Live from York's Festival of Ideas*, in front of an audience of ... what, had to be a few hundred thousand people, right? ... Emily and Chris discuss some awesome astronomy that you can go outside and see with your own eyes. In particular, they go deep on the incredible May 2024 aurora, and show what the 2024 total eclipse across the USA looked like, with a preview of amazing eclipses to look forward to in the coming years. Chris finishes with a song, as he does. Watch on YouTube!

(* Apologies for the audio quality, it was a big echo-ey space and it didn’t record as well as I’d hoped)

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced byChris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web:syzygy.fm | Instagram & Threads: @syzygypod

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Watch this live show on YouTube

• York Festival of Ideas

• The May 2024 Aurora

• Solar Cycle 25

• The Solar Dynamics Observatory

• timeanddate.com

• The 2024 total solar eclipse

• Upcoming eclipses

A huge team of astronomers — and their even-huger team of tiny, fibre-obtic-wielding robots — are zeroing in on one of the great questions of cosmology: just what the heck is going on with Dark Energy? We know the Universe is expanding. Apparently, it's expanding faster. But maybe it is expanding faster, slower? Tiny robots measuring breathtakingly-huge cosmic bubbles may give us an answer.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced byChris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web:syzygy.fm | Instagram & Threads: @syzygypod

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Announcement of the DESI results

• A good video about the results

• The DESI home page

• Dark Energy

• Heat Death or Big Rip

• The 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics

• BAO bubbles

JWST is flinging out Just Wonderful observations at great speed, many already leading to new astronomical insights. Here's one that was really unexpected: the Orion Nebula is full of JuMBOs! Jupiter-Mass Binary Objects, that is — pairs of giant planets (or planetty-things, the definition isn't terribly clear ...) floating free in space, in quantities that aren't possible based on what we *thought* we understood about planet formation. New observations that seem to break astrophysics? We're always up for that discussion!

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• The Fibonacci Sequence

• The JuMBOs papers: overview, and JuMBO-specific

• The Orion Nebula

• JWST gets a good look at the Orion Nebula

• Where is the Orion Nebula, exactly?

• The definition of “planet"

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

The early solar system: https://www.space.com/35526-solar-system-formation.html 

Stellar nurseries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_formation 

Pillars of creation: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/the-pillars-of-creation 

The Snow Line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost_line_(astrophysics) 

Models of planet formation: http://cosmicdiary.org/geminiplanetimager/2015/09/16/what-do-we-know-about-planet-formation/

Where did Earth’s water come from? https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/where-did-earth-get-its-water 

Jupiter and Saturn migration: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/young-jupiter.html 

Hot Jupiters: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/investigating-the-mystery-of-migrating-hot-jupiters 

Hoptunes: http://kiaa.pku.edu.cn/news/2018/introducing-hoptunes-new-class-exoplanets-could-help-solve-mystery-worlds-scorching-orbits 

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

Image 1, The Pillars of Creation, from Time Magazine’s 100 Photos site: http://100photos.time.com/photos/nasa-pillars-of-creation

The Pillars of Creation — 2015 update: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/the-pillars-of-creation

Comparing the two images: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1501d/

Modelling the Pillars in 3D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWklVPvk0C8

Image 2, Huge Hubble panorama of Andromeda galaxy: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/

Zoom into Andromeda! https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/zoomable/

A video zoom into the Andromeda image: https://youtu.be/aLlQxsGyhnw

A fly-through in 4k: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAL48P5NJU

The zoom that broke Chris’s brain: http://hubblesite.org/image/3478/news_release/2015-02

Chris’s video on Andromeda’s awesomeness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wicEtpPfry4

Chris Baker, Galaxy on Glass: https://galaxyonglass.com

Image 3, Chris’s Witch’s Broomstick: https://galaxyonglass.com/product/supernova-the-witchs-broom/

The Witch’s Broom, a.k.a The Veil Nebula: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_Nebula

The Cygnus Loop Nebula: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex/pia15415.html

Image 4, Chris’s Rosette: https://galaxyonglass.com/product/the-rosette/

The Rosette Nebula: https://oneminuteastronomer.com/2477/rosette-nebula/

Strömgren Spheres: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strömgren_sphere

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

The merging galaxies paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0652-7

Hubblesite article about the story: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/astronomers-unveil-growing-black-holes-in-colliding-galaxies

Simulations of galaxy collisions: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10687

Stephan’s Quintet: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140327.html

Keck Observatory: http://www.keckobservatory.org

Gravitational wave discovery: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20170927

Simulations of SMBH mergers: https://www.space.com/42017-merging-supermassive-black-holes-eerie-glow.html

Milky Way and Andromeda are going to collide: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/milky-way-collide.html

And they will form … Milkdromeda! https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30955

Andromeda in the night sky: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061228.html

If only Andromeda was a bit brighter: http://i.imgur.com/EpuhHJa.png

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

YorNight 2018: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2018/

The Kepler mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler

Kepler runs out of fuel: https://www.space.com/41363-kepler-exoplanet-hunting-telescope-dead.html

TESS: https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov

NASA’s heart-tugging animation: https://nasaviz.gsfc.nasa.gov/20284

NASA’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/exoplanet-travel-bureau/

Kepler 78b: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/226/kepler-78b/

Kepler 186f: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/198/kepler-186f-the-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone-artists-concept/

Kepler 64b: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/222/kepler-64b-four-star-planet/

Musical note: Chris would like to acknowledge that he now realises that The Exoplanet Song’s chorus melody is really quite similar to the verse melody from Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”. And by “quite similar” he means “almost identical to”. He’d like to point out that he did have a sneaking suspicion there was a reason the song had come to him so quickly … So, you know, thanks Jason.)

