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72 episodes
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The Supermassive Podcast The Royal Astronomical Society
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- Science
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4.6 • 237 Ratings
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This is The Supermassive Podcast from the Royal Astronomical Society. Every month, science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst take you through the universe with the latest research, history from the society’s archives and astronomy you can do from your own home.
Support the team by buying their book, The Year in Space - https://geni.us/jNcrw
You can send your questions to the team via podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
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Venus aka "Earth's Evil Twin"
This is Venus’ moment in the supermassive spotlight. What do we know about this hellish planet? And what missions are going there in the near future?
Izzie and Dr Becky speak with Dr Phillipa Mason from Imperial College London about EnVision, an upcoming mission to Venus, as well as RAS librarian Sian Prosser to explore the archive. Plus Dr Robert Massey is here to take on your questions.
The paper about the sounds on Venus can be found here.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. -
BONUS - Overmassive Galaxies
The Supermassive Overmassive Podcast has a special bonus episode. Join Izzie, Dr Becky, Dr Robert and Richard as they discuss the last two years of JWST and share their recommendations for Space Book Club.
Recommendations:
Unseen Universe: New Secrets of the Cosmos Revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope by Dr Caroline Harper
The Possibility of Life by Jaime Green
When Galaxies Were Born - Richard Ellis
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space By Adam Higginbotham -
Q&A - Black Hole Special
Have black holes existed since the beginning of the Universe? Could we produce a black hole in the lab? Could we use gravitational waves to probe beyond the event horizon?
It's a black hole Q&A as Izzie put your questions to Becky and Robert. Plus, author and broadcaster, Marcus Chown, runs through a potted history of discovering black holes. His latest book on the same topic, A Crack In Everything, is out now: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/crack-in-everything-9781804544303/
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. -
BONUS - Lumpy Space Potatoes
In this month's bonus episode Izzie, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey tackle questions on pulsars, woo woo sounds from black holes, imperfect spheres and alien aurorae. Send your questions to: podcast@ras.ac.uk, and we’re also on instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive podcast is produced by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham and is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. -
The Major Lunar Standstill
Every 18.6 years, our moon reaches its farthest northern and southern point, known as a major lunar standstill. This month, Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring why this might be significant to Stonehenge in the UK and another historical site in the US called Chimney Rock. With special thanks to Dr Heather Sebire, Dr Amanda Chadburn and Dr Erica Ellingson.
The southernmost Moonrise at Stonehenge will be livestreamed, allowing viewers to witness this celestial spectacle firsthand. Plus, there'll be events throughout the standstill season which include talks, a pop-up planetarium, stargazing sessions, storytelling, and a new exhibition display at the Stonehenge visitor centre in October. To find out more, visit...
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/major-lunar-standstill/#:~:text=Stonehenge%20is%20famous%20for%20its,'major%20lunar%20standstill'%20occurs.
Or have a look at Chimney Rock in Colorado:
https://www.chimneyrockco.org/puebloan-resources/lunar-standstill/
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. -
BONUS - Why does the Aurora Borealis look better on my phone?
The UK witnessed the most amazing Northern Lights in years.... And Izzie missed it.
In this bonus episode, Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Robert Massey and Izzie Clarke talk about those Northern Lights and answer your questions. What is Jupiter's giant blue dot? If the sun is losing mass (by giving out energy) will that affect the gravity and orbit of the solar system? And how do you date a rock?
Customer Reviews
Amazing and Intriguing for all Levels
As a physics and astronomy major in college who has to drive a lot, I have been looking for a good podcast to listen to on my daily commute. Even with all the other ways I engage with astronomy at my university, this podcast never ceases to surprise me with something new. Each new episode makes me evermore fascinated with space, and that is all without mentioning just how much fun Becky, Izzie, and Robert are to listen to. Would recommend this podcast to anyone remotely interested in astronomy or space in general.
So enjoyable!
Thank you all for such a great podcast! You always have interesting topics, fun guests and the dynamic and style between the host is really enjoyable to listen to!
Awesome podcast
Very interesting and breaks down hard concepts for simple minds. Love this.