
AWESOME ASTRONOMY
363 episodes — Page 1 of 8
Artemis Chat

Ep 171Gravitational musing and nuclear cruising
This episode Paul and Jeni look at a possible gravitational wave solution to the Hubble tension, NASAs new nuclear deep space engine, Hubble telescope boosting, and more news on the destruction of British science. There is also our monthly skyguide to to get you looking up. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 170Artemis II Helium boogaloo
Our chatty astrowaffle episode this month is all about the Artemis re-jig and what the future now holds for the programme. Oh and update on Jeni's drains. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 169Vanishing Stars and Invisible Galaxies
This month it is the curious case of a vanishing star and galaxies that shine no light...plus our monthly skyguide and Jeni has a blocked drain! Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 168Ozone Hole II Mega-Constellation Bogaloo
This episode we chat about the potential ozone hole issue caused by mega constellations, how Jupiter has shrunk and what Aurora would look like when Earth's poles flip. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 167The End of British Astronomy?
We discuss the British Government's vandalism of UK physics and astronomy. In better news we celebrate the refunding of NASA and the up coming Artemis II mission... will Paul finally get excited? Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 1663 days to lose LEO
So it looks like Low Earth Orbit is not just crowded but a disaster waiting to happen trapping humanity on this planet for a very long time... Produced by, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 165Soundgarden win at Astrophysics
So it turns out Soundgarden nailed astrophysics in 1994. We explore latest thinking on Little Red Dots, Globular Custers, oldest supernovae, No-ceans on Titan as well as our monthly skyguide and moon guide. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 1643Panto 2025: Cometh the Comet, Comet the Ralph
It's time for our annual review of the year, a look forward to next year and of course the Panto!...and the return of an old face! Produced by Ralph, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 164Yeeting your office into a flamepit
In this chatty news episode we chat about more Artemis mission shenanigans and how the Russians have wrecked their only human rated launch pad. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 163Icy Telescopes and Martian Lightning
This episode it is a new bananza with discussion of the Thirty Metre Telescope, shenanigans on Mars, asymmetrical supernovae and more trouble in the world of cosmology. There is a Xmas Telescope buying guide as well as our monthly skyguide! Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 162What an Artimess!
In our second episode of the month we chat about the weird mess that is now the Artemis Programme, whether there is even a new space race and what strange shenanigans rogue planets are up to! Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 161Comet I3 ATLAS and Cerne Abbas Star Party
Time for a Comet 3I ATLAS deep dive, a chat about Paul's recent visit to the Cerne Abbas Starparty and our new extended skyguide. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 160Camping, Craters and Comets
This month we are at Astrocamp, our biannual dark sky retreat. We have a Q and A session with the campers and we talk a newly confirmed impact crater in the UK, Artemis II, ozone layer, and an upcoming comet bonanza! Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 159Paul in Festival Land
A bumper end of summer episode with Paul out in the world of science outreach and communication in a Summer music festival. There's also discussion of the new Astronomer Royal, China's moon programme, Starship and a deep dive on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Ep 158AI, Hypersonics and Betelbuddy
This month we talk about Jen at the BBC, AI in science communication, a supernova in NGC7331, whether Betelgeuse has a companion, Exoplanet shenanigans, European hypersonic space planes, and of course our monthly sky guide and general chat. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 157Vera Rubin, Welsh Satellites and LIGO disaster
A bumper episode or is that a Jumper episode if Jeni has her way. Paul has new scope and Jeni has been seeing the Sun. We have terrible news from LIGO, the end of Milkomeda, Light pollution paradox, Vera Rubin first light, a new satellite from Wales, spaceX kablooie, leaks on the ISS and of course the usual skyguide and emails! Phew!

Ep 156Lancing Galaxies and Angry Emails
This month we have Galactic sized lancing battles, Jupiter twice its size, Wales entering the space race and we have emails! Oh we have emails!

Ep 156Lancing Galaxies and Angry Emails
This month we have Galactic sized lancing battles, Jupiter twice its size, Wales entering the space race and we have emails! Oh we have emails!

Ep 156Lancing Galaxies and Angry Emails
This month we have Galactic sized lancing battles, Jupiter twice its size, Wales entering the space race and we have emails! Oh we have emails!

