Urban Astronomer

Impossible exoplanets and Rhetoric

Posted on 12 Jan, 2022 by Allen Versfeld4 May, 2023

Socrates Address by Belgian artist Louis Joseph Lebrun 1867

This is episode 62 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, our first release of 2022. Happy New year! In this episode, we’re doing something a little different. Traditionally we alternate between interviews and Science Explainy Bits, but the second segment here is a bit more philosophical than usual, and ran a bit short, so I’ve added something a bit more topical – some astronomy news! Impossible exoplanet As covered previously on this website, the science media were very excited to report … Continue reading →

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Giant exoplanet upsets theories on how planets form

Posted on 15 Dec, 2021 by Allen Versfeld15 Dec, 2021

Image of exoplanet b Centauri b, captured directly with the ESO's Very Large Telescope

Astronomers have identified the biggest star known to have exoplanets yet, upsetting standard planetary formation models. To date, b Centauri is the biggest star known to host an exoplanet. Estimates of its mass put it at between two and four times the previous record holder, meaning it could be up to ten times bigger than our own Sun.

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Interview with Dr Julia Healy

Posted on 26 Oct, 2021 by Allen Versfeld26 Oct, 2021

This episode features an interview with Dr Julia Healy, from ASTRON, where she works as part of the MHONGOOSE survey team. When this interview was originally recorded early last year, she hadn’t yet submitted her PhD thesis, but has since graduated and earned the title “Dr”. Julia completed her Bachelor of Science, specialising in Astrophysics and Physics, at the University of Cape Town in 2013. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Science Honours in Physics in 2014 and … Continue reading →

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How do we know what things in space are made from?

Posted on 10 Sep, 2020 by Allen Versfeld10 Sep, 2020

This is episode 60 of the Urban Astronomer podcast! Is that a milestone? Sure, but we’ll save the party hats for episode 75. Today we’ll just get on with the job at hand, and bring you a science explainy bit. Today’s question: How can astronomers be so certain about what things in space are made from? On Earth it’s relatively easy to send geologists out to different places with their hammers, and have them collect samples from interesting rock formations … Continue reading →

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Interview with Imogen Whittam

Posted on 8 Aug, 2020 by Allen Versfeld8 Aug, 2020

This episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast features an interview with Dr Imogen Whittam, an astrophysicist at Oxford University

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