This is episode 62 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, our first release of 2022. Happy New year!In this episode, we're doing something a little different. Traditionally we alternate between interviews and Science Explainy Bits, but the second segment here is a bit more philosophical than usual, and ran a bit short, so I've added something a bit more …

This episode features an interview with Dr Julia Healy, from ASTRON, where she works as part of the MHONGOOSE survey team. When this interview was originally recorded early last year, she hadn't yet submitted her PhD thesis, but has since graduated and earned the title "Dr".Julia completed her Bachelor of Science, specialising in Astrophysics and P…

This is episode 60 of the Urban Astronomer podcast! Is that a milestone? Sure, but we'll save the party hats for episode 75. Today we'll just get on with the job at hand, and bring you a science explainy bit. Today's question: How can astronomers be so certain about what things in space are made from?On Earth it's relatively easy to send geologists…

This episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast features an interview with Dr Imogen Whittam, an astrophysicist at Oxford UniversityVon Allen Versfeld and Imogen Whittam

It's another Science Explainy Bit episode, and today we answer a question asked by another podcaster while interviewing us for their show. The host wanted to know how the view of southern skies compares to that of the northern hemisphere. I gave a quick answer before we moved on to another topic, but I would have liked to give a more detailed and c…

The Urban Astronomer interviews noted South African amateur astronomer Carol Botha about her science outreach work. Carol has become quite well known on Slooh, the robotic telescope and astronomy service which I know quite well because I've provided a few video streams of eclipses and the like for them over the years.Be warned though, this is a lon…

Today's episode is the first Science Explainy Bit of the season, and it's another basic, classic topic: Leap Years. As a reminder, I love looking at the questions that seem simple because we think of them as the sorts of things that children ask their parents, but the thing about these questions is that they never are simple. These are things that …

At long last, the third season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast has kicked off! We thought the last season went so well that we've decided to keep things much as they are, with perhaps the occasional news segment added in whenever something interesting has happened. So for the most part, that means twelve episodes, alternating between interviews wit…

This is just a short note to let you know that we're still here, and that the new season launches next week! Long-time listeners have been waiting for this since February, but I don't think there's anybody left on Earth who couldn't guess which world-changing event caused our schedule to slip!Still, after eight weeks in lock-down, it's time to star…

Since our last episode aired, in early December last year, I've had people ask me when the third season will begin. Well the good news is: Soon! Guests have been booked, interviews will be recorded over the next few weeks, and science explainy bits... well. That's where you come in! If you've got questions you'd like to hear answered in one of the …

The Urban Astronomer Podcast's season 2 finale examines the colours of stars, and ponders what it's actually like out in spaceVon Allen Versfeld

In this episode, we interview Nicole Thomas, a PhD student at the University of the Western Cape with an interest in the evolution of galaxies, and the super-massive black holes that lie within. We recorded this conversation only a week ago, and I really enjoyed speaking to her. I found her childhood interest in how the universe worked very relatab…

Episode 10 of Season Two answers listener questions: What happens when a spaceship shoots its gun in space, and why is Venus so hot?Von Allen Versfeld

This is episode 9 of the 2nd season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, featuring an interview with Dr Tana Joseph. It's been an interesting two weeks since the last episode - I've settled further into my new home and adjusted from rural to suburban life. What I gained in access to basic utilities and saving several hours off my commute has been paid …

In this eighth episode of the second season, I defend my defense of the Ptolemaic geocentric system of crystal spheres! I hadn't even realized till I started recording that this is our 50th ever episode. I really should be so blown away that I've kept things going this long, but I'm not, somehow? Perhaps it's just become a habit, and I stopped noti…

In Episode 7 of the second season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, I chat with Dr Jarita Holbrook of the University of the Western Cape about her interest in cultural astronomy. This was one of the longer and more interesting interviews of my career, and our conversation continued for some time after the microphones were turned off! Unfortunately, …

In episode 48 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, we're doing another Science Explainy bit! These segments are where you get to hear my droning voice explain some fundamentals and answer listener questions. Today we get asked why it always is that planets orbit in the same plane, and why the Moon can be seen during daylight. If you like what you hear,…

This is episode five of this season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. As usual, this being the 4th show of the month, we have an Interview episode today, and this is the one that gets us back to our scheduled order of things. You'll remember two episodes ago, we were supposed to interview Dr Rosalind Skelton of the South African Astronomical Observa…

Welcome to another Science Explainy Bit episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. Today we try to figure out just what an "orbit" actually is. Is it really as simple as they said in primary school? How does gravity, which normally pulls things down, work to keep the Moon in space? Download this episode now, to find the answer, and also learn a littl…

Welcome to the 3rd episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, season 2, featuring Dr Daniel Cunnama. We almost didn't make it this week, thanks to a major technical hitch, but we worked around it and here we are.If you listened to the last episode, then you're probably expecting this to be an interview episode, featuring Dr Rosalind Skelton of the So…

Welcome to the second episode of this second season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! Two of Two, sounds like it should be special... and it kinda sort of is, because this week we're presenting the first of our unique patented Science Explainy Bits! Now to be clear, it's the name that's new, not the science explaining, because I've done explainy stu…

This is Episode 1 of our brand new second season! This is the 43rd episode since the podcast was first launched, back in February 2017, and I'm thrilled to be back on the air with you.The New SeasonWe're mostly keeping things the same, but there are some important changes. From the beginning, I've always been pretty disorganized in how I ran the sh…

Have you been wondering what happened to the Urban Astronomer Podcast? Do you know want to know why there haven't been any episodes in a while? Then you're going to want to hear this. We're launching our second season, and we've decided to change how we do things here. While the basic format will still sound like the shows you've come to love and e…

Hey everyone, welcome to the 42nd Episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, the second episode of 2019, and the final episode of our first season! Today we listen to Robert Ormerod, speaking about his first experience photographing the Northern Lights.I should have released this episode two months ago, but after my father's sudden death, I decided I…

Welcome to the 41st episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, and the 1st episode of 2019! We are almost done with the ScopeX lecture series, in which we play back talks recorded at ScopeX 2018. This episode we hear Angus Burns speaking about Astrophotography in the Urban Context 3:56.Next week's episode will close off the series, with the keynote t…

Hey everybody, welcome to this December solstice edition of the Urban Astronomer Podcast starring Clem Unger and myself! It's only a few days till Christmas, so we hope you all have a wonderful festive season and a joyful new year. It's generally agreed that 2018 was a bit of a bust, but in just over a week we get to start over and see if we can ha…

This is the 39th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. This episode is the fourth in the ScopeX 2018 Public Lecture series, featuring a talk by Clyde Foster, and a mission update by Clem Unger.Von Allen Versfeld

Welcome to episode 38 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. This episode features the last part of our physics feature on the lifecycle of a star from dust cloud to super nova, and the 3rd of the ScopeX 2018 public lectures.Physics1:30Over the past few episodes we've been trying to understand how a random cloud of dust and gas can turn into a supernova.…

Welcome to Episode 37 of the Urban Astronomer podcast! This week features a 12:00 public lecture by Tim Cooper, and another of 1:45 Clem Unger's space mission updates. As always, if you enjoy the show and would like to see it grow, there are a few ways that you can help. You could leave a positive review and rating on your favourite podcast service…

Welcome to Episode 36 of the Urban Astronomer podcast, and the first in our ScopeX 2018 series. In this episode we feature the first of the public lectures I recorded at ScopeX. It is by José da Silva, and he speaks about exoplanets, and what we can tell about their weather.Links This talk on YouTube ScopeX José on FaceBook…