Ep 155AstroCamp Spring 2025!
We come at you with all the fun of AstroCamp in Welsh Wales. Chat, debate and birdsong! Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 154Has NASA been Trumped?
We try to keep it upbeat this month with tales of blackholes, definitions of moons, and solar system science but unfortunately the fate of NASA and American science currently hangs in the balance... Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 153Paranal Problems: Light Pollution at the VLT
It looks as though the European Southern Observatory is caught in an American light pollution pincer...starlink above and now the threat of an American industrial complex as a neighbour. Is this the end? We have eclipse news, launch round up and the usual inane chatter from Jeni & Paul.

Ep 152Asteroid Doom and Gaia Gloom
The world veers towards madness, asteroids threaten destruction and Gaia is no more. But the planets are putting on a show and Pluto is 95, so that's alright... Produced by Ralph, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 151Venus. Twined with Milton Keynes
Happy New Year! This month we talk about an new climate history for Venus, a new origin story for Mars' moons and we chat about the new potential head of NASA... Produced by Ralph, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 150Panto 2024!
It's that time of year again where the team get silly...this year Butch and Suni hijack the ISS...

Ep 150Re-examining Uranus
This month we look at new old data about Uranus, a possible second dinosaur asteroid the first image of a star in another galaxy and the image of a new planet forming. Plus sky and launch guides and a chat about Christmas present ideas! Produced by Ralph, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 149Comets, Cruises and Outreach
This month the episode is all about astronomy! Yep just astronomy. We catch up with the wonderful comet observations of the autumn, Jen's aurora cruise in Norway and we talk outreach astronomy in response to a listener's question.

Ep 149Apollo 12
The Team are taking a little break so here is a classic interview with Apollo astronaut Alan Bean.

Ep 148Gaining InSight
Meet Dr Anna Horleston from Bristol University. NASA's InSight lander was active on Mars from November 2018 to December 2022 – a total of 1446 sols (Martian days). InSight carried a suite of geophysical instruments designed to help us understand the interior structure of the red planet. The primary instrument was a seismometer – the first seismometer to be deployed to the surface of Mars – and my job was to analyse the seismic data, to find Marsquakes (like earthquakes but on Mars), and to figure out what was causing them. I'll take you through the highs and lows of working on an active NASA mission, the real meaning of "remote working", and show you some of the amazing results from the mission.

Ep 148AstroCamp Special!
This month the episode comes from the user dark skies of Wales as it is AstroCamp time! Discussion of Hera and Europa Clipper probes, comet news and the live recording of the Astrocamp panel! Enjoy

Ep 148100 Hours of Astronomy with Go Stargazing
Between 2nd and 5th October, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) are celebrating 100 hours of astronomy. We've caught up with good friend of the show Neill Sanders, founder of Go Stargazing, who's helped create an app to get you and all your friends involved with the celestial party! Enjoy!

Ep 147Chatting Space within tent
A bit different this month as Paul is joined by Dustin as they chat about aurora on Ganymede, starliner, Polaris Dawn, Blue Origin and Dustin shares an interview at a local astronomy Festival. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 146British Planetary Science Conference
In this podcast extra for Awesome Astronomy in August 2024, we bring you two of the Plenary Sessions from the British Planetary Science Conference 2024, hosted by Space Park Leicester and the National Space Center. The first, from Dr Aprajita Verma, discusses the upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), and the second, from Dr Steve Banham, gives you a new view of Mars Evolution, based on Curiosity's work at Gale Crater. Keep an ear out for activities to get involved with!

Ep 146Comet Olbers in Silly Season
This month the team talk Comet Olbers, black holes in globular Clusters, the cancellation of Vixen, the ultra calm lakes of Titan, more phosphine news from Venus and look forward to this months Perseids. Produced by Ralph, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 145Sanctuary on the Moon
Celebrating 55 years since humans first set foot on the Moon with Project Apollo, in this podcast extra, Dr Jen meets with Benoit Faiveley and Mario Freese, founder and chief engineer of Sanctuary on the Moon, a daring project to leave a legacy of humanity on our nearest celestial neighbour. In the late 2020s, 24 coaster-sized sapphire disks will sail to the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis CLPS program. Engraved upon them will be the essence of humanity. One hundred billion pixels depicting the human genome, the work of masters, and the every day - one pixel for every human that ever lived. It is an exploration of ourselves, our world, and our epoch. Produced by Ralph, Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 145Starliner Marooned and Playing Gyros!
This month the team discuss keeping the elderly Hubble alive with a single gyro, how Starliner is currently marooned in orbit and are usually round up of other news from the cosmos, a skyguide for what to look out for and a this month in astronomy history that explores the life of Henrietta Swan-Leavitt.

