangent, Ian helps us understand why the end of the Cassini Mission was such an emotional event compared with other famous missions.

Today we are speaking with Glen Nagle from the CSIRO/NASA Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla near Canberra in Australia. Glen takes us through the genesis of NASA missions and the astonishing achievements of the Cassini mission since the launch in 1997. He explains how the CDSCC establishes two-way communication with about 40 spacecraft, how command sets from JPL are transmitted to Cassini and how science data and images are received. Glen then tells us why and how Cassini will be smashing into the atmosphere of Saturn next week on Friday 15 September, and how the Tidbinbilla dishes will be capturing the final science data from Cassini. Watch this amazing event live on NASA TV at nasa.gov/ntv Dr Ian Musgrave in ‘What’s up Doc’ tells us what to look for in the morning and evening skies and covers this week’s fabulous discoveries about Asteroid Florence and how amateurs can track this asteroid with its two moons. Yes, asteroids can have moons! In the News: 1. New understanding of novae

Today we are speaking with Dr Hayley Bignall. Hayley is an astrophysicist for Australia’s CSIRO in their Astronomy & Space Science Division. After her studies, she spent 5 yrs working at the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe and is now based in Perth, Australia. After spending about 7 years at The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) at Curtin University, she joined CSIRO in 2016. Hayley explains how a team she works with have made some fabulous discoveries about blazars and quasars and ‘scintillations’ in intergalactic space. Dr Ian Musgrave in ‘What’s up Doc’ tells us what to look for in the morning and evening skies and explains how an occultation project lead to the discovery of a comet with a binary cross-section In the News: Amazing new gravity wave source could be visible neutron stars rather then ‘invisible’ black holes.

Today we celebrate our 40th episode and 10,000+ downloads into 50+ countries. In this episode we feature Dr Alice Gorman ('Dr Spacejunk') who is a Space Archaeologist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology, Flinders University in South Australia. She is a member of the Advisory Council of the Space Industry Association of Australia. Alice casts a new focus on WRESAT-1, Australia's first satellite launch, positioning Australia as the third nation in space in 1967. She explains how the Voyager probes and the 'Golden record' are cultural milestones which mark humanity's place in the solar system. As one of the few space archeologists on planet earth, she gives fabulous and new insights into the ISS and the treasure it has become. Follow Alice on Twitter @drspacejunk In 'What's up Doc', Dr Ian 'Astroblog' Musgrave tells us what to look for in the evening and morning skies, the skinny on the Perseid Meteor Shower, and in 'Ian's Tangent' he shines the light on the Osiris REx mission, occultations, t

In this episode Dr Ian 'Astroblog' Musgrave gives us an insightful approach to amateur astronomy, introduces us to basic equipment and cameras and iTelecope.net remote telescopes, tells us what to look for in the evening and morning skies and in his Tangent, give us more detail on occultations and how some asteroids can become comets. Ian is someone very familiar to Astrophiz listeners. For the last 12 months he has presented his ‘What’s Up Doc’ segment where he tells us what to look for in the night sky, astrophotography tips and in ‘Ian’s Tangent’ he gives us a deeper understanding of astronomical phenomena. Today he will do all that, but first we’re going to find out more about this erstwhile producer of the fantastic ‘Astroblog’. In the News: SKA update, the Voyager Missions, Non-Optical Telescopes and what to look forward to in our next couple of episodes.