SYZYGY LIVE! Join us for a very special live podcast recording at the University of York’s YorNight 2018: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2018/

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

Chris’s video about the cosmic distance ladder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFoHlWK571k

The AU: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_unit

A very simple Parallax explanation: https://youtu.be/iwlMmJs1f5o

Parsec definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsec

Cepheid Variables: https://www.space.com/15396-variable-stars.html

NGC 4258: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/m106/

Type 1a Supernovae: https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/supernovae2.html

Edwin Hubble: https://www.spacetelescope.org/about/history/the_man_behind_the_name/

Redshift and blueshift: https://www.space.com/25732-redshift-blueshift.html

Hubble’s Constant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EP5cNoNuXo

The expanding universe as explained by Brian Cox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR6wN8ym7SI

SYZYGY LIVE! Join us for a very special live podcast recording at the University of York’s YorNight 2018: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2018/

Want to help us make Syzygy even better? Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Visit us at syzygy.fm or find us on Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

SYZYGY LIVE! Podcast recording at YorNight 2018 https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2018/

NASA’s Mercury page: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mercury/overview/

NASA’s Messenger Mission: https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-s-messenger-spacecraft-10-years-in-space

BepiColombo’s going to Mercury: http://sci.esa.int/bepicolombo/59288-bepicolombo-s-journey-to-mercury/

JAXA, Japan’s space agency: http://global.jaxa.jp

Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo: https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Welcome_to_ESA/ESA_history/Giuseppe_Bepi_Colombo_Grandfather_of_the_fly-by

ESA’s video showing BepiColombo’s journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yp-q1wqgig

Animation of Mercury’s 3:2 orbital resonance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUde7LFOlPs

Tidal Locking: https://www.universetoday.com/123391/what-is-tidal-locking/

Ice on Mercury: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/water-ice-on-mercury/

Colour maps of Mercury: https://www.universetoday.com/102901/messengers-unique-view-a-colorful-spinning-planet-mercury/

The solar wind: https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SolarWind.shtml

The Great Observatories: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Observatories_program

Want to help us make Syzygy even better? Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Visit us at syzygy.fm or find us on Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

SYZYGY LIVE! Podcast recording at YorNight 2018 https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2018/

Fermi’s new constellations for the high-energy sky: https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/yornight/2018/

Imaging the SMBH at the centre of the Milky Way: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/magazine/how-do-you-take-a-picture-of-a-black-hole-with-a-telescope-as-big-as-the-earth.html

Event Horizon Telescope: https://eventhorizontelescope.org

Emily’s Astrocampus at the Uni of York : https://eventhorizontelescope.org

Sagittarius A*: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_A*

Star S2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S2_(star)

A truck-full of data: https://what-if.xkcd.com/31/

The Black Hole (movie): https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1002497_black_hole

Interstellar (movie): https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014

The physics of the Interstellar black hole: https://www.wired.com/2014/10/astrophysics-interstellar-black-hole/

Gravitational lensing: https://www.spacetelescope.org/science/gravitational_lensing/

Pale Blue Dot: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/536/pale-blue-dot/

Carl Sagan on the Pale Blue Dot image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g

Want to help us make Syzygy even better? Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Visit us at syzygy.fm or find us on Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

Kepler mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/

Kepler’s been put to sleep: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/kepler-put-into-sleep-mode-as-telescope-s-pointing-performance-degrades

Hubble’s gyro problems: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/10/hubble-space-telescope-taken-offline-after-gyroscope-failure/

Exomoon paper: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/10/eaav1784

Moons of the Solar System: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/in-depth/

Saturn’s moonlets: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/31/saturns-rings-contain-millions-moonlets-new-nasa-images-reveal-cassini

Jupiter’s rings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Jupiter

Multiple star systems: https://www.universetoday.com/132154/multiple-star-systems/

Pluto & Charon: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/pluto-and-charon-new-horizons-dynamic-duo

Animations of the Pluto-Charon binary: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Animations/Pluto-System.php

Want to help us make Syzygy even better? Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Visit us at syzygy.fm or find us on Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

The Goblin paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1810.00013.pdf

A more readable story about The Goblin: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/new-discovery-goblin-stirs-signs-elusive-planet-9-180970442/

The Astronomical Unit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_unit

The Kuiper Belt: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/kuiper-belt

The Voyager missions: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

The Heliopause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere

The Oort Cloud: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/oort-cloud

Our nearest star (other than the Sun, which is a star also): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima_Centauri

Trans-Neptunian Objects: https://www.universeguide.com/fact/kuiperbelt

The Subaru Telescope: https://subarutelescope.org

The Skymapper Telescope: https://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observatories/telescopes/skymapper-telescope

The Zooniverse — get some Citizen Science going: https://www.zooniverse.org/

Zooniverse — Backyard Worlds: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/marckuchner/backyard-worlds-planet-9

Want to help us make Syzygy even better? Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

———————————

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Visit us at syzygy.fm or find us on Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

Quantum weirdness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kb1VT0J3DE

Quantum entanglement: https://www.quantamagazine.org/entanglement-made-simple-20160428/

The MIT/Vienna experiment: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/miot-lfa082018.php

Earth got a special delivery recently: a little pod plonked down in the Utah desert, containing a few hundred grams sampled from the surface of an asteroid. This isn't the first sample return mission, but it's definitely the biggest. The little parcel of asteroid dirt inside is now being very carefully handed out to researchers across the globe, and we're going to learn loads of important stuff, like what asteroids are made of, how we might stop one from hitting us ... and even, maybe, just maybe, whether they contain the building blocks of life.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• The OSIRIS-REx mission

• Landing in the desert (NASA video stream)

• Grabbing the sample in 2020

• Sample return missions

• Asteroid Bennu

• OSIRIS-APEX

• Asteroid Apophis

• The Asteroid Belt

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

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Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

TESS update: https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Paper about the stars at the galactic core: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2018/07/aa33718-18/aa33718-18.html

Article about the research: https://www.universetoday.com/139701/einstein-was-right-again-successful-test-of-general-relativity-near-a-supermassive-black-hole/

Video about the research: https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1825a/

Video of the orbiting stars: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TF8THY5spmo

Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity: https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/instant-expert-general-relativity/

The Very Large Telescope: http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/telescopes/vlti.html

A visit to the VLT: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BXIA5r9r29I

Tests of General Relativity: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tests_of_general_relativity

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

To view the podcast chapter list and artwork in this episode, you could do worse than use the Overcast app on iOS, or Pocket Casts on Android. (Other podcast players are available, though they may not handle mp3 chapters nicely.)

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Mars is *still* having a bit of a dust storm: https://mars.nasa.gov/weather/storm-watch-2018/

• Name the ExoMars rover! (Please, no Marsy McMarsfaces, OK?) https://events.airbus.com/exomarsnamecomp

• The Lunar Eclipse, 27 July 2018, livestream replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBStEIVF8o

• So, water on Mars, eh? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mars-may-have-lake-liquid-water-search-life

• The scientific paper: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/07/24/science.aar7268

• The Mars Express mission: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mars_Express

• Lake Vostok: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok

• All the times we’ve found water on Mars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_on_Mars

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

To view the podcast chapter list and artwork in this episode, you could do worse than use the Overcast app on iOS, or Pocket Casts on Android. (Other podcast players are available, though they may not handle mp3 chapters nicely.)

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Mars is having a bit of a dust storm at the moment: https://mars.nasa.gov/weather/storm-watch-2018/

• Name the ExoMars rover! (Please, no Marsy McMarsfaces, OK?) https://events.airbus.com/exomarsnamecomp

• When and where to see the Lunar Eclipse, 27 July 2018: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2018-july-27

• Solar eclipse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

• Solar corona: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona

• Star Charts: https://astronomynow.com/uk-sky-chart/

• Free planetarium app for your computer/phone/tablet/device: http://stellarium.org

• Historical eclipses: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html

• Historical comets: http://sci.esa.int/rosetta/54198-harbingers-of-doom-windy-exhalations-or-icy-wanderers/

• Historical supernovae: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_supernova_observation

• Betteridge’s Law of Headlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines

• Future eclipses: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

To view the podcast chapter list and artwork in this episode, you could do worse than use the Overcast app on iOS, or Pocket Casts on Android. (Other podcast players are available, though they may not handle mp3 chapters nicely.)

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

All the latest TESS news! https://tess.mit.edu/news/

TESS’s first light: http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/first-light-for-tess

The Blazar Neutrino — Paper 1: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6398/eaat1378

Paper 2: : http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6398/147

A good article about the IceCube Neutrino: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/high-energy-neutrinos-blazar-icecube

Neutrinos: https://icecube.wisc.edu/info/neutrinos

IceCube Neutrino Observatory: https://icecube.wisc.edu

IceCube’s stunning Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icecube_neutrino/

Blazars: https://www.universetoday.com/30594/blazars/

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

To view the podcast chapter list and artwork in this episode, you could do worse than use the Overcast app on iOS, or Pocket Casts on Android. (Other podcast players are available, though they may not handle mp3 chapters nicely.)

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• A listener question from Circus Stu! https://www.circusskillsyorkcic.org

• James Clerk Maxwell: https://digital.nls.uk/scientists/biographies/james-clerk-maxwell/discoveries.html

• Wave-particle duality of light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iuv6hY6zsd0

• Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity: http://www.einstein-online.info/elementary/specialRT.html

• General Theory of Relativity: https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/instant-expert-general-relativity/

• Bowling balls and rubber sheets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTY1Kje0yLg

• Brian Cox drops stuff in a vacuum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43-CfukEgs

• Mass is weird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztc6QPNUqls

• Neutrino astronomy: https://www.space.com/24334-neutrino-telescopes-astronomy-new-era.html

• Gravitational waves: https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-are-gw

• Gravitational wave Astronomy: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-future-of-gravitational-wave-astronomy/

• Dark Sky Reserves: http://darksky.org

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

To view the podcast chapter list and artwork in this episode, you could do worse than use the Overcast app on iOS, or Pocket Casts on Android. (Other podcast players are available, though they may not handle mp3 chapters nicely.)

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• This week’s black hole paper: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/06/13/science.aao4669

• A good article about the story: https://www.sciencealert.com/arp-299-supermassive-black-hole-tidal-disruption-event-relativistic-jet-direct-image

• Black holes: what are they, exactly? A basic primer: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html

• A bit more detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole

• Want to blow your mind? Star Size Comparison 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoW8Tf7hTGA

• Prof. Andrea Ghez looks at the supermassive black hole at the of the Galaxy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y9_g4b1PlA

• Prof. Ghez’s group: http://www.galacticcenter.astro.ucla.edu

• Galaxy collisions: https://phys.org/news/2016-10-galaxies-collide.html

• Gravitational singularities: https://www.universetoday.com/84147/singularity/

• Stephen Hawking: http://www.hawking.org.uk

• John Archibald Wheeler:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Archibald_Wheeler

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

The University of York's Astrocampus: http://www.astrocampus.org.uk

The Hubble Space Telescope: https://www.spacetelescope.org

Top 100 Hubble images: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/top100/

Big Data in Astronomy: https://www.theguardian.com/science/across-the-universe/2015/jun/25/big-universe-big-data-astronomical-opportunity

Careers in Astronomy: https://aas.org/learn/careers-astronomy

Amateur astronomy around the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_astronomical_societies

Astronomy apps: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/752-best-space-watching-apps.html

Galaxy Zoo: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zookeeper/galaxy-zoo/

More citizen science: https://www.zooniverse.org

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• NASA’s announcement: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-finds-ancient-organic-material-mysterious-methane-on-mars

• The first Science paper about Methane: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6393/1093

• The second Science paper about organics in the dirt: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6393/1096

• NASA’s Curiosity rover: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

Video showing Curiosity’s view of the Gale Crater: https://youtu.be/U5nrrnAukwI

• Curiosity’s selfie: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/mount-sharp-photobombs-mars-curiosity-rover

• Curiosity sings Happy Birthday to itself: https://youtu.be/uxVVgBAosqg

• Methane from cows: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/cow-emissions-more-damaging-to-planet-than-co2-from-cars-427843.html

• Water on Mars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_on_Mars

• Olympus Mons: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/solar_system_highlights/olympus_mons

• ESA’s ExoMars: http://exploration.esa.int/mars/48088-mission-overview/

• The fate of the Schiaparelli Lander: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-blogs/schiaparelli-requiem-for-a-mars-lander/

• NASA’s Spirit & Opportunity rovers: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/index.html

• The Mars 2020 mission: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/overview/

• The Mars Helicopter! https://youtu.be/oOMQOqKRWjU
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7121

• Sending humans to Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-overview

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• The Dunes on Pluto paper: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/992

• A good article about the paper: https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/scientists-unlock-the-secrets-of-pluto-s-methane-dunes

• All about Pluto from NASA: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/pluto/overview/

• When I was your age, Pluto was a Planet! https://www.redbubble.com/people/kipstewart/works/3024944-when-i-was-your-age-pluto-was-a-planet?p=t-shirt

• Why Pluto is no longer a planet: https://www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/

• How Pluto got its name: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-pluto-got-its-name-180955912/

• The Kuiper Belt: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/kuiper-belt/in-depth/

• The New Horizons mission: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

• Images of Pluto, before and after New Horizons: https://blogs.nasa.gov/pluto/2016/08/04/pluto-what-a-journey/

• Pluto … or Pluto™? https://twitter.com/ekaschyk/status/620967219934154752

• Images of the dunes on Pluto: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/992/tab-figures-data

• Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Moore

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

The Octopuses from Space paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079610718300798

Panspermia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panspermia

Octopuses? Octopi? Octopodes? https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/what-are-the-plurals-of-octopus-hippopotamus-syllabus

Octopuses are awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCAIedFgdY0

Octopuses are really awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG6JebW63f4

Occam’s Razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

It’s always nerve-wracking waiting for a very expensive new space telescope to launch — the whole mission can literally end in a highly explosive blink of an eye. Fortunately for the Euclid mission team, their gleaming new spacecraft left the Earth in one piece, and made its way to L2 to begin it's new job. It’s mission? Oh, just to solve five huge mysteries of the universe, from the nature of dark matter and dark energy, to unravelling the threads of the cosmic web.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• Telescopes up a mountain in Hawaii

• The Euclid Mission website

• The Launch!

