astro[sound]bites

Episode 91: A Uranian FareWill

91 is the atomic number of protactinium. Speaking of protracted, it’s finally time to say FareWill to Dr astroSaundbites himself, after five years of co-hosting our wonderful podcast. We begin with a deep dive into his Uranian adventures that might offer the key to our next mission there. We then reflect on his time in grad school, share some sage wisdom and explore what the future holds as he transitions to a not-postdoc at NASA. 

Will’s first paper: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021AJ....161..280S/abstract
Will’s’ second paper: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022P%26SS..21305431S/abstract
Will’s third paper: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023PSJ.....4..199S/abstract
(Will’s fourth paper is in review - so stay tuned!)

Will’s career resource links:

Websites to help you discover lots of careers you can pursue with your PhD and how to get there:
https://beyondprof.com/
https://theprofessorisin.com/
https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
https://gradfutures.princeton.edu/

A great webinar on career transitions for astronomers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX3aUONcLP0&ab_channel=AAS

Great books:
https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700626885/
https://theprofessorisin.com/buy-the-book/

Episode 90: The Great H0 Debate

How fast is the universe expanding? It turns out this important value, the Hubble constant (H0), is under constant debate. The two main teams have numbers that disagree by over 5 standard deviations! Today on a[s]b, we resolve the Hubble tension once and for all, as Cormac and Kiersten square off in the Great H0 Debate. Cormac comes in with feist and facts while Kiersten engages with rebuttal and reason. In the end, there can only be 1 winner, and that’s for you to decide! Vote here for the winner of the debate, what the true value of H0 should be, and what we got wrong in the episode (we tried our best!). https://forms.gle/3dybtrhysS9Lvia37

 

Timeline of the Hubble tension: https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/format:webp/1*oekTYTkZQmw7DxzUaLqDVw.png

 

Astrobites used for this episode: 

https://astrobites.org/2016/04/20/conflicts-between-expansion-history-of-the-local-and-distant-universe/

https://astrobites.org/2020/05/12/magnets-and-hubble/

https://astrobites.org/2021/04/01/south-polarization/

https://astrobites.org/2021/04/27/bursting-the-hubble-trouble-bubble-measuring-h0-with-fast-radio-bursts/

https://astrobites.org/2023/03/29/multi-messenger-constraints-on-the-hubble-constant/

https://astrobites.org/2023/10/04/holy-cow-is-our-journey-through-the-universe-the-reason-for-the-hubble-tension/

https://astrobites.org/2024/04/16/sn_h0pe/

 

Space sound: https://www.system-sounds.com/earth-day/. Credit: SYSTEM Sounds/Matt Russo/Andrew Santaguida

 

Article by Subir Sarkhar: https://inference-review.com/article/heart-of-darkness

 

Cool Wikipedia page Will references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeral_prefix

 

Chart Kiersten references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder#/media/File:Extragalactic_Distance_Ladder_en.svg

Episode 89: Extremely Emotional Exoplanets

In this episode, we hear about Kiersten and Will’s epic adventures in both hemispheres! Both Kiersten and Will watched the eclipse that passed through North America on April 8, 2024 and are still buzzing with excitement. Kiersten tells us about a recent paper that explores why planets might act so indecisive about sitting between being a super-Earth or mini-Neptune. Will’s astrobite describes a similarly chaotic exoplanetary tale about a very slow moving planet which “came in like a wrecking ball” and “never hit habitability so hard” (everything in quotations must be sung in Miley Cyrus’ singing voice). All in all, we all share a laugh and an emotionally charged episode!

Kiersten’s astrobite: https://astrobites.org/2024/03/28/template-post-22/

Will’s astrobite: https://astrobites.org/2024/03/06/exoplanet-hr-5183-b/

 

Eclipse XKCD: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2914:_Eclipse_Coolness

Eclipse Astronomy Photo of the Day: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240409.html

Sonification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8al9FRz-VKY

Sonification description: https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/listen-eclipse

Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8

Episode 88: The Luck of the Irish

In celebration of the a-bit-over-a-week after St. Patrick’s (definitely not Patty’s) Day, we bring you another Ireland-related episode. Due to historically unsupported stereotypes about the Irish being lucky, we bring you two astrobites busting with cosmic coincidences and a dash of luck. Kiersten tells about a plucky planet that avoided a hangry host star,  while Will brings us yet another binary black hole bonanza. Cormac shares a bit of an infamous Irish space sound that you could call cosmic comic relief.  In the spirit of luck, we talk about the role of luck in our own journeys to space and in the field of astronomy as a whole.

