astro[sound]bites

Did you know that Indigenous communities around the world have been doing astronomy since ancient times? Indigenous peoples studied the night sky with great precision. In this episode, we talk to five indigenous astronomers from across the world to understand how their identity and communities shaped their journey to science. Their interviews tell us about their cultures from who their Elders are to how they used the constellations to harvest emu eggs. 

Thank you to Kirsten Banks, Krystal de Napoli, Hilding Nielson, Bridget Kimsey, and Corey Gray for taking the time to be interviewed for this episode!

Check out these astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2018/10/26/additional-arguments-that-aboriginal-australians-observed-variable-stars/

https://astrobites.org/2022/11/11/book-review-the-first-astronomers/

https://astrobites.org/2023/07/01/betelgeuse-betelgeuse-betelgeuse-is-it-supernovatime/

The First Astronomers Book:

https://www.thefirstastronomers.com/

Did we mention we’re recruiting two new co-hosts? And also our new Mars Office Manager and Chief Astrologer? Lots of exciting things are happening on a[s]b (and on Mars) in 2024 and we want you to be a part of it! Find out more and apply to be a co-host here: https://astrosoundbites.com/recruiting-2024/. We can’t wait to hear from you.

It’s all about ice, ice, baby! In this episode, Sabrina takes us on a trek to Antarctica. While we hide from Cthulhu, she tells us how the frigid observatory IceCube is using elusive neutrinos to tell us about the Milky Way. Meanwhile, our meteorologist Will does some investigation of the flavors of ice we can expect to find on some potentially habitable planets. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/06/29/

https://astrobites.org/2022/01/07/

Space sound:

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/videos/2022/040/01GA960MD71VJ5ZE3EDFRT72NE

In this week’s episode, Cormac has somehow made it to hosting a second time (applause). This time, we discuss the smallest, reddest and exoplanetiest(?) stars - M dwarfs! Find out why we call them that, and why these temperamental ‘tars are interesting for exoplanets. Sabrina tells us about not-so-boring M stars showing complex and periodic behaviour, and Will shares some *gasp* lab work-based results showing that M dwarfs may be more habitable than we think…
This week’s episode rounds off with a discussion about what the “Search for Life” really means, and how it’s (sometimes mis)used in astronomy.

Astrobites:
astrobites.org/2023/11/02/ripples-in-time-the-transient-nature-of-mysterious-m-stars/
astrobites.org/2023/03/22/could-some-earthlings-survive-in-exoplanets-around-m-dwarfs/

Space Sound:
“The Sound of Two Black Holes Colliding” by LIGO Lab Caltech : MIT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyDcTbR-kEA

This week, our astro[sound]bites co-host crew starts a dance crew with the help of Kiersten, a former professional ballerina. We get a sample of Kiersten’s ballet skills through her astrobite, which tells us all about the secret spinning life of black holes. Our space sound sounds like something only those black holes could dance to! Cormac takes us through our first ever physics education astrobite on viewing solar eclipses with a disco ball. Do not fret if our dancing analogy still did not get you to put on your tap shoes as we also discuss the importance and diversity of analogies within astronomy and the podcast.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/09/01/bhballet/

https://astrobites.org/2023/10/13/doing-astronomy-with-disco-balls/

Space Sound:

https://www.mso.anu.edu.au/pfrancis/Music/library/QSOcomp.mp3

Paper on space sound: 

https://www.mso.anu.edu.au/pfrancis/Music/

In this week’s episode, Cormac makes his hosting debut as we talk about the most pressing threat to modern Astronomy (other than a worldwide coffee shortage) – megaconstellations! Despite sharing a majority of syllables with the collective noun of asterisms we all know and pretend to remember, these formations of hundreds of satellites are becoming more and more of an issue for astronomers. Will tells us about how satellites are sprinkling spectra with a side of the Sun and Kiersten reveals how even the Hubble Space Telescope is not safe from the multi-headed monsters of Musk et al. Join us as we find out that things might not be as bad as they seem, and discuss the pros and cons of these developments.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/09/07/satellites-in-weave/

https://astrobites.org/2023/08/10/telescopes_in_orbit/

Space Sound: 

Handcrafted by Cormac using twotone.io, based on a MESA stellar evolution model by Harim Jin.

