The Supermassive Podcast

What would happen if planets collided at a snail's pace? How much of Avengers Endgame regarding time is scientifically acceptable? Why aren't stars closer together? And the team discuss a listener's theory to terra-form Mars. Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm And keep adding to...

Start your stopwatches, set your timers, turn back your clocks because Izzie and Dr Becky are talking time. What is it? How, and why, do we measure it? And is time real or a human construct?! Izzie speaks with Anne Curtis at the National Physical Laboratory who works on one of the world’s most accurate clocks, and editor Richard has been to the very heart of time itself in Greenwich with Finn...

Should astronauts live underground on the Moon or Mars? Black hole jets, rogue planets, the big crunch (or freeze) and the Ontario question. Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert Massey tackle your correspondence from the Supermassive mailbox and producer Richard makes a pronunciation intervention. The book Becky mentions is Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them...

This episode is a weighty one. Some might say massive. It’s all about gravity. What is it? Why does it matter? Izzie and Dr Becky explore Einstein and Newton’s different ideas on the subject, plus Izzie visits the Royal Society to see Isaac Newton's original manuscript for his works on gravity and the laws of motion. Special thank you to listener Hanna_m_e for suggesting this episode top...

What the bloomin’ hell is a Gravastar? Are fast radio bursts like solar flares on steroids? Plus an interesting question on multiverses that can't be summed up in a short sentence. Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey dive into The Supermassive Mailbox and take on your questions. Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @Supermass...

Climb aboard The Supermassive Rocket, Izzie and Becky are (talking about) sending humans back to the moon. Joining them on their trip is European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer and Jacki Mahaffey, the Chief Training Officer for NASA’s Artemis II mission. Plus, Dr Robert Massey, the Deputy Director of the Royal Astronomical Society, is there as well to answer your questions and sh...

If black holes are so dense, how can gamma rays jet shoot out from it? At what point in space does our sun become invisible to the naked eye? And a question about CubeSats, black holes and detecting alien civilisations... It time for Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey to take on your questions! Got a question to add to The Supermassive Mailbox? Email it to podcast@ras.ac.uk...

This time Dr Becky Smethurst and Izzie Clarke discover why it’s touch and go when it comes to returning asteroid samples to Earth and hear how we’ve been exchanging spit with Mars since the dawn of the Solar System.   The team is joined by Dr Sara Russell, a meteorite researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, and Dr Albert Haldemann, Mars Chief Engineer for the European Space Agency...

Scientists have detected an asteroid that has a small chance of hitting Earth. Resident expert Dr Robert Massey tells Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham why we shouldn't be worried. Want to suggest a topic to the team? Contact podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod . The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham Ho...

What are the implications on space exploration with a change of president? Did cosmic inflation come before the Big Bang? Are there sonic booms in space? Izzie, Becky and Robert take on your questions!  Keep sending your questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on instagram @SupermassivePod.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst are starting 2025 with a biggie. The scientific search for extraterrestrial life:  Where are scientists looking? How do they search for potential signals? And what the heck is the plan if they find one?! The Supermassive team hears from Seth Shostak from the SETI Institute about the search for life beyond Earth, and Dr John Elliot from the University of St...

Our final episode of 2024 is a SUPERMASSIVE Q&A.  Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey make their way through your questions.  What’s the farthest star we can see with the naked eye? Why do black holes expand and shrink? And what would happen if we accelerated an uncompressed medium sized potato to 99% the speed of light?  And remember, do not confuse the ISS with Santa's Slei...

From planetary alignment through the galaxy to spacetime expansion, The Supermassive Team answer your questions. Keep sending us your questions, email us on podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on instagram @SupermassivePod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supermassive Team are investigating strange blasts of energy in space called Fast Radio Bursts. What are they and where do they come from? Dr Stuart Ryder from Macquarie University in Australia joins Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert to help explain.  Christmas Present Ideas  Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s talk - A Journey into The Cosmos Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition at Royal Museums Gre...

... Potentially the silliest bonus episode we've ever recorded.  The Supermassive Team takes on your questions; What are Brown Dwarfs? How can photons have different energies? Do frozen stars exist? And they get extremely distracted by the concept of nuclear pasta. Even Producer Richard gets involved.  Here's the paper mentioned by listener Hanna,   Thermodynamics of Frozen Stars The Supermassive...

From pulsating stars to those with diamond cores, Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring weird and wonderful stars. What are the different types of stars in our universe? And what are the oddballs? Plus Dr Robert Massey is here for your top stargazing tips. With thanks to Professor Andrew Norton from the Open University for joining the team this episode. Keep sending your brilliant questions and photos...

Auroras, and comets, and launches... Oh my! Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst, and Dr Robert Massey run through a MEGA month for the astronomy community. Plus, there's just enough time to squeeze in a few listener questions.  Here's our recommendations on news or journals sites to keep up with all things space and science:  space.com Universe Today Astronomy Now Sky at Night Sky and Telescope NASA...

Izzie and Dr Becky are untangling the cosmic web - the large scale structure of the universe - with help from Dr Chiara Mingarelli from Yale University. What the heck is it? What do we know about it? And can we use gravitational waves to "see" it? Plus, Dr Robert Massey is on hand to answer your questions. Got a question for the team? Contact us on podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram, @Super...

What happens when a black hole and gravitational wave collide? How will the moon's gravity impact tides with rising sea levels? And "the Supermassive Wise Ones" discuss Einstein vs Newton in this bonus episode.  Send your questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Izzie and Dr Becky complete their tour of the solar system with a trip to Mercury, the space spirograph (copyright: Dr Becky). Join them as they explore what we know about the planet so far and what ESA's current mission, BepiColombo, is hoping to find. Plus, Dr Robert Massey is on hand to answer your questions.  Special thanks to guests Dr David Rothery from the Open University and Dr Simon Linds...

Does an instantaneous star map exist? Where are the perfect spheres in space? How did Venus get so close to the Sun? It's a bonus episode from The Supermassive team.  Sign the petition and support Herstmonceux Observatory here... https://www.change.org/p/save-the-observatory-science-centre-herstmonceux Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Venus’ moment in the supermassive spotlight. What do we know about this hellish planet? And what missions are going there in the near future?  Izzie and Dr Becky speak with Dr Phillipa Mason from Imperial College London about EnVision, an upcoming mission to Venus, as well as RAS librarian Sian Prosser to explore the archive. Plus Dr Robert Massey is here to take on your questions. The pap...

The Supermassive Overmassive Podcast has a special bonus episode. Join Izzie, Dr Becky, Dr Robert and Richard as they discuss the last two years of JWST and share their recommendations for Space Book Club.  Recommendations: Unseen Universe: New Secrets of the Cosmos Revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope by Dr Caroline Harper  The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green When Galaxies Were Born - Ri...

Have black holes existed since the beginning of the Universe? Could we produce a black hole in the lab? Could we use gravitational waves to probe beyond the event horizon?  It's a black hole Q&A as Izzie put your questions to Becky and Robert. Plus, author and broadcaster, Marcus Chown, runs through a potted history of discovering black holes. His latest book on the same topic, A Crack In Ever...

In this month's bonus episode Izzie, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey tackle questions on pulsars, woo woo sounds from black holes, imperfect spheres and alien aurorae. Send your questions to: podcast@ras.ac.uk, and we’re also on instagram @SupermassivePod.  The Supermassive podcast is produced by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham and is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomica...