The Urban Astronomer Podcast

This is episode 60 of the Urban Astronomer podcast! Is that a milestone? Sure, but we'll save the party hats for episode 75. Today we'll just get on with the job at hand, and bring you a science explainy bit. Today's question: How can astronomers be so certain about what things in space are made from? On Earth it's relatively easy to send geologists out to different places with their hammers, and have them collect samples from interesting rock formations and bring them back to the lab for analysis, but astronomers hardly ever get to do that with planets, comets, the Sun and distant galaxies. So how do they know, and how can they sound so confident? Listen below to find out!

Welcome to episode 35 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! This week we have a full show for you, with our main feature being an interview with South African astronomer Dr Itumeleng Monageng. We also continue our series on the physics behind the evolution of a star from gas cloud to black hole.  And finally, my new co-host Clem Unger brings us updates on current space missions. Itumeleng Monageng Itumeleng is a post-grad researcher working for the South African Astronomical Observatory and talks about his research interests, how he came to be an astronomer, and more. Earlier this year, he was featured in a short promotional video for SAAO, which is how I heard about him. He very kindly agreed to do the same thing for us! Stellar Physics Last time we looked at our star, on its journey towards becoming a black hole, we took a detour to categorise different types of stars that form at different masses. Today we see what happens when a medium-sized star, like our own Sun, runs out of Hydrogen Mission Updates Clem Unger brings us up to date with news and updates about current space programs and missions. Today he talks about NASA's 60th birthday, the Hayabusa 2 landers, OSIRIS REx, and the Parker Solar Probe. He also mentions some interesting launches coming up in October. Links Itumeleng Monageng on Twitter Clem Unger on Twitter Allen Versfeld on Twitter

It's another Science Explainy Bit episode, and today we answer a question asked by another podcaster while interviewing us for their show. The host wanted to know how the view of southern skies compares to that of the northern hemisphere. I gave a quick answer before we moved on to another topic, but I would have liked to give a more detailed and complete answer. Which brings us to this episode, in which I describe how there really isn't a single sky for the North or the South. But the sky in the USA does still look different to what we have here in South Africa, and I explain why.

The Urban Astronomer interviews noted South African amateur astronomer Carol Botha about her science outreach work. Carol has become quite well known on Slooh, the robotic telescope and astronomy service which I know quite well because I've provided a few video streams of eclipses and the like for them over the years. Be warned though, this is a long episode so make some popcorn and find a comfortable seat before you start!

Have you been wondering what happened to the Urban Astronomer Podcast? Do you know want to know why there haven't been any episodes in a while? Then you're going to want to hear this. We're launching our second season, and we've decided to change how we do things here. While the basic format will still sound like the shows you've come to love and expect, we're changing how we make them. Starting from the 2nd of June 2019, we'll be releasing a series of 12 episodes, one every two weeks. We've had quite a lot of feedback from our loyal listeners over the past few months, and we now have a solid idea of what you want more of, and what you'd like us to drop. The new episodes will alternate between interviews with astronomers working in South Africa, and basic science questions, where we take very basic questions about our universe, and dig deep to see if they are actually that simply after all! Interviews Our featured guests will be: Dr Wendy Williams Dr Ros Skelton Dr Daniel Cunnama Ms Nicole Thomas Dr Tana Jospeh Dr Jarita Holbrook Science Some of the questions we'll be looking at will seem very obvious, yet turn out to be hard to explain when you really start to think them through. We'll be starting with "Why is it that planets are always round?", moving on to "How exactly do orbits work?". And I'll even be explaining myself to a confused listener: In an earlier episode, I claimed that the old geocentric model of the universe, with it's crystal spheres and epicycles, made more sense than the Heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus. This was apparently a controversial statement, and so I'll be explaining why I was right, despite all that we now know about how the geocentric model was wrong in almost every conceivable way! Subscribe So if you want to hear every episode of this second season, as they're released, be sure to subscribe. Just find the subscribe links scattered around this website and click the one most appropriate for your platform. You'll never miss an episode again! Until July then, thanks for listening,and I look forward to speaking to you again! Clear skies!