In this week’s episode, we meet some of the animals in the neutron star zoo through astrobites with two surprising observations. Will tells us about a mysterious signal from a magnetar that appeared two years ago for 20 minutes and has yet to come back. Meanwhile, Cormac provides Will’s magnetar with some hope by telling us the story of a pulsar signal that appeared 20 years ago and just reappeared recently. Come along for a boomerang of a journey as we discuss observing pulsars from Earth, what it’s like at the pulsars themselves, and all the way back to Earth for a discussion of bad naming and bad programming languages.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/07/31/disappearing-pulsar/

https://astrobites.org/2023/08/21/long-period-magnetar/

Space Sound: 

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/musicshow/the-black-of-the-star--for-percussion-and-pulsar/5011294

Performance: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okeBqktyyS4

Spooky season is here! In this episode, we’re investigating the ghostly disappearances of astrophysical objects. Sabrina does some detective work to solve the mystery of a missing black hole, and Kiersten tries to convince her that Halloween is the best holiday. Meanwhile, Cormac convenes with ghosts of stars to figure out where they have vanished off to. It turns out that gravitational waves are the perfect medium for an astrophysical seance! 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/05/10/missing-black-hole/

https://astrobites.org/2023/08/12/vanishing-stars-massive-island/

Space sound:

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xo3HajfkrKQ

We went on summer break (or winter break for our astronomer down under) but JWST did not! In our first episode back, we report on two new JWST Astrobites about exoplanet atmosphere. Kiersten tells us about the search for an atmosphere in a famous planetary system, Sabrina explains how poisonous gasses can signal “pre-life,” and Will appreciates null results that aren’t his own. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/08/08/vibe-checking-trappist-1c/

https://astrobites.org/2023/08/19/signs-of-pre-life-jwst/

Space sound: 

https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/sonify5/animations.html

In this episode, astro[sound]bites gets even more international as we welcome our new co-host, Cormac Larkin, based in Europe! We sit down in three different time zones and continents to learn more about Cormac and discuss what we’re each excited about for the next year of astro[sound]bites. 

Introduction to research with astro[sound]bites:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ztsQ92NeV0Nzhg0ZaohNB?si=a5a06325cb444076

Introduction to exoplanets with astro[sound]bites:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4YQaowzQUGlSiyQdtdglUy?si=9e1201dbabf34ba8

We take a deep breath of exoplanet atmospheres, discussing what JWST is capable of and what it already has accomplished using transmission spectroscopy. In this episode, we learn that Sabrina misses SOFIA, brown dwarfs have sandy clouds, and Will knows a thing or two about Picaso (yes, that’s with one “s”). AND as a tribute to Black Space Week, following up from Episode 76, the papers we presented in this episode were both written by Black astronomers. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/12/22/atmospheres-small-planets-big-telescope/

https://astrobites.org/2022/09/02/jwsts-first-direct-spectrum/

Space sound: HARP. You can sign up to be a part of this amazing citizen science research! 

https://listen.spacescience.org/

Only 1% of Physics PhDs awarded to US citizens were to Black students in 2019 (according to the American Institute of Physics). In celebration of Juneteenth, we’ve invited the Black In Astro team to chat about their mission to support and highlight Black people in space science-related fields. We hear about their trajectories in space sciences and astronomy and their perspectives on the future. This episode’s release also marks the beginning of Black Space Week hosted by Black in Astro! They tell us how the celebration will be bigger and better in 2023 to continue celebrating Black scientists worldwide. 