• Euclid’s Big Five

• Streaming data from L2

• Euclid’s first test images

• Dark Matter & Dark Energy

• The Cosmic Web

• Fly-through of the Cosmic Web

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

TESS Mission first images! https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/nasa-s-new-planet-hunter-snaps-initial-test-image-swings-by-moon-toward-final-orbit

The Europa Plume paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0450-z

A good article about the pile up: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/twenty-years-ago-the-galileo-spacecraft-flew-through-a-plume-on-europa/

The Galileo Mission: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/overview/

Jupiter’s moons: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/jupiter-moons/overview/

The Cassini mission: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

Cassini’s awesome photo album: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/hall-of-fame/

Saturn’s moon Enceladus: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/moons/enceladus_(moon)

Water plumes on Enceladus: https://theconversation.com/icy-plumes-bursting-from-saturns-moon-enceladus-suggest-it-could-harbour-life-38673

Hubble images of plumes on Europa: https://gizmodo.com/hubble-discovers-new-evidence-of-geyser-activity-on-eur-1787081944

ESA’s JUICE mission: http://sci.esa.int/juice/

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/europa-clipper/

Extremophiles on Earth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

——————————

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

The Galactic Pile Up paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0025-2

A good article about the pile up: https://www.sciencealert.com/galaxy-megamergers-in-the-early-universe-protoclusters-spt2349-56-dusty-red-core

Syzygy Ep 01: https://www.syzygy.fm/podcast/2018/4/4/episode01

Rogue planets:: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_planet

The ESA’s Gaia mission: http://sci.esa.int/gaia/
https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Gaia/Gaia_creates_richest_star_map_of_our_Galaxy_and_beyond

The Whirlpool Galaxy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy

The Magellanic Clouds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magellanic_Clouds

The Local Group of galaxies: https://www.universetoday.com/30286/local-group/

Size comparison of Andromeda and the Moon: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/01/01/moon_and_andromeda_relative_size_in_the_sky.html

The Virgo Supercluster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_Supercluster

The Millennium Simulation Project: https://wwwmpa.mpa-garching.mpg.de/galform/virgo/millennium/

A video zoom into the universe from the Millennium Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74IsySs3RGU

Minute Physics video on how the simulation was done, with some awesome graphics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP-C_B8nSmw

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

TESS mission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3niFzo5VLI

The nanodiamond meteorite paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03808-6

Guardian article on the story: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/apr/17/diamonds-in-sudan-meteorite-are-remnants-of-lost-planet

The Asteroid Belt: https://www.universetoday.com/32856/asteroid-belt/

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, lizardy sock puppet: https://youtu.be/MLtlcSR9A6M

Nanodiamonds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanodiamond

Solar System formation: http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/discovering_planets_beyond/how-do-planets-form

Solar System formation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhy1fucSRQI

Theia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theia_(planet)

Meteorite 2008 TC3: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/meteorites-found-from-asteroid-2008-tc3/

Exploding meteor over Russia in 2013: https://youtu.be/fBLjB5qavxY
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131106-russian-meteor-chelyabinsk-airburst-500-kilotons/

Meteortites stand out in the desert: https://www.universetoday.com/89656/the-asteroid-that-fell-to-earth-meteorites-from-2008-tc3-still-giving-up-their-secrets/

Meteorites on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xmeteorite.TRS0&_nkw=meteorite&_sacat=0

Meteorites in Antarctica: https://www.space.com/14316-hundreds-meteorites-antarctica-scientists.html

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

TESS launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3niFzo5VLI

TESS’s crazy orbit: https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/tess/operations.html

TESS’s telescopes: https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/tess/the-tess-space-telescope.html

Emily’s research: https://www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/#research

Types of  variable stars: https://www.space.com/15396-variable-stars.html

Modes of vibration on a string: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSIw5SgUirg

Red Giant stars: https://www.universetoday.com/24720/red-giant-star/

Animation of a stellar pulsation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IVm_aE3k98

The Sun’s core is rotating faster than its surface: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/esa-nasa-s-soho-reveals-rapidly-rotating-solar-core

The Song of the Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2eQPOo95l0&feature=youtu.be

Singing Stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzeJq3CbiZM

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod

Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

Astronomical naming schemes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_naming_conventions

TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite: https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov

The best exoplanet pages out there- get lost in the awesome! https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/

Kepler and K2 missions: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html

Comparing Kepler and TESS fields of view: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=12885&button=recent

Exoplanet atmospheres: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2130730-neptune-like-exoplanet-spotted-that-has-a-watery-atmosphere/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180301144131.htm

TESS’s Mission Objectives: https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/tess/objectives.html

TESS’s orbit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AIbD2WxyN8

SpaceX Rocket Man: https://youtu.be/aBr2kKAHN6M

Fly Your Exoplanet on TESS: https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/fly_your_exoplanet.html

https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/fly_your_exoplanet_pics.html

James Webb Space Telescope: https://jwst.nasa.gov

JWST and Hubble mirror comparison: https://jwst.nasa.gov/mirrors.html

JWST’s L2 Lagrange Point: https://www.wired.com/2011/08/james-webb-space-telescope-and-l2-orbits/

Lagrange and Laplace: https://manyworldstheory.com/2014/11/24/lagrange-laplace-and-legendre-which-one-is-which/

If you like what you've heard on Syzygy, let us know:

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod twitter.com/SyzygyPod
or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris online: kipstewart.com

Tell your friends, leave us a review on iTunes  or your podcast directory of choice, or just drop us a note to say hi!

