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PODCAST

The Supermassive Podcast

The Royal Astronomical Society

The UK"s #1 space podcast.Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive

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All Episodes

42:56

31: Life on Mars - LIVE from Standon Calling

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/07/29

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:

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51:49

30: Rocky Planets Rock

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/07/01

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

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49:10

29: Gas Giants are Weird

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/05/31

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

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43:45

28: How to Kill a Galaxy

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/04/30

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

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44:38

27: How to Build a Galaxy

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/03/25

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

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52:11

26: The Marvellous Moon

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/02/25

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/view By

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44:10

25: A Supermassive Q&A!

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2022/01/28

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.

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40:08

24: Eclipses & Expeditions

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/12/24

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/timeline The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media

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43:44

23: The End of the Universe

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/11/26

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

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39:34

22: JWST - Seeing the First Stars

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/10/29

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

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39:37

21: Icy Worlds

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/10/01

Wrap up warm, because this month Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring the icy worlds in the solar system. To help, they're joined by Caroline Harper, Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency, to discuss the new mission heading to explore Jupiter’s icy moons. And they hear from Professor Michele Dougherty from Imperial College London, who sent Cassini to investigate Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Plus Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and shares his latest stargazing tips for autumn. Join the

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43:20

20: Firey Worlds

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/08/27

Izzie and Dr Becky are turning up the heat and exploring the fiery worlds in our solar system. From planets close to the Sun to a distant world of volcanoes and lava. Joining them are planetary scientist Professor David Rothery from the Open University and Professor Alfred McEwen from the University of Arizona, who wants to send a mission to Jupiter’s moon Io. Plus Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and has his monthly guide to stargazing. This is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke

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40:44

19: Radiation Belts and Billionaires

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/07/30

This month it’s all about the trapped charged particles around our planet - the Van Allen radiation belts. Izzie and Dr Becky find out all about them with the help of Dr Maria Theresia Walach from Lancaster University, and Dr David Devorkin from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum explains how Explorer 1 discovered the belts in 1958. Plus, Dr Robert Massey joins to take on your questions and shares his top stargazing tips for July. The podcast is looking for sponsorship to keep the

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44:35

18: A Hunk of Space Junk

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/06/25

Grab your dustpan and brush… This month, Izzie and Dr Becky get to grips with the leftovers from space activity, it's all about space junk. Joining them are engineer Dr Hugh Lewis from the University of Southampton, who models how the debris builds up over time, and space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman explains its historical significance. Plus, Robert Massey joins in to take on your questions and shares his top stargazing tips. The podcast is looking for sponsorship to keep the series running

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42:54

17: Hunting for Planet 9

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/05/28

Is it a planet? Is it a black hole? Is it even real? This month, Izzie and Dr Becky try and get to the bottom of the mysterious planet nine - an enigmatic - and so far invisible - ninth planet in our solar system. Helping them are the scientists that have made headlines trying to solve this puzzle, Mike Brown from the California Institute of Technology, and Jakub Scholtz from the University of Turin. Plus, Robert Massey joins in to take on your questions and explains how to see the upcoming eclipse

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41:12

16: Mysteries of the Kuiper Belt

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/04/23

“It’s like the evidence left over after a crime.” This month Izzie and Dr Becky venture into the outer Solar System to explore a sea of weird rocks, a squashed snowman and ice volcanoes on a demoted planet. They are joined by Dr Meg Schwamb from Queen’s University Belfast and Alice Bowman, Mission Operations Manager for the New Horizons mission at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Becky also explains the science behind a possible ‘fifth force of nature’ and Dr

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42:25

15: Neutron Stars - with Jocelyn Bell Burnell

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/03/26

"I was tracking down every signal that it picked up, and there was one signal that I couldn't make sense of." Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell gives Izzie and Dr Becky a neutron star 101 and tells them how she discovered pulsars in the 1960s. Plus, Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and tells us what to look out for in the spring night sky. Book Club Recommendations Forgotten Women: The Scientists - Zing Tsjeng Six Impossible Things - John Gribbin The End of Everything

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40:11

14: A Star Is Born

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/02/26

This month, Izzie and Dr Becky are shining a light on the first stars in the Universe. When did they form? And could any still exist today? Plus, they explore the life of Cecelia Payne Gaposchkin, the astrophysicist who discovered the structure of stars, and Dr Robert Massey joins them to discuss the latest NASA rover on Mars. With special thanks to Dr Emma Chapman from Imperial College London, author of First Light, and Donovan Moore, author of What Stars Are Made Of: The Life of Cecilia

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39:33

13: New Year, New Universe

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2021/01/22

Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst are kicking off the new year with the beginning of everything, the Big Bang. They speak with Professor David Wands who explains how our universe began, and dive into the historical debate behind this model with Professor Thomas Hertog. And, as always, astronomer Dr Robert Massey shares his top tips for stargazing this month. Send the team your questions, photos and science book recommendations on social media using #RASSupermassive or email

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42:34

12: Gamma Rays & Christmas Stars

The Supermassive Podcast ·

2020/12/18

This month, Izzie & Becky are taking astronomy to the extremes with gamma ray expert, Professor Paula Chadwick, and Professor Julian Osborne from the SWIFT Observatory. Plus, Robert Massey shares his top tips for stargazing at home and how best to see the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21st. Send your pictures and questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk or tweet @RoyalAstroSoc using #RASSupermassive. The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard

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