Black In Astro: https://www.blackinastro.com/

Black Space Week 2023: https://www.blackinastro.com/posters-and-advertisements-for-bsw2023

Juneteenth: https://www.nytimes.com/article/juneteenth-day-celebration.html

Black Representation in Physics & Astronomy: https://astrobites.org/2020/06/12/blackinastro-black-representation-in-astro-physics-and-the-impact-of-discrimination/

American Institute of Physics Report: https://www.aip.org/statistics/reports/trends-physics-phds-171819

Articles: 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-021-00361-5

https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-costs-of-codeswitching

https://onezero.medium.com/a-break-up-letter-with-astronomy-from-a-young-black-woman-a30de24fe209

https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2022/02/11/does-academia-actually-want-black-professors/?sh=6af2a1b1f4ca

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/

Did you know that talking about astronomy can actually make you hungry? In this episode, Kiersten and Will take us on a culinary adventure through food themed astrobites. Instead of starting with the main course, Will takes us to Mars for dessert where we dine on a meteorite that initially got confused for a huge piece of chocolate. Then, Kiersten takes us to a stellar cooking class where we learn about the ingredients needed to make small exoplanets and its striking similarities to baking a cake. 

Sonification & Visualization:

Sounds of Exoplanet Systems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idlB8JgKGU4

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/04/29/cacao-meteorite-and-other-fe-ni-meteorites-on-mars/

https://astrobites.org/2022/10/21/the-great-planet-bake-off/

Before we bid our tearful farewells to Alex, Sabrina and Kiersten present and discuss two of his three publications. We learn how Alex developed and deployed a machine learning model to classify supernovae using only photometry from their host galaxies! Now that Alex is a *doctor*, he’s taking his machine learning and supernova expertise to MIT and Harvard. During the episode, Will peppers Alex with some important and some…less than important interview questions. Together the gang explores what happens when you try to replace your friend with an AI.

Paper Kiersten presented: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2105.09963.pdf

Paper Sabrina presented: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2305.08894.pdf 

Another of Alex’s papers (for the supernova lovers): https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.09630.pdf

Alex’s inspiration for Will’s space sound: https://twitter.com/alexgagliano/status/1648034047942066176?cxt=HHwWgICw1YSP_94tAAAA

We’re planning a prison break! But first, we’re consulting the experts on this topic. Sabrina takes us to a distant galaxy cluster to figure out how so much light is escaping. Once we know how it’s breaking free, Will brings us back a little closer to home where he consults with the Trojans (and we don’t mean the ones from Homer’s Odyssey) about how a fraction of their fellow soldiers made a successful getaway. As Kiersten comes along for the ride, she makes the terrible mistake of mentioning the dreaded space sound by name. Will we successfully escape? Or will we be caught and forced to listen to space sounds forever?

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/03/11/

https://astrobites.org/2020/05/13/

Space sound:

https://youtu.be/BAWkuv1HXy4

In case your graduate student insurance doesn’t cover you over the summer, join us now as we take a quick trip to the optometrist! Kiersten checks the prescription of a neural network in finding strong lenses, and compares the results to those found by the original signers of the Declaration of Independence (there were 56, not 55, but Will gets his facts from National Treasure). Will takes us to the bleeding edge of the early Universe to a tiny protocluster lensed by JWST. Alex can’t decide on a final space sound so he chooses a black hole, a giant star, an X-ray transient, a quasar, AND a nova, all wrapped into one.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/02/16 

https://astrobites.org/2022/12/17 

Space sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1QE3lVDi8 

Today we say halo from a bird’s eye view of the Universe by exploring some of the largest simulations that exist. Kiersten tells us how cosmological simulations help us study the black hole populations that the next generation of gravitational wave detectors will discover. We also say our first goodbye to Alex as he presents his last astrobite (but don’t worry,  he’ll still be around for a few more episodes!). He teaches us that most astrophysicists do not have an aversion to genetically modified organisms, especially when those GMOs are dark matter halos in the early universe.

Want to join the team? Apply to be an a[s]b co-host here!

