128 Methane on Mars

Chris and Rob discuss dusty Martian rovers, the 10th dotastronomy conference and an AI that writes astronomical papers. [MP3 Link]Episode #136. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott.Credits:Audio content Copyright 2011-2018 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to the Space Telescope Science Institute for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Chris quizzes Rob about his upcoming departure from the Zooniverse. There is some brief coverage of news, but also politics, gadgets reviews and other nonsense. A sensible as ever.[MP3 Link]Episode #135. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott.Credits:Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Chris and Rob discuss streetlights, astrology and Ceres: the dwarf planet. There are organic molecules at the centre of a galaxy, and a black hole that’s the wrong size.Links:Ceres is getting odd: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/02/26/ceres_shiny_spot_is_actually_twins.htmlAstrology on the NHS: http://boingboing.net/2015/02/25/uk-tory-mp-says-astrology-woul.htmlNew jobs at Zooniverse: http://daily.zooniverse.org/2015/02/23/two-new-jobs-at-the-zooniverse/Organic molecules around a black hole: http://alma.mtk.nao.ac.jp/e/news/pressrelease/20150226alma_revealed_surprisingly_mild_environment_around_a_supermassive_black_hole_1.htmlAstronauts and street lamps http://io9.com/how-to-hack-your-street-lamps-like-an-astronaut-1686876944[MP3 Link]Episode #134. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott.Credits:Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Chris and Rob are joined by Lovely Scottish Grant and Becky Smethurst for an expanded-panel Recycled Electrons. We discuss Mars One, Mars’s mysterious plumes, and astronomers on Twitter. Also: Super Mario.Links:A near miss: http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/scholz-star/Cube sat mission ideas: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/van-kane/0217-planetary-cubesats-begin-to-come-of-age.htmlScientists slow the speed of light:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30944584Mystery Mars haze ‘baffles’ scientists: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31491805Mars/Moon/Venus Conjunction on Feb 20th: http://www.universetoday.com/118906/catch-a-conjunction-triple-play-on-february-20th-as-the-moon-meets-venus-mars/Rosetta is taking really close-up shots now: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/02/16/rosetta_closeup_photos_from_a_low_pass_over_the_surface.htmlWe don’t know what hit Chelyabinsk: http://www.psi.edu/news/papervishnuAstronomers on Twitter: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106086Wikipedia sonification: http://listen.hatnote.com/[MP3 Link]Episode #133. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott.Credits:Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Chris is in Hawaii and Rob is not(!). They talk about observing at the CSO, the differing views of scientists and the public, and the new UK-based Twinkle exoplanet mission.Links:(American) Public vs. (AAAS) Scientists http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/Curiosity form above: http://gizmodo.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-looks-like-a-tiny-pimple-on-mars-1684492070First images from New Horizons of Pluto and Charon: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/02041311-new-horizons-returns-first.html[MP3 Link]Episode #132. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott.Credits:Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Chris and Rob talk about advanced robotics, supernovae in M82, and the rise and fall of the BICEP2 results. There are Yellowballs in the Milky Way, and a lovely Philae GIF.Links:Philae GIF http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/30/7953217/philae-lander-descent-comet-67p-esa-rosettaThe BICEP bubbles bursts https://telescoper.wordpress.com/2015/01/30/the-bicep2-bubble-bursts/ and http://sci.esa.int/planck/55362-planck-gravitational-waves-remain-elusive/M82 from LOFAR: http://www.chalmers.se/en/centres/oso/news/Pages/Lofars-record-sharp-image-gives-astronomers–a-new-view-of-galaxy-M-82.aspxYellowballs: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4462A nice merger : http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1503/A movie of a laser beam pulse at super high frame rate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq0H4-nvBB8Making robots that can do better than us http://io9.com/atlas-the-pentagons-humanoid-robot-just-got-a-major-u-1680654984MWP made APOD http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150131.html with the Yellow balls[MP3 Link]Episode #131. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott.Credits:Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Some QVC hosts have been discussing the Moon, Dawn has a new view of Ceres, and New Horizons is closing in on Pluto. Rosetta is starting to get data about its comet, and the Planetary Society is going to build a Solar Sail. Links: Science literacy and QVC: http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2015/01/15/qvc-hosts-literally-dont-know-what-the-moon-is/ New Horizons is approaching the Pluto system http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30954673 Rich algae blooms under Earth’s polar ice: http://laughingsquid.com/submersible-vehicle-discovers-rich-algae-blooms-beneath-polar-ice-in-areas-previously-thought-barren/ Dawn’s new view of Ceres: http://www.universetoday.com/118325/heres-dawns-best-view-of-ceres-yet/ Planetary Society Lightsail : http://www.planetary.org/press-room/releases/2015/planetary-society-announces.html An asteroid comes to visit: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/press-releases/asteroid-2004-bl86/ Rosetta results: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Getting_to_know_Rosetta_s_comet A dimming quasar: http://news.yale.edu/2015/01/22/black-hole-diet-creates-changing-look-quasar Fast Radio Burst: http://www.caastro.org/news/2015-livefrb Adler is crowdfunding an exhibit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/adler-planetarium-mission-moon-exhibition Cheese or Font: cheeseorfont.com [MP3 Link] Episode #130. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott. Credits: Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Beagle 2 has been found, intact, on the surface of Mars! Planck is the height of a small giraffe, and Lovejoy is blazing across the Northern sky. Chris and Rob talk about many things from the last three weeks. Links: Two more planets: http://www.universetoday.com/118252/astronomers-are-predicting-at-least-two-more-large-planets-in-the-solar-system/ Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter - visible in one evening http://sumzzal.com/data/imgupload/2015/01/06/20150106015605_20150105160805201.gif Falling onto Titan - 10 years since Huygens: http://io9.com/heres-what-it-looks-like-to-fall-to-titan-from-space-1679545272 Comet Lovejoy’s tail flapping in the (solar) wind: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/01/14/comet_lovejoy_animation_of_the_tail_movement.html China puts orbiter around the Moon to image potential landing sites http://cir.ca/news/china-in-space Game Recreates Entire Galaxy, 1,000 Players Determined To Explore It http://kotaku.com/one-thousand-gamers-embark-to-explore-the-entire-galaxy-1677603818 PH3c: http://daily.zooniverse.org/2015/01/05/phvii/ We found Beagle 2! http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-01/14/mars-probe-beagle Circa: http://cir.ca/ [MP3 Link] Episode #129. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott. Credits: Audio content Copyright 2011-2015 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