Ep 144Aurora at Home
This month is indulgent and ranty! Well it is summer...Jen waxes lyrical about a night out, Paul has written a book and in amongst it is some astronomy! There is a big dive into the huge aurora display in May, talk of new exoplanets and old ones vanishing. The usual skyguide and this months history moment is all about X rays. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 143Totally Eclipse
Dustin and Jeni talk about their Eclipse adventures from last month.

Ep 143Nova predictions and China to the Moon
This month excitement builds for the predicted Nova outburst in Corona Borealis as well as looking forward to China launching a sample return mission to the far side of the Moon. We have our usual skyguide and chat about upcoming missions and some fun insights into the methane on Mars.

Ep 142Episode 142 Awesome Astronomy April 2024
This month Dr Jen is off to the US for the Solar Eclipse while Paul is just back from Goonhilly Earth Station. We chat about the imminent demise of the Chandra Space Telescope, more news on the Hubble tension, and of course the Great North American Eclipse. Chinese Lunar ambitions, Starship making it to space and the first Boeing Starliner crew make the news while in this months history moment we talk about the brightest Stellar event witnessed by humans.

Ep 141Britain's First Astronaut
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 Station in 1991.

Ep 141Wet Moons and Tippy landers
This month our intrepid crew of the good ship Awesome investigate sub surface oceans on the moons of the solar system, smoking stars, distant blackholes, oversized structures and of course tippy over lunar landers. There is also the monthly skyguide and a look at the astro history of March!

Ep 140Blasting Soil - Interview with Dr Phil Metzger
This month Dr Jen talks to Dr Phil! Dr Phil Metzger, 30 years at NASA where he has worked on various missions and programmes including the ISS snd Space Shuttle, while more recently he has been investigating how rocket efflux interacts with soil and what this will mean for future landings on the Moon and Mars…

Ep 140Awesome Astronomy Episode #140
This month we explore the exciting announcements from the European Space Agency as they outline their new missions for the 2030s. LISA, a space based gravitational wave detector and EnVision, a Venus mission that will map the surface and under-surface of that planet in unprecedented detail. We have the usual skyguide, chat about recent lunar missions and emails from the listeners.
Ep 139#139 Awesome Astronomy January 2024
This episode, it's Jen and a special guest exploring the inexplicable Big Ring, the first proof connecting supernovae to black holes and neutron stars, cyclones on a far-away world, dazzling images of Io, and the true colour of Neptune. We also take a deep dive into humanity's efforts to explore the Moon – the failing Peregrine lander and Artemis pushbacks. There's also a sky guide for the second half of January, and our discussion topic this time involves a most impossible restaurant. Produced by Paul, Jen, Dustin, John & Damien.

Ep 138Awesome Astronomy Panto and Review of the Year 2023!
Festive silliness (bit naughty!), a review of the Space and astronomy year and a look ahead to what 2024 has in store for us. Not forgetting the outakes!
Ep 138#138 Awesome Astronomy December 2023 Pt1
This month we explore what might have happened to the Planet Theia after it hit the Earth, what Lucy saw on its first asteroid encounter, the mystery of a new double crater on the Moon and what the first images from the Elucid telescope show. We have our monthly skyguide, launch round up and emails and questions from listeners. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin

Ep 138Astronomy Mythology of Wales
This month Jeni talks to Paul. No not our Paul Paul Cornish, planetarium and science outreach extraordinaire at Bristols We the Curious. They chat about one of our favourite topics on Awesome, constellation Mythology and this time it has a very Welsh flavour...enjoy!
Ep 137#137 November 2023 Awesome Astronomy
This month we talk about what might have been in the Arthur C Clarke Awards, the latest weird discovery from JWST, the most detailed simulation of the Universe yet, British space plans, giggle at a Space Force painting, and have a look at what you can see in the sky this month. Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin