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The Supermassive Podcast — Astronomy
The Supermassive Podcast

The UK’s #1 space podcast.

Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.

Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening… supermassive.supportingcast.fm

And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © The Royal Astronomical Society

Latest Episodes:

BONUS - Have you heard of "Ploonets"? Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

What is the furthest distance away we’ve ever observed? Why hasn't Venus lost its atmosphere from solar winds? Is Mercury a Ploonet? And how stable is the moon's orbit? It's another bonus episode with Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey.
See Micheal Brill's brilliant photos from Antarctica here.
Read listener Andrew Street's article of Cassini's final moments:

Tracing Cassini's fiery death was like seeing a heart monitor flatline

Send in your questions to The Supermassive Mailbox by emailing podcast@ras.ac.uk, tweet @RoyalAstroSoc or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Uranus the Oddball Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

Izzie and Dr Becky have done episodes on Mars, gas giants, Saturn and Jupiter individually, so it’s about time that Uranus gets its own episode. And just so we're clear, it's UranUs, not UrAnus.
Professor Leigh Fletcher from the University of Leicester takes the team through the basics. Plus, Izzie pays a visit to the Royal Astronomical Society’s archive to see the Herschels' notebooks from when the planet was discovered.
Recommends
Late Prom 15: Moon and Stars https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/en8fbp
Public Service Broadcasting - The Race for Space - https://open.spotify.com/album/4ZaAM16hw3xpp680FJahJJ?autoplay=true
Our next main episode is a Q&A, so please send your questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk, tweet @RoyalAstroSoc or message us on Insta @SupermassivePod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS - Team Enceladus or Team Europa? Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

What does Saturn look like? Why is Venus hotter than Mercury? Can the solar wind generate electricity on the Moon? Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert dive into The Supermassive Mailbox and answer your questions.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here Comes the Sun...with NASA's Head of Science Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

This month, Izzie and Dr Becky are off to the Sun…Partly because the UK summer has been rubbish but mostly because there are a lot of things we still don’t know about our local star.
Joining them on their voyage is the Head of Science at NASA, Dr Nicola Fox, to explain the latest efforts to study the sun, the Project Scientist for Solar Orbiter, Dr Daniel Mueller, and Dr Robert Massey is on hand to answer your questions.
Watch ESA's Solar Orbiter video, featuring the Supermassive's editor Richard Hollingham. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2022/05/Solar_Orbiter_s_first_close_encounter
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS - Aimless telescopes & beyond the Milky Way Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Could we detect exoplanets outside of the Milky Way? Could the Euclid Telescope disprove what we know about dark energy and matter? Are we just pointing telescopes aimlessly at patches of space? And is it possible for two black holes to merge and separate into two branches? Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey tackle your burning questions.
Still, have an unanswered question? Send it to podcast@ras.ac.uk, tweet @RoyalAstroSoc, or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast from the Royal Astronomical Society is a Boffin Media Production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most of the Universe is missing... Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

The Supermassive Team have spent the last three years attempting to talk about ALL the stuff in space. But that only makes up 5% of our universe. Where the heck is the rest?
This month, Izzie and Dr Becky dive into the topic of Dark Matter and Dark Energy... The stuff that makes up that missing 95% of the universe. With special thanks to Dr Alex Hall from the University of Edinburgh for covering the basics, and to Dr Stephen Wilkins from the University of Sussex for explaining how ESA's new space telescope Euclid will give us new insights to the field.
If you enjoy The Supermassive Podcast, please rate, review and follow us. Even better, why not vote for us at The British Podcast Awards?! https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS – White holes, astrology and why is Venus so hot? Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

What’s a white hole and could one appear above the Earth tomorrow? Do different cultures sort stars into similar patterns? Why is Venus so hot and how do the Supermassive team cope when someone calls them an astrologer?
Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey take on your questions from the Supermassive mailbox.
Send your questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk, tweet @RoyalAstroSoc, or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast from the Royal Astronomical Society is a Boffin Media Production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A (brief) History of Astronomy Jun 22, 2023

Show notes

Dr Becky and Izzie dust-down the Supermassive Tardis to explore the history of astronomy. From fossilised baboon bones and baby lamas to Einstein and black holes, the Supermassive team discovers how we came to understand the Universe the way we do today. Editor Richard talks to astronomer and science writer, Dr Stuart Clark, who reveals where the phrase ‘the dog days of summer’ comes from. And Izzie chats to President of the Royal Astronomical Society, Professor Mike Edmunds, about the amazing Antikythera astronomical calculator. As usual, Dr Robert Massey is on hand to take on your questions.
Stuart’s latest book is Beneath the Night:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beneath-Night-Stuart-Clark/dp/1783351535
Send your questions or astrophotography to podcast@ras.ac.uk, tweet @RoyalAstroSoc, or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for The Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS - Why do Gas Giants exist? Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

Can JWST see galaxies at different life stages? What is a "former" constellation? And why do we see Jupiter in monochrome? This month, Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey take on your questions from The Supermassive Mailbox.
Want to support The Supermassive Podcast? Why not buy our book The Year In Space - https://geni.us/jNcrw
The Supermassive Podcast from the Royal Astronomical Society is a Boffin Media Production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BIG Observatories May 27, 2023

Show notes

We love stargazing on The Supermassive Podcast, so we thought it was about time we had an episode on the future of ground-based telescopes. From the brilliant named Extremely Large Telescope to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, Dr Aprajita Verma from Oxford University and science journalist, Sarah Wild, tell Izzie and Dr Becky about the observatories that will transform our understanding of the universe.
Searching African Skies by Sarah Wild - https://www.waterstones.com/book/searching-african-skies/sarah-wild/9781431404728
Send your questions or astrophotography to podcast@ras.ac.uk, tweet @RoyalAstroSoc, or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for The Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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