The Jodcast

In this episode we find out about observations of regions of massive star formation [10:15 - 20:02] from Dr Steve Longmore and we hear about a chance to vote on what you would like the Hubble Space Telescope to observe [20:33 - 22:40]. As always, Megan brings us the latest news [02:35 - 10:07] and Ian Morison tells us what we can see in the February night sky [22:52 - 37:27].

In this episode Colin Stuart visits the Herschel Museum in Bath to find out about the astronomical work of William and Caroline Herschel [01:51 - 28:57], we bring you the first Ask an Astronomer of 2009 [29:05 - 47:34] and we round-up the feedback we've received since the last show.

With it being the end of the year we round-up our favourite astronomical images of 2008 [17:16 - 25:05]. We also discuss the International Year of Astronomy and hear about a new astronomy podcast from Dr Pamela Gay (Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville) [12:11 - 16:45]. As always, Megan brings us the latest news [01:50 - 09:49] and Ian Morison tells us what we can see in the January night sk...

It's the last show before Christmas so the show is a little shorter than usual. First up we bring news of two special video episode that will be out in the next few days. In our interview [04:27-27:17] we talk to Philip Best about galaxies and a new low-frequency telescope named LOFAR. We also bring you some stocking filler ideas [28:27-32:37] and round-up the feedback we've received since the las...

Oh no it didn't, but it will produce infrared surveys of galaxies. In our main interview [12:32 - 30:05] we talk to Dr Matt Jarvis (University of Hertfordshire) about the ongoing attempts to detect gravitational waves using observations of pulsars spread over the sky. As always, Megan brings us the latest news [04:32 - 12:14] and Ian Morison tells us what we can see in the December night sky [35:0...

We bring you breaking news of two separate discoveries of extra solar planets. In our main interview [05:14 - 21:47] we talk to Dr George Hobbs (Australia Telescope National Facility) about the ongoing attempts to detect gravitational waves using observations of pulsars spread over the sky. In Ask an Astronomer [24:03 - 37:31] Tim answers your questions.

Catherine Heymans tells us [09:19 - 25:03] about observations of dark matter in the supercluster Abell 901/902. As usual we get the latest news from Megan [00:57 - 07:43] and find out what you can see in the northern night sky from Ian [25:17 - 36:17].

We find out about the Jodrell Bank Meteor Detector from Eddie Blackhurst [02:25-11:47]. We talk to Roberta Paladini about her studies of astronomical objects - such as our own galaxy - that obscure observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation [31:37-01:01:24]. Tim answers listener questions about astronomy [11:59-29:55].

You don't see the same universe twice. This month Jim Cordes tells us [20:12 - 34:25] about the recently discovered class of pulsars which emit their pulses in a very intermittent way. Jim also tells us about future searches for transient astrophysical objects and his use of the Arecibo radio telescope. As usual we get the latest news from Megan [01:14 - 08:37] and find out what you can see in the...

In this show Tim returns to answer your questions about astronomy [09:04-37:16] and we talk to Andreas Faltenbacher about dark matter halos in the Millennium Simulation [37:38-76:56].

This month we bring you a final interview that we conducted at the National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast. Dill Faulkes, the man behind the Faulkes Telescope project, tells us why he set it up and what the future holds [20:12 - 34:25]. We also talk to Debbie Mitchell about how her training in astrophysics led her to a career working for the National Air Traffic Control Service [15:02 - 18:55]. As u...

In space nobody can hear you scream but that doesn't mean that it is totally quiet. In this show, Tim O'Brien helps our ears to explore the sounds of the cosmos [08:12-46:53] and Elaine Barrett tells us about her very special tour of NASA's Space Centre in Houston [48:03-1:10:13].

On 1st August 2008 parts of the world experienced a total solar eclipse. In the UK we saw a partial solar eclipse and the Jodcast was at Jodrell Bank Observatory with our eclipse special. We talk to Dr Phillipa Browning about eclipses and the state of our knowledge about the solar atmosphere [15:15 - 21:09] and to Professor Mark Edmonds about the evidence that prehistoric people had an interest in...

With 95% of the content of the universe being dark, we ask Jochen Weller about dark energy and models that describe the expansion of the universe [16:28 - 31:17]. As usual we also get the latest news from Megan [02:09 - 10:28] and find out what you can see in the night sky from Ian [33:24 - 43:36].

In the show this time we find out how astronomers and particle physicists are detecting cosmic rays hitting our atmosphere with the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina [13:43 - 40:41]. Nick also gives us an update on some recent extrasolar planet discoveries which have found a planet only 3.3 times the mass of the Earth orbiting a star thought to be a brown dwarf [2:13 - 8:40].

In this show we talk about Mars Phoenix Lander touching down on Mars and sending back its first results. In our interview Ben Maughan tells us how he has been weighing clusters of galaxies. Tim O'Brien tells us about events at Jodrell Bank Observatory over the next month including the Longest Day Garden Party. We also get the latest news from Megan and find out what you can see in the night sky fr...

This issue we talk to Dr Anthony Challinor from the University of Cambridge about the Cosmic Microwave Background. We also get your astronomical questions answered by Dr Tim O'Brien.

In this show we find out about a mysterious blue blob found in the Galaxy Zoo and we find out what the Genesis mission can tell us about oxygen in the solar wind. We also get the latest news from Megan and find out what you can see in the night sky from Ian.

Welcome to the Jodcast National Astronomy Meeting special edition. On the final day of the meeting we were lucky to be joined by old friends of the Jodcast - Chris Lintott and David Boyce - to share our favourite parts of the conference with you. In this bumper show we bring you interviews covering cosmic downsizing, newly discovered planets, dark energy, proto-planets, the virtual observatory, ne...

It's the April show. This time we talk to Richard Davis and Bob Watson about an instrument that has observed the Cosmic Microwave Background. We find out about Megan's new job, talk about the UK National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast and read some of your feedback. As always we have the latest news and tell you what you can see in the night sky during April.

This issue we talk to Dr Maria-Rosa Cioni from the University of Hertfordshire about the concept of metallicity and how we can use it to learn about galaxy evolution. We also learn about the current funding crisis facing astronomy in the UK from Dr Tim O'Brien, how it may affect Jodrell Bank Observatory, and what you can do to help.

In this show we take a look the photosphere and corona of our local star - the Sun. We find out about the tremendously tangled web of plasma and magnetic fields that solar physicists are attempting to understand. We also get the latest news from Megan and find out what you can see in the night sky from Ian.

On February 8th and 9th we were at Astrofest in London. We bring you news from the Campaign for Dark Skies, we find out about the Space Telescope Science Institute and Google Sky, and we find out about computer simulations of galaxies. We also ask your questions to Dr Edward Boyce and Nick brings us news of an exciting planetary system that resembles our own.

This is our lensing special. We ask Dr Neal Jackson to describe gravitational lensing of distant quasars by galaxies and have a series of interviews from the recent Manchester Microlensing Conference about developments in microlensing. We also hear about galactic companions to the Milky Way, astronomy in Iran, and we get we an update about the Square Kilometre Array. As always we have the latest a...

This issue we talk to Dr Alan Chapman about Victorian astronomer and popular lecturer Richard Proctor. We get your astronomical questions answered by Dr Edward Boyce and we find out if it is possible to escape from asteroid Ianmorison.