Pythagorean Astronomy: Staring at the dawn of time

Posted on 16 February 2023 by Chris North

Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the first attempt to launch a rocket from UK soil, albeit via a piggyback on (or under) a plane. There’s also an interesting supernova, the first exoplanet confirmation from JWST. Meanwhile, on Mars, does no news mean bad news for China’s Zhurong rover? We also speak to Dr Ian
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Pythagorean Astronomy: The future of Space Exploration

Posted on 1 December 2022 by Chris North

With the Artemis I mission mid-mission (at the time of recording), Chris North and Edward Gomez look at what this means for the future of human space exploration, and more ambitious missions to the Moon (and beyond). Meanwhile, back here on Earth, the European Space Agency have announced their next crop of astronauts. The list
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Pythagorean Astronomy: It’s the Small Things: Exomoons

Posted on 8 September 2021 by Chris North

The last month or so has seen several cases of small things being discovered. The first is an asteroid, 2021 27PH, which gets closer to the Sun than Mercury. What could we learn about fundamental science from such an object? The second is one of the smallest exoplanets detected, at less than half the mass
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Astrobiology and Technosignatures

Posted on 4 March 2021 by Chris North

The idea of life elsewhere is not a new one. Hundreds of years ago it was assumed that there were beings everywhere, before such views were considered heretical, and the determination that places like the Moon were dry airless worlds started to reduce the possible places life could thrive. But even as recently as the
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Pythagorean Astronomy: What the future holds

Posted on 29 December 2019 by Chris North

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 & 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
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Habitable zones, Lunar landers and Interstellar interlopers

Posted on 26 September 2019 by Chris North

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
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Pythagroean Astronomy: Lunar Gateways, Belching Black Holes and Warped Galaxies

Posted on 4 September 2019 by Chris North

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
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Engine Failures to Event Horizons

Posted on 30 April 2019 by Chris North

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
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Kepler’s Legacy

Posted on 29 November 2018 by Chris North

Chris North, Sarah Roberts and Matt Smitth discuss the landing of NASA’s Insight probe, which is set to investigate the interior of Mars and search for Mars-quakes. Closer to home, we’re celebrating 20 years of the International Space Station this month. In astrophysics research, Cardiff researchers, including Matt, were involved in a study of exploding
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Vulcans, dust storms, and water on Mars

Posted on 27 September 2018 by Chris North

Chris North, Sarah Roberts and Mat Allen discuss a number of recent news stories. One of the latest planets to be discovered, “40 Eridani A a”, seems to be a lot like the fictional planet Vulcan, home to Spock in Star Trek. The RemoveDEBRIS mission has test-fired its net, and the Hyabusa 2 mission has
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