AWESOME ASTRONOMY
Episodes
#67 - January 2018
01 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Paul avoids the big freeze with astronomy cheats, Ralph reads out the latest good and bad reviews, while Jeni becomes a 'Who's Who' q...
Sky Guide January 2018
30 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in January! Ralph, Paul & Jen pick their highlights for this month's skies; starting with the solar system objects on...
2017 Xmas Panto
25 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There's trouble in paradise as Christmas evening in the Cydonia bunker turns ugly. Alcohol may be the culprit. But equally, the blame may lie with su...
Extra: Eyepieces
12 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast extra we begin a series, suggested by listener Sean Smith, of explaining the considerations involved in choosing practical astronomy ...
#66 - December 2017
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni gets her name in lights – well, bold print, as she contributes (what else but graphs) to a published research paper and Ralph ...
Sky Guide December 2017
27 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in December. Ralph, Paul & Jen pick their highlights for this month's skies; starting with the solar system objects o...
Extra: Neutron Star Merger
17 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast extra episode Jeni discusses the recent detection of two colliding neutron stars and their observation in both gravitational waves an...
#65 - November 2017
01 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Britain shows that it won't just roll over and let America take the lead in intimidating academic freedom and Jen recounts her gravit...
Sky Guide November 2017
27 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in November. Ralph, Paul & Jen pick their highlights for this month's skies; starting with the solar system objects o...
Extra: Hubble Constant & Research Papers
16 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast extra, we discuss the changing value of the Hubble Constant since 2000 – or put more simply, our narrowing down of how quickly the ...
#64 - October 2017
01 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: You'd be forgiven for thinking we recorded this episode drunk – but we assure you, we weren't. And you'll have to forgive us for ou...
Sky Guide October 2017
30 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in October. Jeni, Paul & Ralph pick their highlights for this month's skies; starting with the solar system objects o...
Extra: AstroCamp Autumn 2017
18 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast extra episode for the dark sky star party held by the Podcast Crew, we discuss: Fighting light pollution by getting local authorit...
#63 - September 2017
01 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni's back and the band is back together to discuss watching this year's Perseid meteor shower and coverage of the Great American Ec...
Sky Guide September 2017
27 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in September.What to look out, and up, for in September. Ralph, Paul & Jeni pick their highlights for this month's sk...
Extra: Full Length Interview with Apollo 16's Charlie Duke
14 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast extra episode we present our full length interview with test pilot, astronaut and lunar module pilot on Apollo 16, General Charlie Du...
#62 - August 2017
01 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni's bizarrely decided that a holiday is preferable to being locked in a bunker with two megalomaniacal Martians, so you're left wi...
Sky Guide August 2017
28 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! What to look out, and up, for in August. Ralph & Paul pick their highlights for this month's skies; starting with the solar syste...
Extra: Jeni's South Africa Research
18 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! In this podcast extra, Jeni recalls her most recent research trip at the Japanese Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) situated outside ...
#61 - July 2017
01 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! The Discussion: Combating light pollution for the AstroCamp in the Welsh Brecon Beacons and fighting to help the National Park reta...
Sky Guide July 2017
28 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! What to look out, and up, for in July. July is here and the summer solstice is just behind us, meaning we're on the glide slope t...
Extra: Gravitational Waves Update
11 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! The Interview: On the discovery of only humanity's third black hole merger by the incredible Laser Interferometry Gravitational wav...
#60 - June 2017
01 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni's returns from her South African research using the Infrared Survey Facility telescope, Paul calls time on the Principia Mission...
Sky Guide June 2017
28 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in June. Jeni returns from astronomy research in South Africa so the gang's back together to pick their highlights fo...
Extra: Data & Discoveries from ESA's Gaia Mission
11 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast extra episode comes from this year's Big Bang Fair and Jeni & Paul grabbed an interview with a Gaia mission data scientist to talk data ...
#59 - May 2017
01 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni's missing this month as she collects transiting exoplanet data in South Africa using the SIRIUS camera on the Japanese 1.4 metre...
Sky Guide May 2017
27 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! What to look out, and up, for in May. Jeni's abandoned us this month in favour of research-grade instrumentation so only Paul and...
Extra: AstroCamp Spring 2017
17 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A teaser for the weekend stargazing under the über dark skies of the Brecon Beacons International Dark Sky Reserve at this spring's AstroCamp. We'...
#58 - April 2017
01 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Paul and Jen packed out the Star Stage at this year's Big Bang Fair in Birmingham as Sirius Astronomy ran experiments to explain how ...
Sky Guide April 2017
29 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in April. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planets on offer to observers and imagers: A pair of comet...
Extra: A Star System Full of Earths
12 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Following a recent NASA press conference – a regular event that fills us with dread as we anticipate an anticlimax – this time NASA really get us...
#57 - March 2017
01 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni's been teaching the teachers of Wales how to include astronomy in their classroom exercises as part of the school curriculum. Ra...
Sky Guide March 2017
27 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in March. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planets on offer to observers and imagers: The moon, Mercu...
