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!
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 157
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!
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 156
We come at you with all the fun of AstroCamp in Welsh Wales. Chat, debate and birdsong! Produced by Paul, Jen, John, Damien & Dustin
May 07, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 155
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
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 154
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.
Mar 02, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 153
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
Feb 11, 2025•59 min•Ep. 152
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
Jan 04, 2025•39 min•Ep. 151
It's that time of year again where the team get silly...this year Butch and Suni hijack the ISS...
Dec 31, 2024•43 min•Ep. 150
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
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 150
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.
Nov 30, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 149
The Team are taking a little break so here is a classic interview with Apollo astronaut Alan Bean.
Nov 04, 2024•41 min•Ep. 149
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 figur...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 148
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
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 148
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!
Sep 22, 2024•22 min•Ep. 148
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
Sep 01, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 147
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!
Aug 21, 2024•53 min•Ep. 146
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
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 146
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 h...
Jul 14, 2024•45 min•Ep. 145
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.
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 145
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
Jun 01, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 144
Dustin and Jeni talk about their Eclipse adventures from last month.
May 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 143
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.
May 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 143
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.
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 142
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.
Mar 22, 2024•39 min•Ep. 141
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!
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 141
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…
Feb 17, 2024•53 min•Ep. 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.
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 140
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 ...
Jan 15, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 139
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!
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 138
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
Dec 01, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 138