Sonification & Visualization: https://vimeo.com/160122270

The Datasaurus Dozen: https://www.autodesk.com/research/publications/same-stats-different-graphs

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2023/03/09/smbh-mergers-in-cosmological-simulations/

https://astrobites.org/2021/05/03/genetic-galaxy-halos/ 

Who knew a decade would fly by so quickly? In the dramatic conclusion of our two-part series, we explore cosmology, supernovae, and galaxy evolution in the year 2033 (or 2034, if you ask Kiersten about Dragonfly). Alex tells us how massive stars might live out their final days (after a few too many disclaimers), and Sabrina portmanteaus her way through the early universe with a baby quasar in tow. We get eight futuristic forecasts from colleagues near and far (and none of them are Australian), and then we throw out our wildest predictions to tie it all together.

Do you think we’ll see a Galactic supernova soon? Will we discover life on Mars, Titan, or in the surface chemistry of some distant exoplanet? Or will a solar storm fry all our tech before we get there? Let us know by tweeting at us @astrosoundbites. We can’t wait to discuss.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/09/29/a-stars-final-words/

https://astrobites.org/2022/05/11/missing-link-quasars/

Space sound:

https://twitter.com/esascience/status/990625583989186560

AGN/Galaxy classification guide:

https://astrobites.org/guides/galaxy-and-agn-types/

What will astronomy be like in the year 2033? 

In the first of this two-part series, we predict the (short-term) fate of the solar system, exoplanets, and the culture of astronomy a decade down the line. Kiersten and Will both focus on planets, one close to home and the other (hopefully) not too far away. We then get futuristic forecasts from six guest astronomers working around the world, who paint us an exciting (and slightly troubling) picture of new-wave astrophysics, covering everything from the role of machine learning to a crisis in publishing, with discoveries of Earth-like exoplanets in between!  

Stay tuned for Part II, in which Alex and Sabrina will talk about the more distant universe and eight more guest astronomers describe the future of their fields.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2023/02/13/earth-as-an-exoplanet/

astrobites.org/2021/05/08/where-to-find-biosignatures-on-mars-a-case-for-clays/

Space sound:

https://eos.org/articles/nasas-perseverance-rover-records-the-first-sounds-of-a-dust-devil-on-mars

Imaginable book: janemcgonigal.com/2021/12/17/imaginable-how-to-see-the-future-coming-and-feel-ready-for-anything-even-things-that-seem-impossible-today/

Superforcasting book:

wsp.wharton.upenn.edu/book/superforecasting/

In our second episode taking another in-depth look into community college, we start off by hearing about Sabrina’s experiences. She tells us about her journey from attending high school abroad to starting community college. Kiersten also interviews , Prof. Andria Schwortz, a physics and astronomy professor at Quinsigamond Community College. Join us on an adventure to Europe, community college, and with a second love story sprinkled in. Don’t forget to check out our associated astrobites beyond post!

Prof. Andria Schwortz twitter: https://twitter.com/aschwortz

Equity image link: https://healthcity.bmc.org/policy-and-industry/health-equity-vs-health-equality-whats-difference

Did you know that half of our astro[sound]bites co-hosts went to community college? We’re here to talk about our experiences and work towards breaking the stigma! This is our first episode in this two part series which features Kiersten’s trajectory from community college into a brilliant exoplanet scientist. Next, Alex interviews Dra. Natalie Nicole Sanchez, an NSF MPS-Ascend postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Observatories and Caltech, whose interest in astrophysics was sparked while studying art at community college. Join us on a whirlwind tour of engineering, love affairs, and artistic endeavors - and stay tuned for an associated astrobites post!

