http://www.jodcast.net/ en Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales License Full-length interviews from the Jodcast. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:11:06 +0000 Full-length interviews from the Jodcast. Full-length interviews from the Jodcast. Jodrell Bank Observatory astronomy,interview,astronomer,telescope jodcast@jb.man.ac.uk Clean Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000 Matt Jarvis talks to us about the VIDEO survey on the VISTA infrared telescope in Chile. VIDEO, the VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations Survey, is a wide-field infra-red survey to study galaxy evolution as a function of galaxy age and environment to a redshift of ~4. The survey will observe active galactic nuclei, galaxy cluster evolution, and very massive galaxies. Matt tells us about how the VIDEO survey will improve our understanding of these galaxies, how they form and evolve.]]> http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200812/20081201-jodcast-interview.mp3 17:49 Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:00:00 +0000 Dr George Hobbs (Australia Telescope National Facility) about the ongoing attempts to detect gravitational waves using observations of pulsars spread over the sky. George tells us what evidence we have that gravitational waves are emitted by massive objects orbiting each other and about experiments such as LIGO and LISA that are trying to detect them. He then explains how the careful timing of signals from stable pulsars, in different directions on the sky, may be able to detect gravitational waves from colliding black holes.]]> http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200811Extra/20081115-jodcast-interview.mp3 16:49 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:45:00 +0000 http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200811/20081101-jodcast-interview.mp3 15:53 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0100 One of the first experiments carried out by physicists at Jodrell Bank in 1945 was the detection of echoes from meteors by the reflection of radio waves. Eddie Blackhurst tells us about the Jodrell Bank Meteor Detector which he constructed with Megan Argo in 2007. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200810Extra/20081015-jodcast-interview.mp3 09:32 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0100 Nick talked to Roberta Paladini about her work on the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Planck spacecraft. We also find out about her studies of astronomical objects - such as our own galaxy - that obscure observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200810Extra/20081015-jodcast-interview2.mp3 29:56 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:00:00 +0100 Pulsars - pulsating neutron stars - are bizarre astrophysical objects. Since 1967 we've discovered over 2000 of them by searching for the periodic pulses they emit. Jim Cordes tells us that some neutron stars are not so regular and can be quite intermittent. We discuss some of the ideas that might explain these intermittent pulsars as well as future telescopes that will look for intermittent events in the sky. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200810/20081001-jodcast-interview.mp3 26:05 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:20:00 +0100 Nick talked to Dr Andreas Faltenbacher about how the Millenium Simulation is an attempt to model the dark matter component of the universe, and how we can compare the simulation to real observations. We also talk about how baryonic matter (namely galaxies), are added into the Simulation to allow us to make those comparisons between the Simulation of dark matter (which we can't see) and the observations of galaxies (which we can see). http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200809Extra/20080915-jodcast-interview.mp3 39:27 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:00:00 +0100 Many people study astronomy but not all of them become astronomers. We talked to Debbie Mitchell about her work for the National Air Traffic Control Service following her PhD studying planetary nebulae. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200809/20080901-jodcast-interview.mp3 04:02 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:00:00 +0100 Nick talked to Dill Faulkes about his motivation for setting up the Faulkes Telescope project. There are two Faulkes telescopes: Faulkes North in Hawaii and Faulkes South in Australia. These are two 2 metre robotic telescopes which can be used by students and teachers to conduct research grade observations of the night sky. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200809/20080901-jodcast-interview2.mp3 14:22 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0100

The sound of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A recorded by the Lovell Telescope

Whistler waves

Proton Whistlers

Leonid meteor echoes

Jovian Chorus

Jovian S-Burst

Jovian S-Burst speeded up by a factor 128

ESA Huygens lander radar signal

Solar sounds generated from 40 days of Michelson Doppler Imager data and processed by A. Kosovichev.