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

Dark Matter in the news: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/galaxy-seems-to-lack-dark-matter-stumping-astronomers/

Nature Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25767

PDF of the paper: http://www.astro.yale.edu/dokkum/papers/mass.pdf

Galaxy Rotation Curve: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_rotation_curve

MACHOs, WIMPS & other weirdness: https://theconversation.com/from-machos-to-wimps-meet-the-top-five-candidates-for-dark-matter-51516

Dark matter and galaxy clusters: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/galaxy-clusters-reveal-new-dark-matter-insights

Galaxies in collision: https://phys.org/news/2016-10-galaxies-collide.html

The Bullet Cluster: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060824.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_Cluster

Find us on Twitter: @syzygypod
Or just visit us at home: syzygy.fm

Emily is an astronomer at the University of York: www.york.ac.uk/physics/people/brunsden/

Chris can be found online: kipstewart.com

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

Geocentric models of the universe: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_model

Retrograde motion of planets & heliocentric models: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OrbitsHistory/

Poor Pluto: www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/

First exoplanet confirmed 1995: exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/2084/

The transit method: www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/exoplanets/transit-photometry.html

Kepler mission: kepler.nasa.gov

Exoplanets we know of: exoplanets.nasa.gov

Our location in the Milky Way: www.universetoday.com/65601/where-is-earth-in-the-milky-way/

Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers opening line: www.goodreads.com/quotes/54481-far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end

Extragalactic planets paper: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aaa5fb

Extragalactic planets news story: www.sciencealert.com/planets-found-in-another-galaxy-quasar-gravitational-microlensing

Quasars: www.spacetelescope.org/science/black_holes/

Gravitational Lensing: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lens

Einstein and the solar eclipse: www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/07/04/how-a-solar-eclipse-first-proved-einstein-right/#6bda2738766a

Funhouse quasar image: phys.org/news/2018-02-astrophysicists-planets-extragalactic-galaxies-microlensing.html

Rogue planets: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_planet

Planet HIP13044b: www.space.com/9556-alien-planet-galaxy-discovered.html

Galactic Cannibalism: www.universetoday.com/89086/galactic-cannibalism/

Exoplanet in Andromeda: www.newscientist.com/article/dn17287-first-extragalactic-exoplanet-may-have-been-found/

Exoplanet microlensing a quasar: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extragalactic_planet#Twin_Quasar-related_planet

On the web at syzygy.fm

On Twitter @syzygypod

Every so often, a Syzygy listener writes in with a cracking question that sends Emily and Chris off spelunking down the deep, deep sinkholes of astronomy and cosmology. This time, listener Eve asked an absolute cracker, to wit: Just how much energy is there in the universe right now? A simple question at first glance. At second glance (and every glance thereafter) it's not simple at all. We need to first consider, what is energy? What is the universe? And even, what is "now"? It's very confusing.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• Feynman’s discussion of energy

• Dark matter

• Dark energy

• The observable universe

• Critical energy density

• Is the energy in the universe zero?

• The Big Bang Singularity

• The fates of the universe

Everyone's favourite bonkers red giant is back in the news again, and it has the supernova spotters in a froth. Last time we talked about Betelgeuse, it had gone unusually dim. Never fear, it's back with a vengeance — not just brighter, but pulsing twice as fast! Is the end nigh? Can we expect it to go boom soon? Well ... define 'soon'. Emily has all the answers.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• The Betelgeuse paper

• A good article on what’s going on with Betelgeuse

• The Great Dimming

• The brightest stars in the sky

• Indigenous peoples have known about variable stars for a very long time

• Could we spot a supernova coming?

Astronomers have spotted what seems to be a supermassive black hole devouring a huge gas cloud — and in the media it's being claimed as the Biggest Explosion in the History of Explosions. Except, is it though? And didn't we already talk about this, way back in Episode 61? And anyway, what does "biggest" even mean? Or "explosion", for that matter? Or "time"? It's all very confusing. Emily's here to make sense of it all.Syzygy Merch! Get it at the store.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• The research paper

• A good article about the story

• The OG Episode 61: Biggest Bang Eva!

• Energy units, including ergs and joules

• Gamma Ray Bursts

• The Gamma Ray Burst of 2022

• BOATS (and GOATS)

• Vale D Alexander Kann

Like many of us, as some stars get older, they get bigger. Like, really big. Big enough to swallow up any planets orbiting near by. Astronomers have known this for a while now, but they'd never actually seen it happen ... until now. Emily explains what's going on, what's been observed, why a planet-gobbling star seems the only real explanation, and what it all means for the Earth's distant future.