Link to Dra. Sanchez’s twitter: https://twitter.com/the_n_nicole

This episode is all about magnetic fields because we couldn’t stay away from such a polarizing topic! Alex takes us on a journey to the center of a star where we find how intense its magnetic field actually is. Along the way, Kiersten brings up a blast from the past with a sonification that had its own record release. To wrap up, Sabrina tells how we can use radio waves to find an exoplanet with a magnetic field because cosmic rays and solar winds don’t sound like a pleasant time for us humans. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/07/19/

https://astrobites.org/2022/09/08/

Space sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5MHsnc67yw

In this episode, the gang catches multiplicity mania and learn about sextuple systems of stars, galaxies, and planets. Sabrina brings us an astrobite that resonates with us all (or maybe none of us), Will the Fourth carries the torch in studying the hierarchical Castor system, and Alex speeds through a requiem for high-redshift galaxies taken from us too soon. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/09/30

https://astrobites.org/2022/11/07

https://astrobites.org/2022/02/26 

Compact Object Merging with its Companion Star Triggering a Supernova: 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/astronomy-star-swallow-black-hole-supernova-cosmology

Space sound: https://vimeo.com/621744665

A transient radio source consistent with a merger-triggered core collapse supernova: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg6037

In-Vitro Is Not The Only Reason Older Women Have More Twins:

https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20060222/older-women-more-likely-to-have-twins

We’re back with more of the most important papers in our subfields. Sabrina tells us how Karl, an engineer at Bell Labs, became the father of radio astronomy and stole her heart through time and space. Kiersten couldn’t pick just one paper so she choses a review article and gives it a favorable review on our own little a[s]b revue program.

The gang really struggles on the space sound and then decides it just might be okay to peak in grad school.

Papers:

https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1933PA.....41..548J

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/428383/pdf

Space sound: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/5065

Episode 63: Our Take on Landmark Papers Part I

In this week’s episode, we take a deeper look into Alex and Will’s research through two landmark papers in their field. Will pulls out a strip chart to teach us about how Neptune’s atmosphere looked in the 1960s (and why it’s still important today). Alex gives us a deeper look into explosive transients and presents a paper on supernovae from the early 1970s that reveals the power of fermi estimation and a little intuition. Meanwhile, Sabrina kicks off a conversation about the ethics of research and faces the reality of not being able to check every line of source code from the simulations she uses. See you next episode for Kiersten and Sabrina’s turn!

Link to sonification competititon: https://astrosoundbites.com/astrosoundbites-sonification-challenge-2022/

Papers:

https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1969A%26A.....2..398K

https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1973A%26A....29..393D

Space Sound: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3x0sBCQ_c8

Acoustic dispersion (and its connection to laser beams and FRBs):

https://www.npr.org/2016/12/21/506305383/why-does-a-frozen-lake-sound-like-a-star-wars-blaster

Link to Will’s research graphic: https://williamrsaunders.com/#occ-movie

Halloween is in the air! Get ready for a spoooooky episode where we take a stroll through the haunted side of the Universe. Alex takes us on a trek through a graveyard to investigate the skeletons the Milky Way is hiding - and no, we’re not talking about the candy! Then Will tells us a ghost story about the old blue monsters hiding under our extragalactic beds, but don’t worry too much. He reassured us that they only eat dust. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/06/22/galactic-skeletons/

https://astrobites.org/2022/09/27/did-blue-monster-galaxies-in-the-early-universe-sweep-away-their-dust/

Space Sound: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfFoUWm3NDA

The gang is back! In this episode, we take a trip to the largest and the smallest astronomical scales to learn about all the exciting new ways that JWST is transforming the field in its first 100 days. Sabrina zooms out to find some sparkly galaxies and catch a glimpse into the  dazzling high-redshift Universe. Then Kiersten zooms into JWST’s first directly imaged exoplanet to figure out why it’s making us all so hungry. We round out the episode with an interview from York University Professor Sarah Rugheimer, who tells us all about the science to get excited about in the years to come.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/09/06/sparkling-stars/

https://astrobites.org/2022/09/01/jwsts-first-directly-imaged-exoplanet/

Space Sound: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=49&v=La9DB-bcy5Y&feature=emb_title

We’re herded into a crowded auditorium for a press conference held by our very own Sabrina Berger. The breaking news? We’re going on break! But not just that, we’re launching our second sonification challenge! This challenge is focused on using sound for instruction, so submit a sound that teaches us about an astronomy concept in two minutes or less. Click the link below for details. To get inspired, we hear from Jendaya Wells, a music major at Lincoln University and a member of the team using sonification to explore data from the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory! Both her and her sonifications are very bright. 

