In these unprecendented times, it's hard to argue that much of space science and astronomy is key infrastructure, or its staff key workers. And while that's true, like many organisations work cannot simply stop altogether. The European Space Agency runs a multitude of missions, from space observatories to interplanetary explorers, and from solar probes to space stations. Prof Mark McCaughrean, Senior Science Advisor at ESA, tells Chris North how the agency is coping with the lockdowns in force around the world, with staff either self-isolating or working from home. Of course, there are also astronauts on the International Space Station, and they really don't want a serious illness infecting the crew Finally, are there lessons we can learn from those who have entered isolation voluntarily, in places like Concordia Base in Antarctica, or as part of the Mars500 programme. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 2nd April 2020 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Pythagorean Astronomy

Isolation Space

Betelgeuse is still misbehaving, though we're starting to get more information in from observations by some of the largest telescope. Astronomers are narrowing in on the possible explanations. While the dimming of Betelgeuse isn't anything to do with aliens, the SETI programme is still going with a new project designed to focus on planets around stars that might be able to detect Earth's presence. And in the centre of our galaxy there's another hint of a mysterious object - an "intermediate mass black hole" being orbited by a bunch of gas clouds. Chris, Edward and Claudia discuss what the implications might be. In space missions, it's out with the old and in with the new. NASA's Spitzer mission has ended, after over a decade and a half in space. Meanwhile, ESA's Solar Orbiter mission has launched and got underway - after a slightly bumpy start! Finally, Christina Coch has returned to Earth from the International Space Station, after a record-breaking spaceflight. What are we learning from such long duration space flights? An extended edition of an original broadcast on 27th Feb 2020 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Dimming stars, Galactic waves and misbehaving gas clouds

The astronomy world has been a-buzz with news of Betelgeuse, the bright red star in Orion, which appears to be dimming. Chris North, Edward Gomez and Claudia Antolini discuss how unusual this is, and what it means for the star's future. Further afield, there's a newly identified wave in our Galactic neighbourhood, changing our understanding of the nearby region. There are also new hypotheses about the nature of some oddly-behaving gas clouds near the galactic centre - what could explain their unexpected behaviour? Finally emminent astronomer Dr Vera Rubin has been recognised in a couple of ways. A nearby galaxy which was important in developing Rubin's understanding of dark matter has been dubbed Rubin's Galaxy, and an important telescope of the future is to be official known as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Finally, Claudia has a recommendation for something space fans might be interested in... An extended edition of an original broadcast on 31st Jan 2020 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

The final episode of 2019 includes a look back at a few things that have happened this year, and a look forward to the future. Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the developments in exoplanet discoveries, and what future missions (such as CHEOPS, Plato and Ariel) may be able to tell us about the wide range of planets out there. We've also had the visitation of interstellar Borisov, which we've discussed a-plenty on Pythagorean Astronomy. Meanwhile, IOP Wales' Engagement Officer Dr Claudia Antolini recaps why spacecraft have been visiting some of the smaller objects in our Solar System, and what we'll learn from upcoming missions such as HERA and DART. Specifically - how might they help protect the Earth one day? Finally there's one of the biggest stories of the last year - the first image of the horizon of a supermassive black hole in galaxy M87 with the Event Horizon Telescope. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 2ndJan 2020 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

What the future holds

This month saw the announcement of two follow-up discoveries of two explosive events. Firstly observations of one of the highest energy ever gamma ray burst ever seen, detected back in January, have identified where it originated. Meanwhile, colleagues in Cardiff University have been searching for signs of a remnant neutron star at the heart of Supernova 1987A (which was observed to explode back in 1987) - and they may have found crucial evidence! Closer to home, there are more signs of water vapour plumes erupting from Europa, and evidence that Hygeia, one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, could be eligble to be characterised as a dwarf planet. Over recent months, there has been excitement about Comet Borisov, a comet which originated in another Solar System. Prof Alan Fitzsimmons, from Queens University Belfast, is one of a number of astronomers from all around the world studying this interstellar visitor. We also discuss the impact on asteroid and comet searches of the recent launches of large groups, or "constellations" of satellites by groups such as SpaceX. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 28th November 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Stellar Explosions and Interstellar Visitors

October 2019 saw the first all-female spacewalk, and the discover of 20 new moons of Saturn. There were also more observations of interstellar comet Borisov, and evidence for the Milky Way's black hole having sent out a violent flare several million years ago. Chris and Edward discuss these latest stories. October also saw a planned hiatus in operations of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, which are mid-way through the third observing run, looking for gravitational waves. We got an update from UBC's Jess McIver and Cardiff's Duncan Macleod, who are involved with the operation of the LIGO detectors.They gave an update on how the discovery of gravitational waves unfolds, and what's planned for the rest of this observing run - including the addition of the Japanese KAGRA detector later this year. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 31st October 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Interstellar Comets, black holes and gravitational waves