Syzygy Merch! Get it at the store.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• The original paper by De et al

• A good article about the research https://time.com/6276702/star-eating-a-planet/

• The Zwicky Transient Facility https://www.ztf.caltech.edu

• NASA's NEOWISE telescope https://neowise.ipac.caltech.edu

• Really big stars

• Comet Shoemaker-Levy-9

In 2023, the Moon is where it’s at — so many rockets taking so many little orbiters and landers and rovers and boxes full of weird trinkets ... just in the coming few months! And that’s before you even count the missions aimed at pushing human footprints into the lunar dust for the first time since the early 70s. Everyone and their dog is sending stuff to the moon, and Emily is here with all the details of six missions set to launch in the coming Northern Spring-Summer launch season.

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• Missions to the Moon — past, present and future

• JUICE

• Astrobiotic’s Mission One

• The Lunar X Prize

• Intuitive Machine’s IM-1 mission

• Chandrayaan 3

• Luna 25

• JAXA’s SLIM

• The Artemis program

The biggest black hole ever has been found — not supermassive, but *ultra*massive. Emily takes Chris on a tour of all the types of black hole, from the speculative minis, through the solar and intermediate mass kinds, to the stonking supermassive and frankly ludicrous ultramassive. And we ask, how exactly do you see a black hole when it's ... you know ... black?

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• The ultramassive black hole paper

• Article about the research

• Mini black holes

• Will the LHC destroy the Earth?

• Stellar mass black holes

• Intermediate mass black holes

• LIGO and Black hole mergers

• Supermassive black holes

• That black hole photo

• Squeezars

• The biggest black holes

• Hubble Space Telescope

• Gravitational lensing

• Euclid, LSST and the SKA

In the hunt for life in the universe, astronomers are looking hard at the catalogue of potentially habitable exoplanets. The ones orbiting Red Dwarf stars seem promising — Red Dwarfs are really common, and we've just launched a shiny new space telescope that's perfect for observing them, their planets, and even their planets *atmospheres*. Trouble is, Red Dwarf stars are ... nasty. Like, really mean. Emily gives all the details on why we might not be discovering signs of life near a Red Dwarf any time soon.

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

• What tThe Red Dwarf paper

• Article about the research

• Red Dwarf stars

• Flares, sunspots and coronal mass ejections

• CMEs are terrifying

• Everyone’s fave spectrograph, HARPS

• JWST & exoplanets

This week, a new Black Hole Record (kinda), and with it a nice conundrum. the GAIA mission has found the biggest black hole ... of the stellar-mass variety ... in our galaxy. A lot of caveats there, but the fun thing is, it's just next door, which makes us wonder if that's coincidence or a harbinger of more big black holes to come in GAIA's data dumps! Plus, a riddle: why do we keep spotting black holes that are too big to make? Did we break physics? Emily has a few explanations.

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Instagram & Threads: @syzygypod

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• The Biggest (small) Black Hole (in our galaxy)

• The rapid-release paper

• The GAIA mission

• GAIA’s data release schedule

• Types of Black Hole

• LIGO gravitational wave telescope

• Quasi-stars

• Syzygy Episode 116: Black Hole Sun

"These six galaxies break cosmology!" scream the headlines. Yeah, nah — yeah, astronomers have found some galaxies in the JWST data that are crazy old, and yet seem to be just way too big. But nah: this doesn't mean cosmology is broken. As usual, the scientists ignore the click-baity headlines, roll their eyes and get on with figuring it all out. Plus, what time is it on the Moon? Not a simple question.

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      What time is it on the Moon?

·      Universe-breaking galaxies (Nature paper)

·      Guardian article about the research

·      JWST, our second favourite space telescope

·      Redshift, distance and time

·      Lyman Break Galaxies

·      The Hubble OG, Ultra and eXtreme Deep Fields

·      JWST: Hold-My-Beer Deep Field

The Earth's core has been acting weird for at least 70 years now. We're not sure why, but sometimes it's spinning faster than the surface, sometimes slower. Emily explains how we know what's happening down in the core, which is impressive enough ... but then she shows how astronomers do the same for very distant stars, and Chris's head explodes. Plus, it's been a big week for aurora fans, and there's even some bonus Einteinian weirdness at the end.

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      The Earth’s core rotation speed paper

·      A good article about it

·      Big week for aurora fans

·      Changes in the Earth’s magnetic field over time

·      Different definitions of a day

·      Asteroseismology (SciShow Space video)

·      The Doppler Effect for sound and light

·      Relativity and GPS (MinutePhysics video)

Emily's back from New Zealand, Chris is ... still just around, really. And Syzygy returns from hiatus with Episode 100, looking back on a huuuuuge year for the Just Wonderful Space Telescope. Emily takes us through the five "first-light" images released from JWST several months ago — plus one little bonus image that they found behind the couch. (Oh, and sorry for the audio quality on this one — for boring technical reasons we had to share one microphone ... Back to our usual high-quality production values for 101!)