 

This week’s “space sound” - https://www.tiktok.com/@ladbibleireland/video/7278649311334780192?lang=en

 

Episode 87.5: The Shamrock Shake-Up

In celebration of St. Patrick’s (not Patty’s) Day, we share a super short sneak peek at next week’s episode, featuring fun Irish astronomical facts. We’re calling it the Shamrock Shake-up! In addition to the astronomical facts, Will takes us on a journey to the past with some wild Irish lore of his own! We hope you enjoy what might be our first “Beyond the beyond” episode, and Lá Fhéile Pádraig faoi mhaise daoibh go léir!

 

Intro music excerpt: “Granny hold the candle while I shave the chicken’s lip” - Bodega

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz4IxFy27dw

Episode 87: Unexpected Gravitational Waves

We talk about gravitational waves again, but this time, in ways you wouldn’t expect. Cormac tells us how you could use gravitational waves to study the interior of the Sun, if the alignment is just right. Sabrina explores whether gravitational waves could be detected by Earth’s magnetosphere through the Gertsenshtein effect. Simultaneously, we learn that Sabrina knows how to pronounce Russian names properly and Will isn’t the biggest fan of theory. 

 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/06/20/using-planetary-magnetospheres-to-detect-gravitational-waves/

https://astrobites.org/2023/11/11/using-gravitational-waves-to-peer-inside-of-the-sun/

 

Additional thematic material:

https://astrobites.org/2023/02/08/detecting-gravitational-waves-with-the-moon/

https://astrobites.org/2022/12/22/gravitational-wave-parallax/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117723009171?via%3Dihub

 

Space sound: https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/sounds-of-the-sun/

Ultra-high-frequency gravitational wave conference: https://www.ctc.cam.ac.uk/activities/UHF-GW.php

Episode 86: Indigenous Astronomy Part II - Science of the First Astronomers

In the second episode of the astro[sound]bites series focusing on Indigenous astronomy, we interview Duane Hamacher, a physics professor at the University of Melbourne and a world leading researcher in Indigenous astronomy. Duane shares his journey from Missouri to pursuing a PhD in Australia and immersing himself in the study of astronomy within the Torres Strait community, learning from Indigenous knowledge holders. He tells us how Indigenous peoples around the world have seen astronomy more as a way of life that’s embedded in their culture. Through our discussion, we challenge common misconceptions and gain insight into the profound significance that Indigenous astronomy has held for humanity, long preceding the invention of telescopes. However, our interview only scratches the surface of the field of Indigenous astronomy.

 

Thank you to Prof. Duane Hamacher for taking the time to be interviewed for this episode! (Also sorry for the construction noise in the background of this episode! We hope the exciting interview makes up for it.)

 

Duanes’ book The First Astronomers: https://www.thefirstastronomers.com/

Episode 85: Indigenous Astronomy Part I - Living Descendants of the First Astronomers

Did you know that Indigenous communities around the world have been doing astronomy since ancient times? Indigenous peoples studied the night sky with great precision. In this episode, we talk to five indigenous astronomers from across the world to understand how their identity and communities shaped their journey to science. Their interviews tell us about their cultures from who their Elders are to how they used the constellations to harvest emu eggs. 

 

Thank you to Kirsten Banks, Krystal de Napoli, Hilding Nielson, Bridget Kimsey, and Corey Gray for taking the time to be interviewed for this episode!

 

Check out these astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2018/10/26/additional-arguments-that-aboriginal-australians-observed-variable-stars/

https://astrobites.org/2022/11/11/book-review-the-first-astronomers/

https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/

 

The First Astronomers Book:

https://www.thefirstastronomers.com/

Episode 84.5: Come Podcast With Us!

Did we mention we’re recruiting two new co-hosts? And also our new Mars Office Manager and Chief Astrologer? Lots of exciting things are happening on a[s]b (and on Mars) in 2024 and we want you to be a part of it! Find out more and apply to be a co-host here: https://astrosoundbites.com/recruiting-2024/. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Episode 84: Abominable Ice

It’s all about ice, ice, baby! In this episode, Sabrina takes us on a trek to Antarctica. While we hide from Cthulhu, she tells us how the frigid observatory IceCube is using elusive neutrinos to tell us about the Milky Way. Meanwhile, our meteorologist Will does some investigation of the flavors of ice we can expect to find on some potentially habitable planets. 

 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/06/29/

https://astrobites.org/2022/01/07/

 

Space sound:

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/videos/2022/040/01GA960MD71VJ5ZE3EDFRT72NE