Links:

Astro[sound]bites Sonification Contest: https://astrosoundbites.com/astrosoundbites-sonification-challenge-2022/

Rubin Rhapsodies: https://lsst-tvssc.github.io/RubinRhapsodies

Sound Effects: https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk

It’s time for our jam-packed sonification sequel, which includes two interviews, 5 (!) space sounds, and a critical fourth “i” for how sonification is used in astronomy! We’re first joined by Paul Green and Afra Ashraf, the creators of the new sonification project Sensing the Dynamic Universe. Then Sarah Kane, a senior undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania, joins us to talk about her journey in astronomy and sonification while being legally blind. We round things out by listening to kilonovae, radio interferometers, and the atmosphere of Uranus! Is there anything we didn’t discuss? 

0:00 First 3 “i”s

5:05 Sensing the Dynamic Universe interview (4th “i”)

29:17 Reflections on SDU

32:14 Sarah Kane interview

55:31 Our educational sonifications

Sensing the Dynamic Universe: https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/sdu/index.html

Our sonification astrobite from last year: astrobites.org/2021/06/17/getting-started-in-sonification/

An article about Sarah Kane (isn’t she so fashionable?): omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/disability-advocacy-and-sciences

SonoUno:sion.frm.utn.edu.ar/sonoUno/

Astronify:astronify.readthedocs.io/

Twotone: twotone-midiout-beta.netlify.app

Miditime (for advanced users): github.com/cirlabs/miditime

Is it Halloween yet? This week, Alex, Kiersten, and Sabrina zoom out to stare at the spookiest voids on the most massive scales. Alex tells us how we can use baryonic acoustic oscillations, or BAOs – the astrophysical counterpart to the delicious buns – to study the shapes of these voids. Sabrina turns up the power for her space sound, and we turn on the lights while listening to Kiersten describe a chilling cold spot in the CMB.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/06/11/stare-into-the-void/

https://astrobites.org/2021/12/21/eridanus-supervoid/

Space Sounds: 

https://www.matrix441.eu/2020/07/cmb-anisotropy/

To take a break from the summer heat, Sabrina, Will, and Kiersten don their floaties and take a dive into some space fluids. Sabrina plays in the sandbox of granular instabilities, explaining how solids can behave like fluids. Then Will teleports everyone to a planet with an ocean where you’re guaranteed not to get a sunburn, but getting zapped by galactic Cosmic Rays™ might be worse. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/02/11/giant-impacts-small-moons/

https://astrobites.org/2021/10/07/liquid-water-on-exomoons-beneath-sunless-skies/

Space Sounds: 

https://www.system-sounds.com/5000exoplanets/

Rayleigh Taylor Instability Video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV0xE5J_HVM

Break out your swim suits and fire up your Weber Spirit II 3-Burner Liquid Propane Grills, it’s summer vacation for those of us in the states! With their time off, Will, Kiersten, and Alex take a trip around the solar system in search of the best sunbathing spots. Will takes us to a molten Earth in search of the planet’s first “little dudes”, while Kiersten surfs on metallic Venusian lava flows. Alex made our road trip playlist, but it’s more ominous than we wanted.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2022/04/19/how-a-moon-sized-deep-impact-affected-early-life-on-earth/

https://astrobites.org/2021/07/22/from-radar-mystery-to-volcanic-history-dating-venus-lava-flows-with-temperature-sensitive-minerals/

Space Sounds: 

https://astrosom.com/Mar2018.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egmmYxXhScQ

Geological Time Scales Poster: 

https://www.geosociety.org/documents/gsa/timescale/timescl.pdf

Episode 56: Overpowered in the Universe

In this episode, Sabrina teaches Will gamer lingo and the gang applies it to astronomy. Alex discusses a class of super-charged supernovae with bumpy and clumpy physics, and Sabrina shows us how to use pulsars to upgrade our data security (once we figure out how to uninstall Norton Antivirus).   

Then we discuss whether objects in the universe really can be OP (overpowered) and Alex begins to question if he ever really understood the definition (spoiler: he didn’t).

Astrobites: 
https://astrobites.org/2022/02/05/slsne-show-bumps-and-wiggles-at-late-times/
https://astrobites.org/2022/03/03/pulsars-the-key-to-secure-encryption/

Space sound: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2022/sgra/animations.html#audio

Sonification Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida); Image Credit: Radio: EHT Collaboration; X-ray (NASA/CXC/SAO); Infrared (NASA/HST/STScI)

Our astro[sound]bites family has grown! New co-hosts Kiersten Boley and Sabrina Berger join Alex Gagliano and Will Saunders as the four moving forward. From now on, you’ll be hearing from three of us in each episode, so get ready to mix and match your favorite a[s]b combo pack. 

In this mini-episode, we get to know our new co-hosts a little and share some of the things we’re excited about in the coming year. We also learn that Kiersten’s voice is smooth as silk, Sabrina definitely doesn’t hate radio astronomy, Will is ready to be a 3am disc jockey, and Alex sleeps soundly at night, unafraid of the carnivorous cosmos. 

Space sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESz8Cvirh00&ab_channel=ChandraX-rayObservatory (NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGXCRtMzdSE&ab_channel=atzan

(NASA/STScI/Lightkurve Collaboration

More about sonification: https://astrosoundbites.com/2021/04/11/episode-33-scintillating-sounds-of-science/

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. In her final episode as co-host, Malena reflects on her graduate school experience, research interests, and celebrity crushes. Will brings us Malena’s research to unlock the mysteries of planet formation through interstellar aliens, and Alex shifts the conversation and stacks together Malena’s results on the hunt for Planet 9. He also spends way too long making the space sound. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2019/09/23/aliens-among-us/

https://astrobites.org/2020/12/15/shift-stacking/

Episode 54: Dusting off the Disks

We recorded this episode a few months ago and are dusting it off today. We’re leaving a bit of dust though, because that’s what makes debris disks so exciting! Malena tells us about a disk that is both beautiful in appearance and in its scientific potential to reveal planetary dynamics. Alex tells us about a disk that might have as much water as the solar system, but unfortunately none of it is liquid (or confirmed). Will brings us a space sound that makes the episode a little more trashy.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2019/07/09/potential-comets-water-vapor-around-beta-pic/

astrobites.org/2017/06/30/a-ring-of-ice-and-glows-around-fomalhaut/

The “fabulous four”: 

Vega (https://www.star-facts.com/vega/vega-debris-disk/), 

Beta Pictoris (https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-gets-best-view-of-circumstellar-debris-disk-distorted-by-planet), 

Fomalhaut (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/rogue-fomalhaut.html), Epsilon Eridani (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/20081027b.html).

Space Sound https://space.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/space-audio/sounds/ (Don Gurnett)

(Sounds from BBC Sounds and Mixkit)

What’s the opposite of high-energy astrophysics? In today’s episode, we recognize the unsung heroes of astronomy: the low-energy, sleepy objects that keep on chugging in spite of it all. Will describes recent findings that the Sun is a bit sleepier than its peers, Alex Illustr(is/ates) how galaxy cluster fly-bys can make an ultra-diffuse galaxy a little more chill, and Malena delivers an uncharacteristically non-thematic space sound. To top it off, we learn about the slowest song ever written (hold your applause until the end).

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2021/10/04/dead-udgs/

https://astrobites.org/2022/01/29/is-the-sun-a-lazy-star/

Space Sound: 

https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann19045/

Fate of the Universe video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD4izuDMUQA

In this episode, the gang struggles to come up with a title (and Will manages to still get it wrong in the outro). More importantly, we are joined by PhD student Sophia Lilleengen, who tells us about her research into stellar streams and dark matter in the Milky Way, as well as her career in astronomy so far. Malena presents research about a quirky stellar stream and wonders if it could contain the answers to everything, all of it.

