The Supermassive Podcast

The Supermassive team dust off their wellies and peg down their tents for Standon Calling. And to celebrate 10 years of NASA's Curiosity rover landing on Mars, Izzie and Dr Becky are asking the question everyone at the festival wants answered... Is there life on Mars? With special thanks to Dr Robert Massey, David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at the Open University, and Alice Armstrong from Agile Rabbit. Pre-order our book, The Year In Space, out October 2022: https://geni.us/jNcrwThe Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production, by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Izzie and Dr Becky are flying closer to home to look at the Rocky Planets; Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. How are they different? How are they similar? And can understanding their past tell us anything about Earth’s future? Plus, Dr Robert Massey has his stargazing tips for summer. With special thanks to Dr Suzie Imber from the University of Leicester, and Sian Prosser from the Royal Astronomical Society. Thank you to Brilliant for sponsoring this episode.  Head to brilliant.org/supermassive to start free courses in maths, science, and computer science. The first 200 subscribers will get 20% off. Our book, The Year In Space 2023, will be out in Oct 2022. Pre-order here: https://geni.us/jNcrwWe'll be LIVE at Standon Calling, Friday 22nd July 2022 at 2pm. Find out more: https://standon-calling.com/The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From hexagonal shaped storms to spinning sideways, Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring our weird and wonderful Gas Giants. Joining them are Dr Tom Stallard from the University of Leicester and Dr Robert Massey, Deputy Director of the Royal Astronomical Society. Plus editor, Richard Hollingham, takes a trip to the Royal Astronomical Society’s library to see Galileo’s first observations of Saturn’s rings and William Herschel’s notebook from when he discovered Uranus. See Jupiter's fast rotation (thanks to Dr James O'Donoghue) https://twitter.com/physicsJ/status/1519023430053818368 Thank you to Brilliant for sponsoring this episode.  Head to brilliant.org/supermassive to start free courses in maths, science, and computer science. The first 200 subscribers will get 20% off. The Year In Space 2023 by The Supermassive Team will be out on Oct 2022. Pre-order here: https://geni.us/jNcrw The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Edited by Sarah Moore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a galaxy evolve and die? Izzie and Dr Becky find out with help from Tim Davis at Cardiff University. Plus, Dr Robert Massey from the Royal Astronomical Society answers your questions and explains how to spot galaxies in the night sky. Thank you to Brilliant for sponsoring this episode.  Head to brilliant.org/supermassive to start free courses in maths, science, and computer science. The first 200 subscribers will get 20% off.The link below has more information on the RAS Public Talk with Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life - with humans and with robots. https://ras.ac.uk/events-and-meetings/ras-public-lectures-and-events/space-exploration-and-search-extraterrestrialA Year In Space by The Supermassive Team will be out on Oct 13th 2022. Pre-order here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Space-Supermassive-Podcast-Astronomical/dp/1472299507/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1O3PS3QUCPP2A&keywords=the+year+in+space&qid=1650904438&s=books&sprefix=the+year+in+space%2Cstripbooks%2C94&sr=1-3The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Izzie and Dr Becky are attempting to tackle the massive subject of building a galaxy.  Professor Mike Merrifield from The University of Nottingham explains how galaxies form and our very own galaxy expert, Dr Becky, tells us why they come in different shapes and sizes. Plus, Dr Robert Massey has his top tips for stargazing in spring.  Thank you to Brilliant for sponsoring this episode.  Head to brilliant.org/supermassive to start free courses in maths, science, and computer science. The first 200 subscribers will get 20% off.Explore the Galaxy Zoo here: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/zookeeper/galaxy-zoo/Space Book Club recommendations... Back to Earth - Nicole Stott The End of Astronauts - Donald Goldsmith & Martin ReesThe Disordered Cosmos - Chanda Prescod-Weinstein"A Year In Space" by The Supermassive Team will be out on Oct 13th 2022. Pre-order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Year-Space-Supermassive-Podcast-Astronomical/dp/1472299507/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1O3PS3QUCPP2A&keywords=the+year+in+space&qid=1650904438&s=books&sprefix=the+year+in+space%2Cstripbooks%2C94&sr=1-3 The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Editing this month is by Sarah Moore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who doesn’t love looking up at the moon?! Joining Izzie and Dr Becky, Professor Katherine Joy from the University of Manchester explains what past and future lunar missions can tell us, and Dr Megan Barford from Royal Museums Greenwich gives us a tour of two stunning moon maps from the 17th century. Plus, Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and shares his top tips for moon-gazing. See the moon maps here...By Riccioli & Grimaldi, 1651: https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1179815/viewBy Cassini, 1679: https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1093522/viewThe Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Supermassive team is finally doing something about all the questions that have been sent in. It’s Q&A time! From "fluffy" planets, to cake on the moon, join Izzie Clarke as she puts your questions to Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Robert Massey and science and space journalist Richard Hollingham.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey as they explore eclipses; what are they and how have they been studied throughout history? Plus Izzie Clarke visits the Royal Astronomical Society Library to discover what the society has in the archives, and astronaut Nicole Stott and her husband, Fellow of the RAS, Chris Stott send us their eclipse audio diary from Antarctica.The RAS Bicentenary Timeline can be found here: https://ras.ac.uk/timelineThe Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What will the end of days actually look like? And how will it happen? This month, Izzie and Dr Becky explore the end of the Universe with cosmologist Dr Katie Mack - author of The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking). They also chat to astronomy journalist and author of The Unknown Universe, Dr Stuart Clark, who explains the role of dark energy. Plus, Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and shares when it is best to see Jupiter, Saturn and Venus in December.Send your astronomy questions for January's Q&A to podcast[@]ras.ac.uk or tweet @RoyalAstroSoc. Book Club recommendations: The Red Planet - Simon Morden Apollo’s Muse - Mia Fineman and Beth Saunders Fire and Ice - Natalie StarkeyThe Invisible Universe - Matt BothwellThe Mysteries of the Universe - Will GaterThe Supermassive podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finally, Izzie and Dr Becky are talking about the James Webb Space Telescope but why is this telescope so impressive? NASA’s Keith Parrish, the observatory manager for Webb, covers the basics and Professor Gillian Wright, the principal investigator for the mid-infrared instrument (MIRI), explains how it will help us see stars and planets born from clouds of dust. Plus Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and shares his top stargazing tips for the month. Thank you to the UK Space Agency for sponsoring this episode.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Editing by Phil Sansom.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.