The space news cycle was dominated for a while this month with the discovery of water vapour in the atmosphere of planet K2-18b. The planet is in the habitable zone of its star, but is somewhat larger than the Earth - what does that mean for its habitability? Meanwhile, radio astronomers have discovered the most massive neutron star found to date - close to the maximum theoretical limit. Closer to home, India's first attempt at landing on the Moon has ended in disaster, with the Vikram lander crashing onto the surface in the final moments of its journey. And we've had a new interstellar visitor - a comet which appears to have come from another solar system. What could we learn from the interloper as it whizzes through our neighbourhood? An extended edition of an original broadcast on 26th September 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Habitable zones, Lunar landers and Interstellar interlopers

The summer might be "silly season" in the press, but not so in astronomy. With peroxide on moons and belching black holes there's lots of sensible research going on for us to discuss. A number of recent rocket engine tests lead us to consider what the near future of space travel might look like, with a proposed "lunar gateway" providing a staging point for explorers. Where might they go? Perhaps as far as Jupiter's moon, Europa, where recent observations have provided more evidence of a carbon-rich environment beneath the sub-surface ocean. A tantalising place to look for life. Further afield, NASA's TESS satellite has produced its first tranche of results after a year of observations. They show intriguing worlds that fall in what's been appearing to be a "mass gap" in terms of planets, with a narrow range of masses being under-represented. On somewhat larger scales we have the black hole at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy, which appeared to briefly brighten earlier this year - evidence that it may have belched after a small snack. There's even something odd with the galaxy as a whole, with a survey of Cepheid variable stars showing a distinct lop-sided warp to the Milky Way's disk of stars. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 30th August 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Lunar Gateways, Belching Black Holes and Warped Galaxies

July 1969 was the month that the first people walked on the Moon. 12 people walked on the surface of our celestial neighbour between 1969 and 1972. Since then, humanity has been confined to low-Earth orbit. There is talk of sending people back to the Moon, on timescales that vary depending on who you talk to. There’s also talk of missions to Mars, possibly in the next few decades. But for the vast majority of the last 50 years, our exploration has been through our robotic envoys, sent to all manner of planets, moons, comets and asteroids. Some have whizzed by, while others have gone in to orbit. Some have landed on the surface, and a small number have roved or hopped around. The missions have come from a large number of nations, initially the US and Russia, and how Japan, China, Israel and Europe – including, of course, the UK. So what does the future hold for robotic exploration? Where are we sending spacecraft next and why? Dr Colin Wilson, from the University of Oxford, explains what we've learned from just a few of our robotic explorers, and where they might take us in the future. We discuss past, present and future missions to both Venus and Mars, and an exciting prospect of a quadcopter on Titan. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 1st August 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Robotic Explorers

Mars is covered in craters, but most of them are very old. But new ones do appear from time-to-time, created when objects hit the surface of the red planet. That's just what happened at some point a couple of years ago, producing one of Mars' youngest craters. Higher up in Mars' atmosphere, scientists are also learning about the role the micrometeorites play in forming clouds. And how can the Moon reveal secrets about history of the Sun? Closer to home, there has been controversy about once of the latest SpaceX launches, which released 60 satellites into orbit. While impressive, and part of plans for over 10,000 such satellites in orbit, there has been some opposition from astronomers, for whom satellites are a constant irritation. But to the ends (worldwide satellite internet) justify the means? Meanwhile, over a million vounteers have been clicking away on the Galaxy Zoo website, part of the Zooniverse. Chief zookeeper Prof Chris Lintott explains what astronomers have discovered as a result of all this effort. It's overturned commonly held views about the shapes of spiral galaxies, both in their beautiful spiral arms and their central bulges. The result is that we might be able to get a better understanding of the how spiral arms behave when two galaxies get close together. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 4th July 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

The slowly spinning Sun, Starlink and Spiral Surprises

A roundup of the month's news from around the Solar System - and beyond. You don't think of mars rovers having drawers, but that's exactly what has just been installed on the Rosalind Franklin Rover, part of ESA's ExoMars mission. This is no ordinary drawer, of course, but the "Analytical Laboratory Drawer", designed to test martian soil for the presence of biomarkers or microfossils, either of which would indicate the presence of present or past life. Closer to home, a mile-wide asteroid called 1999 KW4 has just whizzed past the Earth. It's at a relatively safe distance - 13 Earth-Moon distances, or 5 million km, but it gives us a chance to study it in more detail - including its small moon! You can also take part in the observations, at LCO's Asteroid Tracker (asteroidtracker.lco.global). The presence of a moon isn't that unusual, with many small objects having companions - and not just in the inner Solar System. Further afield, we've just had the first official publication of the results from New Horizons spacecraft's flyby of 2014 MU69, which seems to be the result of two smaller objects colliding very slowly. Meanwhile, the search for gravitational waves goes on, with LIGO and Virgo now well into their third observing run. It's early days, but they're on track for having several dozen detections by the end of this run. May 2019 marks the 10 year anniversary of the launch of the Herschel Space Observatory, ESA's infrared space observatory that studied the formation of stars in our galaxy and beyond. We have the thoughts of four people who worked on the project: Prof Matt Griffin, Prof Haley Gomez, Dr Mattia Negrello and Dr Sarah Ragan. There's also a special bonus episode dedicated to the Herschel's legacy ten years after its launch. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 30th May 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Biomarkers, near-misses and anniversaries