In the last episode of 2014, Chris and Rob discuss methane on Mars, the hacking of the .Astronomy meeting, and the nature of time itself. No biggie. Links: .Astronomy 6 [lists and links to hacks within] 2 arrows of time [MP3 Link] Episode #128. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott. Credits: Audio content Copyright 2011-2014 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).

Rob and Chris talk about the latest Philae/Rosetta news, new plans for missions into the Solar System, and men in hats. Links: Higgs Hunters: http://www.higgshunters.org Lots of cool ideas for missions on the Planetary Society blog: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/van-kane/20141125-a-potpourri-of-future-mission.html Sonification (Rosetta/Philae) : http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/11/20/the-sound-of-touchdown/ Philae to come back to life in March? http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-11/27/rosetta-philae-reddit-ama Spotify reveals that we all listened to Aerosmith after the Philae landing https://insights.spotify.com/br/2014/11/21/aerosmith-rosetta-comet/ ThinkGeek’s solar system shot glasses: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/2033/?CJID=%zi&istCompanyId=007b6f44-e03c-4536-8b29-58e160067143&istItemId=iaxqlaxwi&istBid=t&cpg=cj&ref=&CJURL= Asteroid diamonds are weird : https://asunews.asu.edu/20141120-lonsdaleite Map of bolide distribution : http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4380 Vesta mapping complete : https://asunews.asu.edu/20141117-vesta-map Serial: http://serialpodcast.orgSEN: Sen.com [MP3 Link] Episode #127. If you have anything you’d like us to look at, or any questions you’d like us to answer - use the links at the top of the web page at http://recycledelec.com. Follow us on Twitter @recycledelec @orbitingfrog and @chrislintott. Credits: Audio content Copyright 2011-2014 Chris Lintott and Robert Simpson. Many thanks to Oxford Press Office for recording space. Podcast Image of lightbulb courtesy of Flickr user bazik (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bazik/395792175/).