astro[sound]bites

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

Episode 83: Stellar Shrinkflation

In this week’s episode, Cormac has somehow made it to hosting a second time (applause). This time, we discuss the smallest, reddest and exoplanetiest(?) stars - M dwarfs! Find out why we call them that, and why these temperamental ‘tars are interesting for exoplanets. Sabrina tells us about not-so-boring M stars showing complex and periodic behaviour, and Will shares some *gasp* lab work-based results showing that M dwarfs may be more habitable than we think…
This week’s episode rounds off with a discussion about what the “Search for Life” really means, and how it’s (sometimes mis)used in astronomy.

Astrobites:
astrobites.org/2023/11/02/ripples-in-time-the-transient-nature-of-mysterious-m-stars/
astrobites.org/2023/03/22/could-some-earthlings-survive-in-exoplanets-around-m-dwarfs/

Space Sound:
“The Sound of Two Black Holes Colliding” by LIGO Lab Caltech : MIT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyDcTbR-kEA

Episode 82: So the universe thinks it can dance?

This week, our astro[sound]bites co-host crew starts a dance crew with the help of Kiersten, a former professional ballerina. We get a sample of Kiersten’s ballet skills through her astrobite, which tells us all about the secret spinning life of black holes. Our space sound sounds like something only those black holes could dance to! Cormac takes us through our first ever physics education astrobite on viewing solar eclipses with a disco ball. Do not fret if our dancing analogy still did not get you to put on your tap shoes as we also discuss the importance and diversity of analogies within astronomy and the podcast.

 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/09/01/bhballet/

https://astrobites.org/2023/10/13/doing-astronomy-with-disco-balls/

 

Space Sound:

https://www.mso.anu.edu.au/pfrancis/Music/library/QSOcomp.mp3

 

Paper on space sound: 

https://www.mso.anu.edu.au/pfrancis/Music/

 

Episode 81: Hubble’s Hydra

In this week’s episode, Cormac makes his hosting debut as we talk about the most pressing threat to modern Astronomy (other than a worldwide coffee shortage) – megaconstellations! Despite sharing a majority of syllables with the collective noun of asterisms we all know and pretend to remember, these formations of hundreds of satellites are becoming more and more of an issue for astronomers. Will tells us about how satellites are sprinkling spectra with a side of the Sun and Kiersten reveals how even the Hubble Space Telescope is not safe from the multi-headed monsters of Musk et al. Join us as we find out that things might not be as bad as they seem, and discuss the pros and cons of these developments.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/09/07/satellites-in-weave/

https://astrobites.org/2023/08/10/telescopes_in_orbit/

Space Sound: 

Handcrafted by Cormac using twotone.io, based on a MESA stellar evolution model by Harim Jin.