Podcast #35: Itumeleng Monageng

10/03/18 • 39 min

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

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Podcast #34: The Equinox Show

Welcome to this special Equinox edition of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! This episode I share the microphone with Clem Unger for the first of a quarterly series. Clem has been on the show before, and he'll be back every equinox and every solstice. In this episode We start with a look at coming attractions in the sky over the next three months. Clem discusses the state of current asteroid missions OSIRIS-Rex and Hayabusa 2 Allen and Clem butt heads over whether Pluto should have stayed a planet, and speculate about the Martian provenance of their friends at the Awesome Astronomy podcast! Links Allen on Twitter Clem on Twitter The Astronomical Society of South Africa on Twitter The Southern Comets Homepage How to find Comet 21P (Remember to set your location at the top right of the page!) Dark Matter Day

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Podcast #36: José da Silva at ScopeX 2018

Welcome to Episode 36 of the Urban Astronomer podcast, and the first in our ScopeX 2018 series. In this episode we feature the first of the public lectures I recorded at ScopeX. It is by José da Silva, and he speaks about exoplanets, and what we can tell about their weather. Links This talk on YouTube ScopeX José on FaceBook