Solar Energetic Particles data from the HELIOS mission

X-ray observations of Cygnus X-1 from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer

PSR B0329+54 observations from the Lovell Telescope

Vela pulsar observations

Crab pulsar observations

PSR B1937+21 observations

Pulsars in globular cluster 47 Tuc

Double pulsar eclipse

The first million years of the Universe

The Cosmic Microwave Background

]]> http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200808Extra/20080817-jodcast-soundsofspace.mp3 38:58 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0100 Elaine Barrett tells us about her very special Level 9 tour of NASA's Space Centre in Houston. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200808Extra/20080817-jodcast-nasa.mp3 25:41 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0000 During the partial solar eclipse of 1st August 2008 we caught up with Philippa Browning to find what eclipses are and how they allow astronomers to investigate the Sun. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200808/20080801-jodcast-interview.mp3 06:04 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0000 During the partial solar eclipse of 1st August 2008, Mark Edmonds tells about the evidence that prehistoric people had an interest in the Sun, the Moon and the stars. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200808/20080801-jodcast-interview2.mp3 04:23 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:30:00 +0000 You may have heard that the universe is expanding. Around 10 years ago, using observations of supernovae, we discovered that not only is the universe expanding but the expansion is speeding up. Jochen describes observations of supernovae and weak lensing that provide evidence of dark energy and his research into theoretical models that describe the expanding universe. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200807/20080701-jodcast-interview.mp3 14:58 Thu, 01 May 2008 17:30:00 +0000 Just before the release of Galaxy Zoo 2, Chris Lintott tells Stuart about the mysterious blue blob found in the original Galaxy Zoo. The blue blob - known as Hanny's Voorwerp - was spotted close to the large spiral galaxy IC 2497 and Chris tells us about the observations that have been made in an attempt to work out what it is. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200805/20080501-jodcast-interview.mp3 09:04 Thu, 01 May 2008 17:30:00 +0000 Kevin McKeegan talks to Nick about a mystery surrounding measurements of oxygen in samples of the solar wind returned by the Genesis space probe. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200805/20080501-jodcast-interview2.mp3 34:05 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Stuart talked to Emily Baldwin who is the Society for Popular Astronomy's Chief Stargazer. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080401-jodcast-baldwin.mp3 01:38 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Nick caught up with the current President of the Royal Astronomical Society - Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson - to find out about NAM, the RAS and how Michael first got interested in astronomy. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080401-jodcast-mrr.mp3 12:32 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Stuart talked to biology teacher Jacquie Milligan and pupils from Glenlola Collegiate School about the astronomy they do and their use of the Faulkes Telescope. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080401-jodcast-milligan.mp3 03:17 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Tom Mason gives us an overview of Ireland's largest planetarium based in Armagh. He tells us about the planetarium, some of the exhibits and the large meteorite they have. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080401-jodcast-mason.mp3 04:54 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Nick talks to Professor Richard Ellis about "cosmic downsizing", how we can learn about the formation history of stars, and how stars cease forming in galaxies. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080402-jodcast-ellis.mp3 14:42 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Nick chats with Professor Brian Schmidt (Australian National University) about using supernovae to measure the accelerating expansion of the Universe and the mysterious Dark Energy. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080402-jodcast-schmidt.mp3 18:40 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Douglas Pierce-Price of the European Southern Observatory talks to us about the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and about ESO's Residencia which will appear in the upcoming James Bond movie. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080403-jodcast-pierce-price.mp3 13:36 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Jane Greaves announces the discovery of a proto-planet - a large ball of gas and rocks orbiting a star HL Tau. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080403-jodcast-greaves.mp3 04:51 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Jonathan Tedds tells us about recent developments in the UK for the International Virtual Observatory. The Virtual Observatory is bringing together archive data from telescopes and satellite missions and allowing us to work with it from our desktop. One set of tools for doing this goes by the name AstroGrid. During the National Astronomy Meeting the latest version of the AstroGrid software was released. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080404-jodcast-tedds.mp3 08:09 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Nick Kaiser talks about the Panoramic Survey Telescope &Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) that he is helping to build. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080404-jodcast-kaiser.mp3 09:31 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 Monica Grady tells us about her research in astro-biology including her study of meteorites and what they can tell us about ancient conditions on Mars. She also tells us about the search for life in extreme locations on Earth as well as Mars and Europa. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080404-jodcast-grady.mp3 09:11 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080404-jodcast-pollacco.mp3 18:00 Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 +0000 In the last few years, the advent of Swift has revolutionized the field of gamma-ray bursts, and Chris caught up with Nial Tanvir in a rather echoing corridor to find out the latest news. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804NAM/20080404-jodcast-tanvir.mp3 07:32 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:01 +0000 Roy talked to Dr Richard Davis and Dr Bob Watson about the CMB and the Very Small Array. The Cosmic Microwave Background contains an exquisitely detailed imprint of the physical conditions following the Big Bang. Roy Smits talks to Professor Rod Davies and Dr Bob Watson of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics about the CMB, how we observe it, and what we can learn from the observations of the CMB. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200804/20080401-jodcast-interview.mp3 20:00 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:00:00 +0000 The presence of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in a star can tell us a lot about its history. We talk to Dr Maria-Rosa Cioni about the measurement of metallicity in stars and galaxies, and what we can learn from these measurements. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200803Extra/20080315-jodcast-interview.mp3 19:19 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200803Extra/20080315-jodcast-emerlin.mp3 07:28 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Lyndsay Fletcher about solar flares as well as the surface and atmosphere of the Sun. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200803/20080303-jodcast-interview.mp3 30:32 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:00:00 +0000 A quick update on the successes of the Campaign for Dark Skies from the past 12 months. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802Extra/20080216-jodcast-interview.mp3 03:48 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:00:00 +0000 We find out what the Space Telescope Science Institute is and find out how they are including data from space telescopes into Google Earth/Sky. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802Extra/20080216-jodcast-interview2.mp3 07:05 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802Extra/20080216-jodcast-interview3.mp3 27:15 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Neal Jackson about gravitational lenses. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview.mp3 12:02 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Andrew Gould about the differences between microlensing and macrolensing. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview2.mp3 05:12 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Joachim Wamsganss about quasar microlensing. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview3.mp3 05:20 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Dave Bennett about microlensing observations from space. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview4.mp3 04:55 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Cheongho Han about the future of microlensing. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview5.mp3 02:53 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Przemek Wozniak about the detection optical afterglows of gamma ray bursts. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview6.mp3 03:24 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Vasily Belokurov about dwarf galaxy companions to our own Milky Way galaxy. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview7.mp3 03:23 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 Roy talked to Sohrab Rahvar about astronomy in Iran. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200802/20080201-jodcast-interview8.mp3 02:47 Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:00:00 +0000 At the Red Lion Inn in Goostrey we interrupted the pre-lecture dinner of the Macclesfield Astronomical Society to talk with Dr Alan Chapman. Alan tells us about the life of Victorian astronomer Richard Proctor who toured the world giving public talks about astronomical topics. We also hear how Proctor put origin dates to of some of the constellations we use today. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200801Extra/20080116-jodcast-interview.mp3 15:55 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:50:00 +0000 Nick talked to Anna Watts about neutron stars. Anna tells us how these extremely dense objects push our understanding of general relativity and nuclear physics. Observations using X-ray telescopes are now allowing us to monitor star quakes and infer properties of highly magnetised neutron stars - magnetars. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200801/20080101-jodcast-interview.mp3 29:22 Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:50:00 +0000 Stuart, Dave, Nick and Tim describe some of their favourite astronomical images of the past 12 months. We've also included a few bonus images in the show notes. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200801/20080101-jodcast-favourite.mp3 10:27 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:00:00 +0000 At the Manchester Modern Radio Universe Stuart caught up with Dr Dave Jauncey (CSIRO) and Dr Ken Kellermann (NRAO). They tell the story of the lunar occultation and interferometry observations of radio objects such as 3C 273 (amongst others) during the 1960s. They explain how the object was identified with optical images to show that it was a very distant galaxy - a quasar. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200712Extra/20071217-jodcast-interview.mp3 13:55 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:00:00 +0000 Roy Smits brings us a summary of the Jodrell Bank Illuminate Art event (funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering's Ingenious programme) which took place over November and December. Roy talks to young rocketeers, talks to event organiser Dr Alastair Gunn and describes the winning art work projections for the radio. If you're listening carefully you may also spot the Jodcast's Megan launching a Clanger. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200712Extra/20071217-jodcast-illuminate.mp3 12:18 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Carl Murray about the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission orbiting Saturn. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200712/20071201-jodcast-interview.mp3 32:08 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:30:00 +0000 Nick and Stuart talked to Leonid Gurvits about VLBI observations which recovered lost data from ESA's Huygens lander which landed on Titan. He also describes observations of SMART-1 with VLBI. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200712/20071201-jodcast-interview2.mp3 09:58 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Professor Don Burnett - Principal Investigator and Lead Scientist of NASA's Genesis mission - describes how the Genesis mission was designed to capture particles from the solar wind and bring them back to the Earth. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200711Extra/20071115-jodcast-interview.mp3 24:45 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:55:00 +0100 Nick talked to Jill Tarter about the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Jill tells us how SETI researchers are trying to find evidence for extra-terrestrial intelligence and describes the new Allen Telescope Array that has recently been completed. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200711/20071101-jodcast-interview.mp3 18:43 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:55:00 +0100 Stuart talked to Douglas Pierce-Price about the Catch A Star competition with some great prizes. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200711/20071101-jodcast-interview2.mp3 05:16 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:55:00 +0100 Stuart talked to Andrew Walsh about astrochemistry and the discovery in space of ingredients that could be used to make a beer. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200711/20071101-jodcast-interview3.mp3 07:11 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Donna Kubik of Fermilab in the United States explains what we currently know about the mysterious dark energy that we currently think makes up about 70 percent of the stuff in the Universe. She describes the Dark Energy Survey which aims to find out more. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710Extra/20071016-jodcast-interview5.mp3 16:36 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Nick caught up with the Astronomer Royal during the Modern Radio Universe conference. Sir Martin Rees tells us what the role of the Astronomer Royal is and what he thinks are the interesting problems in astronomy today. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710Extra/20071016-jodcast-interview.mp3 08:25 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Dr Geraint Morgan describes how technology built for the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is being adapted to track cases of tuberculosis (TB) in Africa. The Open University team are currently trying to adapt the technology to other non-invasive tests. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710Extra/20071016-jodcast-interview2.mp3 09:07 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Clancy James tells us how a team of particle physicists and astronomers are attempting to use telescopes on the Earth to observe neutrino interactions within the surface of the Moon. In the future, they plan to use the Square Kilometre Array to do this. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710Extra/20071016-jodcast-interview3.mp3 04:34 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Last year ESA's SMART-1 deliberately crashed into the Moon. On board was the D-CIXS X-ray instrument. The new instrument, C1XS, will fly on an Indian spacecraft and will work out what the top 100 micrometres of the surface of the Moon is made of. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710Extra/20071016-jodcast-interview4.mp3 05:09 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0100 Stuart took on the role of the Jodcast's roving reporter at the Space 50 projection event. The event was held on the 5th and 6th October 2007 and turned the Lovell Telescope into a huge projection screen showing images of engineering, spaceflight and astronomy. Here are a selection of visitor reactions and comments. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710Extra/20071016-jodcast-space50.mp3 04:25 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:50:00 +0100 Nick talked to Prof Albert Zijlstra about planetary nebulae. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710/20071001-jodcast-interview.mp3 23:05 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:50:00 +0100 In August 2007 Jodrell Bank hosted "An Audience with Sir Bernard Lovell". In the last part of the series Sir Bernard talks to Tim O'Brien about the observatory from the start of October 1957 onwards. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200710/20071001-jodcast-interview-lovell.mp3 24:23 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:40:00 +0100 In August 2007 Jodrell Bank hosted "An Audience with Sir Bernard Lovell". In this second part of the series, Sir Bernard talks to Tim O'Brien about the beginnings of Jodrell Bank and the construction of the Mark I telescope. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200709Extra/20070915-jodcast-interview-lovell.mp3 33:43 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:40:00 +0100 Nick talked to Prof Gregor Morfill about dust and plasmas. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200709/20070901-jodcast-interview.mp3 28:37 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:40:00 +0100 In August 2007 Jodrell Bank hosted "An Audience with Sir Bernard Lovell". In this first part of the series, Sir Bernard talks about his life from his childhood days with a crystal set listening to 2L0 London, to an inspiring lecture at Bristol University. He then tells us about his early university career, how he finally arrived at Manchester and his interest in cosmic rays. We finish the first part of this series at the start of World War II when he started working on radar. Sir Bernard also peppers the interview with many references to his life-long passion for cricket. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200709/20070901-jodcast-interview-lovell.mp3 28:56 Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:00:00 +0100 Nick talked to Dr Martin Bureau about the formation of galaxies. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200708/20070801-jodcast-interview.mp3 39:48 Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:00:00 +0100 Stuart talked to Dr Chris Lintott about Galaxy Zoo; a website set up with the aim to get the public to help sort a million galaxies. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200708/20070801-jodcast-interview2.mp3 12:05 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 23:23:23 +0100 Nick talked to Dr Scott Fisher, during the National Astronomy Meeting in Preston, about the Gemini Observatory which has two 8m telescopes one on Mauna Kea on one at Cerra Pachon, Chile. He tells us all about the observatory from construction of the mirrors, the instruments on them and the science that they are used for. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200707/20070701-jodcast-interview.mp3 25:56 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 23:23:23 +0100 Stuart introduces extracts from the Moon Bounce event where Jodrell Bank Observatory bounced poems from the Moon. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200707/20070701-jodcast-moonbounce.mp3 05:26 Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:50:00 +0100 Nick Rattenbury talked to Benoit Famaey about the suggestion of alterations to Sir Isaac Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation. This idea, known as MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), would change the strength of gravity on the scale of galaxies and reduce the need for some of the proposed dark matter within galaxies. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200706Extra/20070615-jodcast-interview.mp3 19:55 Thu, 31 May 2007 22:15:00 +0100 Nick and Stuart talked to Jocelyn Bell-Burnell about her PhD and her discovery of pulsating neutron stars - pulsars. It started with a curious repeating signal showing up on her chart recorder while she was trying to make measurements of quasars. What followed was some classic detective work to track down the cause of the "bit of scruff". After eliminating man-made interference, briefly entertaining the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence and problems with the equipment, she and Tony Hewish eventually worked out that they were observing a neutron star. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200706/20070601-jodcast-interview.mp3 34:35 Tue, 15 May 2007 18:00:00 +0100 Nick Rattenbury talked to Carole Mundell about supermassive black holes in active galaxies. We find out that black holes aren't really great cosmic vacuum cleaners and allow some matter to escape their grasp and be hurled out in jets. Some of these jets even appear to be moving faster than light. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200705Extra/20070515-jodcast-interview.mp3 09:33 Tue, 01 May 2007 00:40:00 +0000 Nick Rattenbury talked to Carole Mundell about gamma ray bursts. We find out what the current ideas are about the causes of these hugely bright objects. Carole describes the international effort, with a huge array of automatic and robotic telescopes, to observe them as quickly as possible once they happen; even if that means being sent text messages and emails in the middle of the night! http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200705/20070501-jodcast-interview.mp3 22:05 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Nick Rattenbury talked to Chris Wareing about his numerical simulations of the wakes left by star near the end of their lives moving quickly through the interstellar medium. This research was presented at the UK National Astronomy Meeting on 17th April 2007. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070418-jodcast-interview.mp3 09:35 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Stuart Lowe talked to Lucie Green about the Sun and International Heliophysical Year. Lucie tells us what it is and why there is a big connection between the Sun and Earth. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070419-jodcast-interview.mp3 06:44 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 David Boyce chatted to Monica Grady about astro-biology including summer schools, ALH84001 (the meteorite from Mars), what meteorites can tell us, the possibility of life on Europa, her latest research and what she thinks may be the next big discoveries. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070419-jodcast-interview2.mp3 08:01 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 David Boyce talked to Mike Lockwood about the highly energetic particles from the Sun that will affect human spaceflight. He talks about the need for shielding, some of the difficulties involved and the possible use of electric fields to repel the particles. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070420-jodcast-interview.mp3 05:23 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Stuart talks to Ruth Bamford about a story which made the international news; a plan to build magnetic 'force-fields' to protect astronauts. Ruth tells us that small magnetic bubbles could be used to hold a plasma which might, in turn, hold off the charged particles from solar coronal mass ejections. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070420-jodcast-interview2.mp3 07:41 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 David Boyce talks to Matt Griffin about the future ESA Herschel telescope and what it will study. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070420-jodcast-interview3.mp3 02:22 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 David Boyce talked to Martin Barstow about the future of UV astronomy focussing on the Hubble Space Telescope and the upcoming repair mission. He also talks about the future, Russian-led, World Space Observatory and his latest research using FUSE to look at the local interstellar gas. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070420-jodcast-interview4.mp3 05:16 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Stuart talked to Chris Lintott about his research into astro-chemistry. They also chatted about the fiftieth anniversary of the BBC's Sky At Night television programme and the special episodes that have been recorded. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070420-jodcast-interview5.mp3 07:56 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 David Boyce talked to Peter Wheatley about planets around stars other than the Sun; exoplanets. He has used measurements with SuperWASP and the Spitzer Space Telescope to investigate the atmosphere of a planet passing in front of the face of its star. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070420-jodcast-interview6.mp3 04:07 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Stuart caught up with Chris Davis to find out the latest news from NASA's STEREO mission. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070421-jodcast-interview.mp3 02:51 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Stuart talked to Helen Walker about the current status of ESA's Mars Express mission. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070421-jodcast-interview2.mp3 04:47 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:50:00 +0000 Stuart asked Mike Bode for an update on the re-current nova star RS Ophiuchi which had an outburst during 2006. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704NAM/20070421-jodcast-interview3.mp3 10:38 Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Nick Rattenbury talked to Graham Woan about gravitational waves. Dr Woan is part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration which brings together observations from the LIGO detectors in the US, GEO600 in Germany and a detector in Italy. He explains what gravitational waves are, how you might go about trying to detect their tiny effects and we listen to the simulated sounds of gravitational waves. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704/20070401-jodcast-interview.mp3 24:22 Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Nick Rattenbury talks to Steve Rawlings about black holes and quasars. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200704/20070401-jodcast-interview2.mp3 12:23 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Stuart Lowe was at Astrofest 2007 where he talked to everyone who didn't run away from the scary looking microphone. Stuart talked to Keith Cooper and Greg Smye Rumsby of Astronomy Now magazine, Andrew Newsam the Director of the National Schools Observatory, Carol Brien a distance learning student, Ellen Strachan of the Royal Observatory Greenwich and Sandra Voss from the Observatory Science Centre Herstmonceaux. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200703/20070301-jodcast-astrofest.mp3 15:47 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Nick asks Ciska Markwick-Kemper all about dust in space. This isn't like the stuff that you would find under your bed, but a whole range of compounds including olivine, silicates, quartz and pyroxene. Ciska explains the differences between dust from the solar system and that from the space between the stars. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200703/20070301-jodcast-interview.mp3 10:28 Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0000 In this, the second part of our Astrofest 2007 special report, Ian Morison caught up with Peter Wise the Managing Director of Cape Newise Technologies and asked him about his new telescope designs. Stuart talks to a Lillian (a Polish amateur astronomer), Bob Mizon (Coordinator of the BAA's Campaign for Dark Skies), Robin Scagell (Vice President of the Society for Popular Astronomy), Simon and Craig (two Jodcast listeners) and Andrew Newsam of Liverpool John Moores University. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200703/20070301-jodcast-astrofest2.mp3 12:05 Thu, 01 Feb 2007 23:15:00 +0000 Ian Morsion talked to Sir Bernard Lovell about the origins of the giant Lovell Telescope and Jodrell Bank Observatory. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200702/20070201-jodcast-interview.mp3 10:25 Thu, 01 Feb 2007 23:15:00 +0000 Stuart talked to Chris Davis about the STEREO mission to look at the Sun. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200702/20070201-jodcast-interview2.mp3 13:00 Thu, 01 Feb 2007 23:15:00 +0000 Stuart talked to David Boyce about the possibility of ultraviolet astronomy from the surface of the Moon. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200702/20070201-jodcast-interview3.mp3 13:41 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Martin Hardcastle about radio galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN). We find out what an AGN is, what makes the nucleus active and how different types of telescope can show us different parts of an AGN. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200701/20070103-jodcast-interview.mp3 14:32 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Peter Wilkinson about the origins of the Square Kilometre Array and found out what sort of exciting physics and astronomy may be possible with a telescope that big. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200701/20070103-jodcast-interview2.mp3 14:27 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Richard Schilizzi about the purpose, design, costs and logistics of a Square Kilometre Array. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200701/20070103-jodcast-interview3.mp3 08:17 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Anita Loots about the South African bid to host the Square Kilometre Array. Anita told us about a one percent demonstrator telescope (the Karoo Array Telescope) under construction in South Africa. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200701/20070103-jodcast-interview4.mp3 04:22 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:30:00 +0000 Nick talked to Brian Boyle about the Australian bid to host the Square Kilometre Array. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200701/20070103-jodcast-interview5.mp3 07:28 Mon, 4 Dec 2006 13:00:00 +0000 Nick talked to Cormac Purcell about microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation or masers. We find out what a maser is, how they form in space and what they can tell us about the evolution of stars. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200612/20061204-jodcast-interview.mp3 23:27 Wed, 1 Nov 2006 17:30:00 +0000 Dr Oliver Jennrich of the European Space Agency tells us what gravitational waves and how it might be possible to detect them. He tells us how a constellation of three spacecraft - LISA - will work together in an attempt to detect these exciting predictions of General Relativity. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200611/20061101-jodcast-interview2.mp3 21:23 Wed, 1 Nov 2006 17:30:00 +0000 Nick and Stuart rang up Robert Nemiroff to find out about Astronomy Picture of the Day. Robert tells us how conversations with Dr Jerry Bonnell started it all back in 1995. We find out how he finds images to use, how long it takes to put APoD together and why some images get repeated. He also tells us about his new book (Astronomy: 365 days) which has just been published and features the best images from APoD over the past three years. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200611/20061101-jodcast-interview.mp3 15:47 Tue, 3 Oct 2006 09:30:00 +0000 Nick Rattenbury talked to Barry Kellett (the science investigator for the D-CIXS instrument on SMART-1) about the most fuel efficient mission to the Moon. ESA's SMART-1 spacecraft took 15 months and used just 80 litres of Xenon in its ion drive. Nick finds out how the ion drive works, how SMART-1 got to the Moon and what it aimed to find out when it got there. We also find out about the impact of SMART-1 with the lunar suface on 3rd September 2006. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200610/20061003-jodcast-interview.mp3 17:46 Tue, 3 Oct 2006 09:30:00 +0000 Stuart Lowe talked to Joanna Dunkley (Princeton) about the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). Joanna explains what WMAP is and what it has told us about the very early Universe from its first three years of data. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200610/20061003-jodcast-interview2.mp3 23:14 Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Megan is given an audio tour of the Jodrell Bank Control Room by controller Mark Roberts. We find out about the controls, what the job of a controller entails and what the big red button is for. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200609/20060901-jodcast-interview.mp3 15:34 Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Nick talks to Teresa Anderson about the plans for a new Visitor Centre at Jodrell Bank. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200609/20060901-jodcast-interview2.mp3 19:28 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:00:00 +0000 Stuart Lowe and Hannah Thrall talked to Michael Burton about astronomy in the colds of Antarctica as well as finding out about 'Science down the pub'. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060824-jodcast-interview7.mp3 11:54 Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:18:00 +0000 Lisa Harvey-Smith got the views of (anonymous) astronomers before the final session and vote on the proposed definition of a planet. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060824-jodcast-planet-views.mp3 06:19 Fri, 25 Aug 2006 19:20:00 +0000 Stuart and Hannah talked to Gordon Squires (Assistant Director for Public Affairs of the Spitzer Space Telescope at Caltech) about the latest cosmological results from Spitzer. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-interview6.mp3 05:11 Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:12:00 +0000 Debbie Mitchell interviews Gilbert Satterthwaite about his involvement with the Royal Observatory, Greenwich and the history of astronomy. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-interview5.mp3 03:51 Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:00:00 +0000 Nick introduces a recording of the session at the IAU General Assembly in Prague 2006 at which many astronomers put forward their questions about the proposed planet definition. The Chairman of the session was Ron Ekers, with assistance provided by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The audio is courtesy of the IAU. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060824-jodcast-planet-vote.mp3 22:05 Thu, 24 Aug 2006 08:00:00 +0000 Nick and Stuart talked to Dr. Carolina Odman (Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands) about the Universe Awareness project. This is an international initative for economically disadvantaged young children aged four to ten to introduce them to the inspirational aspects of astronomy. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-interview4.mp3 12:17 Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:50:00 +0000 Lisa Harvey-Smith talked to Dr Enno Middelberg of the Australia Telescope National Facility at the IAU General Assembly in Prague. He has been involved with the discussions surrounding the definition of a planet and tells us about the latest suggestions. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-interview3.mp3 06:57 Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:30:00 +0000 Nick and Stuart rang up Prof. Ian Robson of the Astronomy Technology Centre (Edinburgh) who is at the IAU General Assembly. He told us about the plans for International Astronomy Year which were being discussed as we rang. He described the active galaxy sessions he has attended so far and the ones he wants to go to next week about supermassive black holes. Oh and, of course, we found out a bit more about the definition of a planet. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-interview2.mp3 09:16 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:55:00 +0000 Nick and Stuart caught up with Mike Bode of Liverpool John Moores University (operators of the Liverpool Telescope) who is currently at the IAU GA in Prague. They asked him about the IAU, the General Assembly and asked him for his views on the definition of a planet. He also told us the latest about the nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph). http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-interview.mp3 20:46 Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:00:00 +0000 Nick chairs an informal round-table discussion about the proposals for the definition of a planet. The proposals were put forward to the IAU General Assembly in Prague today. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608IAU/20060816-jodcast-planet-definition.mp3 20:18 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 08:08:08 +0000 Nick talks to our own Dr Tim O'Brien about the February 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) which last had an outburst in 1985. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608/20060808-jodcast-interview.mp3 34:00 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 08:08:08 +0000 Dave talks to Johanna Ashwell about her amateur astronomy and her PhD research on the star J37 in the open cluster NGC 6633. She describes reasons for why J37 may have more lithium than astronomers expected and tells about her own observations of the night sky. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200608/20060808-jodcast-interview2.mp3 07:48 Tue, 04 Jul 2006 12:00:00 +0000 Nick talked to Ian Morison about the development of the search for extraterrestial intelligence (SETI). He tells us about detections of the then secret U2 spy plane, the "Wow" signal of 1977 and what the future holds for SETI. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200607/20060704-jodcast-interview.mp3 10:17 Tue, 04 Jul 2006 12:00:00 +0000 Megan talked to the Chairman of the Macclesfield Astronomical Society, Andrew Greenwood, about things that get him excited about the night sky. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200607/20060704-jodcast-interview2.mp3 25:08 Thu, 01 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Nick discussed the wide-angle search for planets (WASP) with Don Pollacco, one of the researchers on the project. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200606/20060601-jodcast-interview.mp3 15:16 Thu, 01 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Dave talked to Brother Guy Consolmagno about his job as the Vatican Astronomer and got his views on the status of objects such as 2003 UB313.. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200606/20060601-jodcast-interview2.mp3 17:23 Fri, 5 May 2006 05:05:00 +0000 Stuart talked to Ian Musgrave - an enthusiastic amateur astronomer and author of the Southern Skywatch website - to find out why he likes astronomy. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200605/20060505-jodcast-interview.mp3 17:05 Fri, 5 May 2006 05:05:00 +0000 Dr Ralph Spencer of Jodrell Bank talked to Nick about developments in very long baseline interferometry. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200605/20060505-jodcast-interview2.mp3 12:23 Fri, 5 May 2006 05:05:00 +0000 Dr Matt Strong of Jodrell Bank talked to Nick about developments in very long baseline interferometry. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200605/20060505-jodcast-interview3.mp3 12:14 Fri, 5 May 2006 05:05:00 +0000 Ian Morison reviews a Celestron NexStar 130SLT telescope (sub GBP300/$550). http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200605/20060505-jodcast-telescope.mp3 05:43 Sat, 1 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Dr Paul O'Brien told us all about some of the largest explosions in the universe. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200604/20060401-jodcast-interview.mp3 21:31 Sat, 1 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Alan Gilmore gave Stuart a tour of the Mt John Observatory in New Zealand. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200604/20060401-jodcast-mtjohn.mp3 22:50 Wed, 1 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000 With the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) reaching its 10th birthday, Stuart talked to one of the instrument scientists Dr Helen Mason to find out what we have learnt about the Sun and how it interacts with the Earth. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200603/20060301-jodcast-interview.mp3 21:10 Wed, 1 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000 An interview with Nick Rattenbury about the discovery of a 5.5 Earth-mass planet http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200603/20060301-jodcast-interview2.mp3 07:31 Wed, 1 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000 The director of Birmingham's Thinktank science museum, Mario di Maggio, talks about their new planetarium and his thoughts on the re-development of the London Planetarium. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200603/20060301-jodcast-interview3.mp3 08:06 Mon, 6 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Prof. Gerry Gilmore talks about a future optical telescope in space named Gaia. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200602/20060206-jodcast-interview.mp3 11:08 Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000 Dr Michael Kramer tells us about cosmic lighthouses - pulsars. He explains the lighthouse effect which makes the pulsar appear to pulse when observed by a radio telescope. He also describes the recent discovery of the 'double pulsar' which has provided new ways to test Einstein's General Relativity. http://www.jodcast.net/archive/200601/20060114-jodcast-interview.mp3 18:17