Podcast Archive

Guns in Space and Why Venus is so Hot

Posted on 6 November, 2019 by Allen Versfeld5 December, 2019

Episode 10 of Season Two answers listener questions: What happens when a spaceship shoots its gun in space, and why is Venus so hot?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:18 — 24.1MB) | Embed

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Interview with Dr Tana Joseph

Posted on 22 October, 2019 by Allen Versfeld5 December, 2019

This is episode 9 of the 2nd season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, featuring an interview with Dr Tana Joseph. It’s been an interesting two weeks since the last episode – I’ve settled further into my new home and adjusted from rural to suburban life. What I gained in access to basic utilities and saving several hours off my commute has been paid for with a loss of the sky – not to light pollution, but to a canopy of … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:28 — 35.2MB) | Embed

Why did I defend the geocentric model?

Posted on 8 October, 2019 by Allen Versfeld5 December, 2019

Diagram of Copernicus's answer to the geocentric system

In this eighth episode of the second season, I defend my defense of the Ptolemaic geocentric system of crystal spheres! I hadn’t even realized till I started recording that this is our 50th ever episode. I really should be so blown away that I’ve kept things going this long, but I’m not, somehow? Perhaps it’s just become a habit, and I stopped noticing milestones! But anyway, 50 episodes, I think that’s pretty amazing and I’m very proud to have made … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:55 — 30.1MB) | Embed

Interview with Dr Jarita Holbrook

Posted on 24 September, 2019 by Allen Versfeld5 December, 2019

In Episode 7 of the second season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, I chat with Dr Jarita Holbrook of the University of the Western Cape about her interest in cultural astronomy. This was one of the longer and more interesting interviews of my career, and our conversation continued for some time after the microphones were turned off! Unfortunately, the audio quality isn’t as good as I’d hoped. There’s a terrible echo on my voice which comes and goes as the … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:19 — 37.8MB) | Embed

Why do planets orbit in the same plane?

Posted on 10 September, 2019 by Allen Versfeld5 December, 2019

Outer solar system, by Riffsyphon1024 at en.wikipedia [Public domain]

In episode 48 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, we’re doing another Science Explainy bit! These segments are where you get to hear my droning voice explain some fundamentals and answer listener questions. Today we get asked why it always is that planets orbit in the same plane, and why the Moon can be seen during daylight. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to tell a friend about the show, and make a small donation on our Patreon account. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dr Rosalind Skelton

Posted on 26 August, 2019 by Allen Versfeld5 December, 2019

This is episode five of this season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. As usual, this being the 4th show of the month, we have an Interview episode today, and this is the one that gets us back to our scheduled order of things. You’ll remember two episodes ago, we were supposed to interview Dr Rosalind Skelton of the South African Astronomical Observatory. Unfortunately, I messed up somewhere and the recordings we’d made well in advance of the show were lost. … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:10 — 31.3MB) | Embed

How do orbits work?

Posted on 13 August, 2019 by Allen Versfeld13 August, 2019

Photograph of the Moon in orbit around the Earth

Welcome to another Science Explainy Bit episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. Today we try to figure out just what an “orbit” actually is. Is it really as simple as they said in primary school? How does gravity, which normally pulls things down, work to keep the Moon in space? Download this episode now, to find the answer, and also learn a little about my upcoming appearance at ScopeX! What is an Orbit? () This turns out to be quite … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dr Daniel Cunnama

Posted on 30 July, 2019 by Allen Versfeld12 August, 2019

Welcome to the 3rd episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, season 2, featuring Dr Daniel Cunnama. We almost didn’t make it this week, thanks to a major technical hitch, but we worked around it and here we are. If you listened to the last episode, then you’re probably expecting this to be an interview episode, featuring Dr Rosalind Skelton of the South African Astronomical Observatory. I spoke to her in June last year and we recorded an interview specifically for … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:21 — 40.6MB) | Embed

Why are planets always round?

Posted on 16 July, 2019 by Allen Versfeld15 July, 2019

Welcome to the second episode of this second season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! Two of Two, sounds like it should be special… and it kinda sort of is, because this week we’re presenting the first of our unique patented Science Explainy Bits! Now to be clear, it’s the name that’s new, not the science explaining, because I’ve done explainy stuff for science concepts before on this show, back in our super-extended 42 episode long first season. I got quite … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dr Wendy Williams

Posted on 2 July, 2019 by Allen Versfeld12 August, 2019

This is Episode 1 of our brand new second season! This is the 43rd episode since the podcast was first launched, back in February 2017, and I’m thrilled to be back on the air with you. The New Season We’re mostly keeping things the same, but there are some important changes. From the beginning, I’ve always been pretty disorganized in how I ran the show. There was no fixed schedule or plan, so I’d release episodes as they became available. … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:15 — 22.2MB) | Embed

Second season coming July 2nd

Posted on 9 June, 2019 by Allen Versfeld27 June, 2019

Have you been wondering what happened to the Urban Astronomer Podcast? Do you know want to know why there haven’t been any episodes in a while? Then you’re going to want to hear this. We’re launching our second season, and we’ve decided to change how we do things here. While the basic format will still sound like the shows you’ve come to love and expect, we’re changing how we make them. Starting from the 2nd of June 2019, we’ll be … Continue reading →

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Robert Ormerod at ScopeX 2018

Posted on 14 April, 2019 by Allen Versfeld14 April, 2019

Robert Ormerod presenting a lecture at ScopeX 2018, “Photographing the northern lights for the first time"

Hey everyone, welcome to the 42nd Episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, the second episode of 2019, and the final episode of our first season! Today we listen to Robert Ormerod, speaking about his first experience photographing the Northern Lights. I should have released this episode two months ago, but after my father’s sudden death, I decided I’d rather spend the time with my mother and brothers, remembering him, mourning, and healing. There’s still a long way to go before … Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:23 — 48.0MB) | Embed

Urban Astronomer

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