Extra: Farewell Gene Cernan
13 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast extra takes a look back at the extraordinary life of navy aviator, test pilot and astronaut Gene Cernan who tragically died last month a...
#56 -February 2017
01 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Paul continues his herculean travels around the UK promoting the European Space Agency and teaching people about the science of space...
Sky Guide February 2017
28 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in February. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planets on offer to observers and imagers: A last chanc...
Extra: NASA's Lunar Space Station Plans
17 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast extra takes a look at the proposals from Boeing and Lockheed Martin to develop a lunar space station for NASA. In this discussion we c...
#55 - January 2017
01 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: As we welcome in the New Year Paul's been mixing science with art, Jeni's professional astronomy looks to be taking her to South Afri...
Sky Guide January 2017
29 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in January. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planets on offer to observers and imagers: Venus at grea...
2016 Xmas Panto
25 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Awesome Astronomy's 2016 Christmas Panto. Think: HG Wells' War of the Worlds meets Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. The Eve of the War: Plans ...
#54 - December 2016
01 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: This month we take a look at the recent supermoon and what it takes to make the moon 'super'; Jeni goes teaching kids about space and...
Sky Guide December 2016
27 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in December. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planet on offer to observers and imagers: Venus shining...
Extra: Your Need to Know Guide to Buying a Telescope
15 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps the most frequently asked question to the show (and apologies to Terry Dunlin who asked this question about 2 years ago!) is what you need to...
#53 - November 2016
01 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: In a month when the European Space Agency succeeded and failed in the first part of their Exomars saga, we go through the glory and t...
Sky Guide November 2016
27 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in November. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planet on offers to observers and imagers: A last chanc...
Extra: Nick Howes on Life & Death in Space
15 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast extra features the talk given by Nick Howes at Spring 2015's AstroCamp about life and death in space. Nick takes us on a fascinating t...
#52 - October 2016
01 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: If you enjoy our attention to scripting, our professional quality audio and our stringent editing, then you're bang out of luck! This...
Sky Guide October 2016
27 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in October. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planet on offer to observers and imagers: Venus & Saturn...
Extra: AstroCamp Autumn 2016
19 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this month's AstroCamp podcast extra episode: The Discussion: An introduction to star parties and enjoying practical astronomy under pristine da...
#51 - September 2016
01 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Jeni's astronomy research yields its first results in the hunt for exoplanet phase variation and we revisit our Star Wars podcast ext...
Sky Guide September 2016
26 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in September. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planet on offer to observers and imagers: Mercury & Ve...
Extra: Dr Helen Sharman the Full Interview
13 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast extra is our full length interview with Dr Helen Sharman, Britain's First astronaut and the first woman to visit the Russian Mir Space S...
#50 - August 2016
01 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: We're cheering Jeni's graduation with a first class masters in astrophysics and looking at the PhD options she has as she chases the ...
Sky Guide August 2016
28 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in August. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planet on offer to observers and imagers: Jupiter takes a...
Extra: Alan Bean, 4th Man on the Moon
15 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast extra is our full length interview with the 4th man to walk on the moon aboard the Apollo 12 mission in 1969. In this interview we dis...
#49 - July 2016
01 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Earthling slave John got married! The new fashion of requesting telescopes at weddings, a good time of year for solar astronomy, the ...
Sky Guide July 2016
28 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in July. Our highlights of this month's skies with the planet on offer to observers and imagers: Mars Saturn A Ven...
Extra: Marvelous Mercury!
11 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this Awesome Astronomy podcast extra episode we bring you the key speakers from this spring's AstroCamp in the Brecon Beacon dark sky reserve. As ...
#48 - June 2016
01 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Exam season is well underway for Jeni, Paul & Ralph ran the AstroCamp dark sky star party in Wales and the jet stream causes frustrat...
Sky Guide June 2016
28 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in June. Our tour of the highlights of this month's skies begins with the planets on offer to observers and imagers: ...
Extra: AstroCamp Spring 2016
03 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to this AstroCamp podcast extra episode to tell you what you can expect from the weekend's festivities and listen to on the way to Cwmdu: T...
#47 - May 2016
02 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this month's show: The Discussion Revision season as Jeni finishes her masters in astrophysics and preparations for AstroCamp in the Welsh Bre...
Sky Guide May 2016
29 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in March. We start a new look (listen?) sky guide this month. We begin the show with a discussion around the highli...
Podcast Extra: CERN
15 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
During a visit to Geneva in September 2016, the Awesome Astronomy team stopped looking out into the universe for a while to delve into the impossibly...
#46 - April 2016
01 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! The Discussion: This month Jeni has a PhD offer that's getting us all excited, Paul's been clocking up the miles to teach science a...
Sky Guide April 2016
28 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in April 2016! For the beginners this month Ralph takes a look at the Leo Lion who leaps across the sky all April. Le...
#45 - March 2016
01 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: We bid a sad farewell to Apollo pioneer Edgar Mitchell who spent 33 hours on the lunar surface in 1971 on the Apollo 14 mission, cele...
Sky Guide March 2016
27 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in March. For the beginners this month we take a look at perhaps the most recognisable constellation of them all: Urs...