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Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

•   JWST on the web: NASA and ESA

•   JWST launch video

•   Lagrange points

•   JWST’s orbit at L2

•   JWST first images

•   Image 1: Webb’s First Deep Field

•   Image 2: Carina Nebula

•   Image 3: Stephan’s Quintet

•   Image 4: Southern Ruing Nebula

•   Image 5: WASP-96 b

•   Surprise extra image: Jupiter!

•   Conference info: First Science Results from JWST, Dec 2022

Not wanting to overshadow this week's exciting supermassive black hole image release or anything, but Emily has news of her own. A short episode, in which Chris delves into the new Sag A* image a bit, before dropping the news bomb you've all *really* been waiting for ...

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      Article about the SagA* image — and that’ll do, you can find the rest from there 😁

You've heard of supernovae, the just stupidly big explosions that mark the end of some stars' lives. Maybe you know there are different kinds of supernovae — type 1a, type II ... Did you know that, smaller than a super nova, there's just a plain, vanilla nova? Or that, even bigger than super, there's hyper-novae? Well, hold onto your hats, because there's a new nova in town, and it's ... really quite small. On the nova scale, anyway. Emily gives all the goss on cute little micronovae. Plus, we school astronomers on the tricky subject of communicating large quantities of energy.

Syzygy Merch! Get it at the store.

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      The micronova paper

·      A good article (with a bad analogy) about the research

·      Novae types: classical, recurrent, and dwarf

·      Supernovae and their types

·      The Cosmic Distance Ladder and Standard candles, and Dark Energy

·      Hypernovae!

·      TESS, everyone’s favourite space telescope

·      Phobos, potato moon

Astronomers have spotted the biggest comet ever! And it's heading for Earth! Except (a) it's not heading towards Earth — it's closest approach to us will be beyond Saturn's orbit — and (b) it's not technically the biggest. But it's still cool! Emily's here with loads of info about comets, big comets, things that are sort of comets, how many tails they have (hint: it's more than one), and heaps more besides.

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Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      The original paper, and the latest results

·      Article about Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein

·      Syzygy episode 50: Imposter Comet!

·      Syzygy episode 64: Almost a Good Comet

·      The Dark Energy Survey

·      Dirty snowballs

·      How many tails does a comet have?

·      The Oort Cloud

·      Famous comets: Halley, Hale-Bopp, Shoemaker-Levy 9

·      Centaurs

A very different story this week: using high-energy particles, originating from violent supernovae and supermassive black holes, to scan the insides of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Physicists are teaming up with Egyptologists to check some tantalising results from 2017 thaty suggest there just might be a previously unknown cavity — an open space — inside the Great Pyramid. Could it be a new, hidden room? A vault filled with ancient treasure? Or just somewhere they kept all the heating ducts and old pain cans? Plus, Syzygy is officially setting the agenda for astronomy research, and Emily unwraps some baby presents!

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      The oldest galaxy ever found

·      Get your Syzygy merch here

·      ScanPyramids misson in 2017

·      Explore Great Pyramid mission

·      The Pyramids of Giza

·      The Great Pyramid

·      Cosmic rays

·      The solar wind

·      Active Galactic Nuclei

·      Cosmic rays causing havoc in computers

·      Muons and relativity

·      Air showers of particles

·      The IceCube neutrino detector

·      Brian Cox makes a cloud chamber

For the latest — and last? — baby-themed episode, we talk baby planets and how they're made. And sure, we've talked about this before in previous episodes, but this time Emily comes with brand new research that shows an actual protoplanet forming from the stellar disk. And even better, the possibility that we can even spot a proto*moon* forming around a protoplanet. Plus, for any astronomers looking for ideas, she's got her Top 5 list of unsolved planet questions.

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Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      Oldest star ever seen!

·      Gravitational lensing

·      Syzygy 26: How to build a solar system

·      Syzygy 68: Birth of a Planet

·      And just for fun, Syzygy 19: Moons, exomoons & moonmoons

·      Far-our Super Jupiter AB Aurigae b

·      Nice article about AB Aurigae b

·      AB Aurigae in the movies

·      Protomoon around protoplanet?

·      Gravitational Microlensing

We’ve done the baby universe, and baby galaxies, and the very first baby stars ... and *those* were a bit nasty, a bit grumpy. So this week, we're talking baby stars again, but in the modern era — stars being born now, as we speak. Mind you, just because they've got more than H and He to buiold with, doesn't mean they're any less temperamental. Emily takes use from the interstellar medium, through interstellar clouds and collapsing proto-stars, to the birth of a cute little pre-main-sequence star.

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

On the web: syzygy.fm | Twitter: @syzygypod

Things we talk about in this episode:

·      The Interstellar medium and Interstellar clouds

·      Proto-stars and their windiness

·      Brown dwarfs

·      Main sequence stars

·      T Tauri stars

·      Herbig Ae/Be stars