Star Diary

Biologist 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

US 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

November 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/adchoice...

We'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. L...

Robert 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

Have 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...

NASA’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

What 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

Could 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 in...

We 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

We 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 po...

Neptune'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

Have 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

How 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 mo...

16th 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 ab...

Ahead 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 abou...

The 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/...

We 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 pro...

We 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

Over 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...

Thousands 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 Ap...

"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/pri...

In 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 info...

The 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

Craters 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