Podcast Extra: Gravitational Waves
14 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
For anyone who's still a little fuzzy or confused by the enormity of the recent detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO facility, we've recorded...
#44 - February 2016
01 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: As we lament the passing of some great people we remember how lucky we are to live in an age of great discovery. We discuss British a...
Sky Guide February 2016
28 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in February. For the beginners this month we take a look at the constellation of Auriga the Charioteer with a trio of...
#43 - January 2016
01 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: In our first invasion of 2016 we discuss Paul's work promoting British astronaut Tim Peake's stay on the International Space Station ...
Sky Guide January 2016
30 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in January. For the beginners and young astronomers this month we take a look at the magnificent winter constellation...
Awesome Astronomy - 2015 End of Year Show
25 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This pantomime episode contains some mild bad language and puerile humour Join us for our yearly round up of our favourite stories & events from 20...
#42 - December 2015
01 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: In this Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy contrived episode we look back over the movie The Martian, meeting Canadian astronaut Chris ...
Sky Guide December 2015
28 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
For the beginners this month we take a look at the constellation of Gemini with bright star Castor providing a nice easy double star to split with a ...
Podcast Extra - Jeni Millard on faint galaxy structures
14 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
During this spring's AstroCamp event, hosted by the Awesome Astronomy podcast team, our new presenter, Jeni Millard, gave another of her inspiring ta...
#41 - November 2015
01 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: We welcome astrophysicist Jeni Millard from Cardiff University onto the show as our new co-presenter! We discuss the astronomy lesson...
Sky Guide November 2015
28 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in November. This month we tour a few simple objects that you can show to a child and spark their interest in the nig...
Podcast Extra: Project Helium Tears Debrief
18 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Kingsnorth from the Project Helium Tears debriefs us on his balloon launch to the edge of space, capturing images of the Earth, taking Awesome A...
#40 -October 2015
01 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Coming live from The AstroCamp in the Brecon Beacons international dark sky reserve, we talk about the benefits of getting out to tru...
Sky Guide October 2015
27 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in October. This month we take a look at the constellation of Perseus the Hero for the beginners guide – we begin w...
Podcast Extra: AstroCamp Autumn 2015
10 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! The Discussion: An introduction to star parties and enjoying practical astronomy under pristine dark skies away from the city. As...
#39 - September 2015
01 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: A dismissal of paranoid woo-pedalling, following what seems be an upsurge in space-based pseudoscience this month, and we introduce y...
Sky Guide September 2015
28 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This month we take a look at the constellation of Queen Cassiopeia for the beginners guide. We have: The beautiful Owl Cluster; NGC 7788 or Caroli...
#38 - August 2015
01 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
A longer episode this month as we have so much to discuss and cram into the show! The Discussion: Upcoming full-length interviews with 4-time Shutt...
Sky Guide August 2015
29 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in August. This month we take a look at the constellation of Cepheus the King for the beginners guide – we have the...
#37 - July 2015
01 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: This month's Awesome Astronomy comes from the magnificent Cosmic Con event at the Manchester Airport Hilton. While looking forward to...
Sci-Fi Wars episode 4 - Movies
23 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Matt & Phil from Project Helium Tears return to the bunker for this final episode in the Sci-fi Wars series to appeal for your votes for the best mov...
Podcast Extra: Sci-Fi Wars #3 - Books
23 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Matt & Phil from Project Helium Tears & captured Earthling slave Damien join us in the bunker in this 3rd episode in the Sci-fi Wars series to appeal...
Sci-Fi Wars episode 2 - TV Shows
23 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Matt & Phil from Project Helium Tears join us in the bunker in this 2nd episode in the Sci-fi Wars series to appeal for your votes for the best TV se...
Sci-Fi Wars episode 1
23 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Matt & Phil from Project Helium Tears join us in the bunker to kick off this Sci-fi Wars series by discussing what makes a sci-fi. We've let cature...
#36 - June 2015
01 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: A cloudy but fun-filled AstroCamp dominates the discussions this month with glimpses of the planets and a hurried Messier Marathon in...
Sky Guide June 2015
28 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in June. This month we take a look at the constellation of Lyra the harp for the beginners guide – we have one of a...
Podcast Extra - AstroCamp Spring 2015
06 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! A podcast extra episode to get you in the mood for the biannual dark sky weekend run by the podcast crew. We have renowned comet an...
#35 - May 2015
01 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Download Episode! The Discussion: Paul savours a quiet month of teaching astronomy and enjoys sketching Markarian's Chain of galaxies, while Ralph ge...
Sky Guide May 2015
28 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in May. This month we take a look at the constellation Ursa Major for the beginners guide – we'll point you in the ...
#34 - April 2015
01 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Discussion: Paul's been busy with Sirius Astronomy, promoting space and astronomy education at The Big Bang event and schools across the UK, meet...
Sky Guide April 2015
28 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What to look out, and up, for in April. This month we look in the direction of Leo the Lion for the beginners guide – taking a look at the bright...
Podcast Extra: The State of US & European Science Education
15 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast extra Paul & Ralph went off topic from astronomy to discuss the health (or otherwise) of science in the US and Europe. Via a circu...