Brains Matter has once again contributed to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast.
Who remembers second place? It’s a problem that plagues anyone who isn’t the biggest or fastest or shiniest. In today’s episode of 365 Days of Astronomy, we look at the second largest object in the Asteroid Belt – Vesta
I speak to Dr Michael Brown, from the School of Physics at Monash University. Michael talked to me about the formation of galaxies, and specifically, research into Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)
– What is the definition of a galaxy?
– What makes up a galaxy?
– What are some examples of galaxies we can see with binoculars and telescopes?
– What is the difference between a galaxy, a cloud of gas and a globular cluster?
– What are the structures of galaxies?
– What do we know about how these different types of galaxies form?
– How do galaxies grow over time?
– Do we know where the central black holes in galaxies come from?
– What is an Active Galactic Nucleus?
– Are there different types of AGNs?
– How are quasars formed?
– Why do some galaxies have AGNs and some do not?
– Are AGN’s the mechanism that causes the formation of stars in galaxies?
Today’s listener of the episode is Robin Ford from Sydney, Australia.
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Brains Matter has once again contributed to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. My six year old asked whether magnetism could crush a star. The following podcast is the result of trying to find the answer to that!
Brains Matter has once again contributed to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast. For this episode, the topic was on The First Astronomers – the Australian Aborigines.
A question that everyone asks at some point is – are we alone? We’ve all heard about the Drake Equation, and have had chats about our place in the universe with friends.
In this episode, Dr Allie Ford hosts a debate between Professor John Lattanzio and Ms Marion Anderson from Monash University on the topic “Intelligent Life is Common in the Universe”. Ms Anderson argues for the positive, and Professor Lattanzio argues for the negative.
They both argue the topic using the latest information and theories about astronomy and the possibility of life existing in the Universe. In recent years we have found hundreds of planets outside the solar system. Surely intelligent life must exist somewhere. But why have radio searches revealed nothing yet?
The presentations used during this debate:
Marion’s presentation for the positive argument
Prof Lattanzio’s presentation for the negative argument
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The Brains Matter interview with Dr Allie Ford from Monash Uni (highlights version for 365 DoA) was featured on Diffusion Science Radio this week.
In this episode, I speak to Professor Bryan Gaensler from the University of Sydney on the topic of Magnetism in the Universe, which was only discovered in the 20th century.
– What is a magnet?
– What objects in the universe are magnetic?
– How are magnets detected in space?
– How do we detect magnetic fields, despite the fact they are invisible?
– What is the relationship between magnetism and the formation of galaxies?
– How is magnetism related to the existance of life?
– Could we exist without magnetism?
– What does this mean for space exploration?
– Magnetism and Faraday Rotation
– The relationships between magnetism and sun spots
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The 22/9/2009 episode of 365 Days of Astronomy was the fourth contribution by Brains Matter to the IYA podcast effort.
In this particular episode, I talk about Ruby Payne Scott, an Australian physicist, who was the world’s first female radio astronomer.
In this episode, I talk to Dr Paul Francis from the Australian National University in Canberra on the topic of comets.
– What are comets?
– Where do they come from?
– How big are comets in general?
– What are they made of?
– How big can comets be?
– What would happen to Pluto if it came in closer to the sun?
– How likely are we to be hit by a comet?
We also talk about pink black holes – what ARE pink black holes? I also talk to Dr Francis about some of his novel ways of teaching critical thinking and scepticism / scientific thinking to his students through some unexpected methods. Listen in to find out how!
Featured in today’s episode are the listener of the episode, and feedback
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The 100th episode of Brains Matter coincides with National Science Week – and to celebrate both the 100th show and National Science week, in this episode, we cover a range of topics. There are two great new interviews, as well as highlights from previous shows. You can go to the original interviews by clicking on the links associated with that episode.
Interviews:
Dr Andrew Prentice — the first use of the telescope for astronomical purposes
Dr Djoymi Baker– The relationship between sci fi and mythology
Prof John Lattanzio – Element formation in stars
Dr Zachary Moore – Fundamentalism and evolution
Dr Adrian Gentle – Special relativity
Dr Roger Rassool – Physics and music
Prof Peter Doherty – Jokes and the Nobel Prize
Dr Mark Boland – Measurements in the synchrotron
Dr Pamela Gay – Naming the big bang
Dr David Karoly – The evidence for global warming
Adam Parker – Origins of robotics
Dr Orly Lacham-Kaplan – What are stem cells?
Prof Roger Short – Evolutionary evidence of the origin of elephants
Marc West – Cricket, maths and statistics
Dr Seth Shostak – Science and the movies
Dr Simon Singh – The wonder of maths and science, the decline of maths and science study in schools, and a discussion on pseudo science
I hope everyone enjoys National Science Week in Australia – and for those not in Australia – go out and enjoy some science today!!
I would like to thank everyone who have made contributions to this episode, including: Dr Andrew Prentice, Dr Simon Singh, Dr Allie Ford, Christian Wilson, Christopher Short, Dr Daniel Price, Dr Phil Plait, Dr Duncan Galloway, Erk, Daniel Viles, Jason Hameister, Dr Rosemary Mardling, Marc West, Kylie Sturgess, Derek Colanduno, Darryl Carlton, and Nigel Hedges
Thanks also to the following people for their feedback for the episode:
Julia Meaden, Catherine Ld, Christopher Able, Paulo Ricardo Savino, Gerardo Blanco, Jerome
Please vote for this podcast this month at
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