14th May 2009 marked the the launch of the Herschel Space Observatory. Herschel was a cornerstone mission for ESA, the European Space Agency, with the goal of unveiling the hidden Universe. In this special bonus edition of Pythagorean Astronomy, marking 10 years since Herschel's launch, Cardiff University's Dr Chris North finds out how it did this, and what astronomers have uncovered over the past decade. Such missions take a lot of planning, and Herschel was decades in the making. But they also far outlive the operational lifetime of the spacecraft itself. Herschel’s liquid helium coolant ran out on 29th April 2013, and the spacecraft was switched off shortly afterwards. With 25,000 observations in the bag, and having imaged around 10% of the sky, scientific discoveries are still being made with data from Herschel. But what have we learned from Herschel, and what is there still to learn? We’ve had a lot of involvement in Herschel here in Cardiff University, from the design and build of the scientific instruments to the analysis of its data. What better people to ask than those that helped run the mission, and who are using its data to continue to make scientific discoveries a decade on from its launch. Chris, who was the UK Herschel Outreach Officer, speaks with Cardiff-based colleagues Professor Matt Griffin, lead scientist on the SPIRE instrument onboard Herschel, cosmic dust investigator Prof Haley Gomez, galaxy hunter Dr Mattia Negrello, and star former Dr Sarah Ragan.

Bonus: Herschel 10 years on

A roundup of the month's news from around the Solar System - and beyond. Starting with the Moon, where the first attempt by a privately funded organisation to land on the Moon has ended in a crash-landing. Despite the sad end, the Beresheet mission was otherwise a success, and a promising start for privately funded missions around the Solar System. Further afield, there are new results from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission, which is studying Mars' atmosphere. Beyond Mars, an analysis of the Cassini spacecraft's last images of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has thrown up a few surprises about its lakes. And beyond our Solar System, a study of the environment around Proxima Centauri, the Sun's nearest neighbour, has shed light on the possible conditions on its planet - Proxima b. But the most exciting story of the month was the image of the black hole in M87 by the Event Horizon Telescope. Actually a number of telescope working together, the array has provided us with the first view of material around an object billions of times the mass of our Sun. And if the image isn't astounding enough, the technological achievement required to obtain it is simply astounding. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 2nd May 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Engine failures to event horizons

In December 2018 an object hit the Earth's atmosphere at over 100,000 kph over the Arctic Ocean, entirely unnoticed, until the orange streak was spotted in satellite imagery. Meanwhile, two missions are currently exploring much larger asteroids - Japan's Hyabusa-2 mission to Ryugu and NASA's Osiris-REX mission to Bennu. Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the unexpected impact and the latest results from Hayabusa-2, showing that Ryugu is a "rubble pile" rather than a solid object. Meanwhile, out on the edge of the observable Universe astronomers have been studying a galaxy, seen as it was just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. The composition of the galaxy implies that its stars are not the first - and at least one generation has come before. We are used to discussing distant galaxies in astronomy these days, but in fact it was less than 100 years ago that we had proof of galaxies beyond our own. That discovery in the 1920s led to astronomers discovering that the Universe is, in fact, expanding. Cardiff University's Dr Ermenia Calabrese explains what we know about the expanding Universe, and begins by describing what astronomers like Hubble and Lemaitre were trying to do in the 1920s. The story of our understanding has evolved over the decades, and seemed to be coming together until a few years ago. As measurements increased in precision, it became obvious that different methods of measuring the Universe's expansion are giving slightly different results. Erminia explores why this might be, and what we might learn over coming years. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 28th March 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Flying space-shrapnel and a misbehaving Universe

Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the latest events from around the Solar System. Hayabusa 2 has successfully hopped down onto the surface of Ryugu, meanwhile an Israeli lander has been launched to the Moon, where it will also hop about. Further afield, there are new clues to the origin of Neptune's odd little moon Hippocamp. Down hear on Earth, the LOFAR radio telescope array has produced the first phase of its survey, containing a third of a million galaxies. With this just being 10% of the full LOFAR survey, and much larger telescopes being planned, this is just a taste of what awaits the future of radio astronomy. February 2019 also saw the official end to the Opportunity, the Mars rover which landed on Mars 15 years ago, and was last heard from in June 2018. But there was also good news about the future of Mars exploration, as ESA announced the name of its first Martian Rover, due for launch in 2020: Rosalind Franklin. The rover is being built here in the UK, and systems engineer Paul Meacham explains what the current status of the project is, and how the legacy of Opportunity has impacted the mission. An extended edition of an original broadcast on 28th February 2019 as part of Pythagoras' Trousers on Radio Cardiff.

Hopping spacecraft and Rosalind the Rover

Astronomy news and interviews with scientists involved in the discoveries.

hubhopper

Pythagorean Astronomy

hubhopper