Podcaster: Ralph, Paul & Jenny
Title : Awesome Astronomy’s April 2016
Organization: Awesome Astronomy
Link : www.awesomeastronomy.com
Description: The Discussion: This month Jeni has a PhD offer that’s getting us all excited, Paul’s been clocking up the miles to teach science and astronomy to schools and Ralph’s just excited because he’s got a new telescope.
The News: We start the news with last month’s total solar eclipse seen from parts of Asia before explaining the research that suggests an ancient cataclysm caused Mars crust & mantle to shift. Then we discuss the launch of ESA’s Exomars part 1. And we finish with a round-up of the news from NASA’s Insight mission, the 1st analysis of the atmosphere of a super earth exoplanet atmosphere and the latest SpaceX attempt to bring down the cost of commercial spaceflight.
The Interview: For the interview this month we welcome Apollo 12 lunar module pilot and Skylab 2 commander Alan Bean. We discuss:
- 44 years of humans staying in Low Earth Orbit
- Nearly missing out on walking on the moon due to lightning
- Saving the Apollo 12 mission
- The colourful crew of Apollo 12
- Finding organic matter in lunar orbit
- Competing with smarter astronauts – and not being Clint Eastwood!
- A moonwalker’s impressions of the moon
- The feeling of the moon’s surface underfoot
And the full hour long interview with Alan Bean will be released in May 2016.
Woobusters: Continuing our quest to debunk the myths and conspiracy theories that persist in every dark corner of the news and the internet. This month’s topic, picked at random from the Big Hat of Woo, is The Dead Cosmonauts conspiracy.
Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month Jen honours the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s General Relativity with a beginner’s crash course, a bit of mythbusting and answers:
- When will the Theory of General Relativity become Law? Brad Bell from Texas, United States
Bio: Awesome Astronomy is the show for anyone and everyone who has even the slightest interest in astronomy and science.
Join Ralph, Paul & Jeni for informative and fun astronomy programs telling you what to look out (and up) for every month as well as a main show dedicated to space and astronomy news. You can be guaranteed a passion for astronomy, simple explanations of complex and fundamental topics, space and science discussions, absorbing interviews with astronomers and astronauts who make the news and answers to listeners’ space questions.
Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by — no one. We still need sponsors for many days in 2016, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org.
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365 Days of Astronomy
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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. Audio post-production by Richard Drumm. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. This year we will celebrate more discoveries and stories from the universe. Join us and share your story. Until tomorrow! Goodbye!