astro[sound]bites

• Episode 105: Citizen Brain

  In today’s episode, Cormac, Cole and Lucia catch you up with all things Citizen Science. In the epoch of ChatGPT, Grok and Gemini (no, not the telescope), it’s easy to forget about the 20 Watt computer you’re using to read this sentence. Yes, even YOU can contribute to cutting-edge astronomical research, as we present two examples of cosmic crowdfunding in action. Cole convinces us that nearby galaxies need some Clump Scouts, and Lucia shows us how volunteers have been the (tur)key to finding a new star-studded dwarf galaxy. We also discuss the non-research benefits of democratising science, and in a fourth-wall-shattering pivot, we ask you, yes YOU, what you’d like to hear more of on a[s]b. [email protected] Astrobites: https://astrobites.org/2024/07/29/galaxy-zoo-clump-scout/ https://astrobites.org/2023/11/18/a-lonely-little-galaxy-at-the-edge-of-our-neighborhood/ Space Sound: Adapted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6vbST9iMOU XKCD Comic: https://xkcd.com/1425/ Article about the (not so?) amateur astronomer: https://astro.arizona.edu/news/tucson-doctor-wins-national-award-his-second-act-amateur-astronomer

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• Episode 104: Star Destroyers

  That stars die will be old news for most listeners. But sometimes, stars don’t just die, they get ripped apart by supermassive black holes. Cormac, Cole and Lucia discuss these so-called tidal disruption events. Specifically, how these events are connected to X-ray absorption features called extreme coronal lines. The hosts also take a look at one of the true superstars of supernova remnants: the Crab Nebula. As it turns out, studying the ejecta can give clues about the pulsar at the heart of the nebula. The discussion revolves around the every-day of doing science. Spoiler: it’s not all like solving exercise sheets. A New Look at Our Old Friend, the Crab Nebula https://astrobites.org/2025/03/16/new-look-at-crab/ Exploring the remains of a destroyed (death) star https://astrobites.org/2025/03/08/exploring-the-remains-of-a-destroyed-death-star/  Space Sound: https://youtu.be/aG300vtQ1es

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• Episode 103: Lambasting Lambda CDM

  Shoot, someone made the mistake of letting Cole pick the episode topic. In this episode, Cole, Cormac, and Shashank talk about the big boy on cosmology campus: Lambda CDM. This model has gotten a bit too big for its britches we think: what are the things about the universe that this model can’t explain? Shashank gives us a tour through the dark matter hearts of galaxies which don’t match up with cosmological predictions and Cormac shows us how 1500 (ish? We’re not clear on this one.) supernovae could hint at a fundamental flaw in Lambda CDM.   Astrobites: Testing cosmology with the DES 5-year supernovae dataset: https://astrobites.org/2024/03/22/template-post-21/   Digging into the Core: Dark Matter and Dwarf Galaxies https://astrobites.org/2015/07/14/digging-into-the-core-dark-matter-and-dwarf-galaxies/   Space Sound: Listen to the hum of NANOGrav's gravitational wave background https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGO0wQK9ns4

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• Episode 102: Per-severance Ad Astra

  In this episode, Cormac, Lucia and Cole lift the lid on the lifecycle of space missions by peering into a preponderance of proposals. If you’ve ever wondered how your favourite telescope, rover or probe made it into space, then wonder no more. Lucia brings us a novel way to track potentially hazardous space junk using 5G, while Cole teases us with some magnetic results from the LISA Pathfinder mission. We also discuss our favourite proposed space missions, and debate the right balance between risk and reward. Astrobites: https://astrobites.org/2024/08/13/5g-signals-to-track-space-trash/ https://astrobites.org/2024/12/21/template-post-15-2/ Space Sound: https://www.nasa.gov/audio-and-ringtones/ (First Acoustic Recording of Laser Shots on Mars)

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• Episode 101: Weather Woes

  Episode 101: Weather Woes   In this episode, we take a dive into weather phenomena in space. Shashank, Cormac and Lucia discuss what the terms hot and cold mean in space and the temperature ranges we tend to see outside the Solar System and the galaxy. Then, Cormac tells us about the climate on Venus, and Lucia delves into cold fronts between galaxies. Finally, we round off with some hot takes about the most underrated parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in astrophysics!   Astrobites: https://astrobites.org/2024/12/24/its-getting-hot-in-here-so-take-off-all-your-h2o/ https://astrobites.org/2024/11/11/cold-front-outside/   Space sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYXAdXf5gWU

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