The Cosmic Savannah – Details, episodes & analysis

We are back with the second half of season 6!

In this episode, we are joined by Kevin Govender, Chair of the National Organising Committee and Director of the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). With a background in Nuclear Physics, Kevin first became involved in astronomy in 2006 when he managed the Collateral Benefits Programme at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). This work ultimately led to his appointment as the inaugural Director of the OAD in 2011.

In this "mid-season special" episode, we introduce you to an extraordinary giant radio galaxy nicknamed "Inkathazo", meaning ‘trouble’ in isiXhosa and isiZulu. We speak with Kathleen Charlton, a Master’s student from the University of Cape Town, about the discovery of Inkathazo and her newly published work on the topic.

The post Episode 77: Troublesome ‘Inkathazo’ and the Age of Giants appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this milestone episode of The Cosmic Savannah, hosts Tshiamiso, Jacinta and Dan celebrate the start of Season Six and the podcast's fifth anniversary.

The post Episode 71: Dark Side of the Universe appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

The band is back together! In this episode Jacinta, Tshia and Dan sit together in the cupboard once again to catch up and to reflect on Season 5.

The post Episode 70: Season 5 in Review appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this mini episode Jacinta has a quick interview with Professor Russ Taylor, one of the founders of IDIA ( The Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy).

The post Mini Episode: Big data, big IDIA appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In the second part of the Polar ring galaxy series, Jacinta and Tshia drop in on Dr Lucia Marchetti and Alex Sivitilli in the IDIA (The Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy) Visualisation Laboratory at UCT (The University of Cape Town) where they learn how Virtual Reality (VR) can be used to model astronomical data in three dimensions.

The post Episode 69: Into the Matrix – Visualising Polar Ring Galaxies appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

This week Dr Nathan Deg returns to The Cosmic Savannah to discuss Polar-ring galaxies and how he models these incredible structures.

The post Episode 68: Untangling the Origins of Polar Ring Galaxies appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this “unplugged” episode, we hear from our own! New host Tshiamiso Makwela tells us about her research and we introduce you to our new podcast manager, Francois Campher.

Tshiamiso (Tshia) discusses her work in the field of Astronomy Education Research. She asks us "how big is big" and "how far is far"? Tshia explains why these concepts so difficult, yet so important, to comprehend.

The post Episode 67: A Stroll to the Edge of The Universe appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this new exciting episode Professor Matthew Bailes returns to discuss his recent work on Pulsars as well as his thoughts and feelings on winning the 2023 Shaw Prize for the discovery of Fast Radio Bursts.

The post Episode 66: Meertime Mysteries – Pulsars and Prizes appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

This is a re-run of episode 29 of The Cosmic Savannah in anticipation of an upcoming interview with Prof Matthew Bailes so all our listeners can get up to speed about everything to do with Neutron Stars!

The post Episode 65: Zombies of the Cosmos (Re-run) appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.