Sophia Lilleengen’s website: sophialilleengen.me

Twitter: twitter.com/sophililleengen

Space sound: 

aip.de/en/news/exploring-the-history-of-the-early-milky-way-with-sound/

Astrobite: astrobites.org/2022/02/14/analyzing-orphan-stream/

How are your sunglasses like the stars, planets, and galaxies that comprise our universe? Not only do they look cool – they’re also no stranger to polarization! In today’s episode, Will describes a mysterious transient lurking within our own galaxy, while Malena shares how baby magnetic fields might have polarized the baby Universe. Alex guides us through a trashy symphony of delightful debris, showing that even space junk can be eerily beautiful.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2021/10/18

astrobites.org/2021/10/05

Space Sound: http://www.projectadrift.co.uk/#jumplisten

Pop the champagne and blow out the candles, it’s our fiftieth episode!! To celebrate, we’ve prepared a list of fifty different paths that you can take with a degree in physics or astronomy. What’s the difference between soft money and hard money? What does Sir David Attenborough think about the moon? How do you really pronounce the word “potpourri”? Listen to this episode to have two of these questions answered.

Career Resources: 

https://beyondprof.com/

https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

https://versatilephd.com/options-4-success/

https://theprofessorisin.com

https://astrobites.org/2018/08/17/what

https://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/Possible+Career+Paths

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/31/1076978534/the-trouble-with-passion-when-it-comes-to-your-career

Space Sound(s):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tvA3Ezqjl8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXDhCHWkeRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5Xi9mIvDg&t=394s

For the first time ever, astro[sound]bites is holding a hiring call. We’re looking to add a new co-host to the show! Why is that? Listen to this bite-sized episode to find out, and head over to astrosoundbites.com to learn more about the application process and what our team is looking for. Applications are due March 5th, 2022. We’re delighted to be adding a new voice to the team – and it might just be yours!

Link to application: astrosoundbites.com/astrosoundbites-is-hiring2022

Alex and Malena sit down for a gourmet meal and Will, with curved mustache and slicked hair, pours the wine. Alex enjoys his star cluster soup as he tells us about the state-of-the-art in star formation simulations. The gang then enjoys a space sound entremet (served chilled) before moving onto a main course of freshly seared planet. Malena explains how we might tell if a sun-like star has dined on a planet, and shockingly enough, we learn that these stars like to eat. Malena also tells us all about the kind of puns she’d like to make…but she doesn’t actually make them. 

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2022/01/17/recipe-for-star-cluster-soup/

https://astrobites.org/2021/09/28/yum-planets/

Space Sound: (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/Univ of Iowa) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_09R6jIo74U&ab_channel=JPLraw

We’re kicking off the new year by spinning a record from a few months back, about all the ways that rotation teaches us about the universe. Malena describes a few energetic stars lurking around the Main Sequence, and Will keeps his opinions about MOND to himself. Alex brings us home with an orchestral sonification to rival Stravinsky’s best. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2020/05/20/blue-lurkers-and-blue-stragglers-rapidly-rotating-stars-and-their-fountain-of-youth/ 

https://astrobites.org/2021/03/25/galaxies-in-more-crowded-environments-rotate-slower-implications-for-gravity/

Space Sound: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtymxN67eEE&t=24s

In today’s episode, we learn all about the clues that Kevin has benevolently placed within the Universe to teach us about the graceful and multifaceted field of galaxy evolution. Alex describes how much the galaxies of today can learn from their wise, high-redshift ancestors through Lyman-alpha emission, while Will segues into the mysterious properties of one of the most nearby aged galaxies. Malena shares a snazzy sonification of a hidden neighbor, as well as her school bus seating habits.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2021/01/22

astrobites.org/2021/10/13

Space sound: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2021/sonify4/ 

(Chandra sonification of  M87)

Ever misplace a brown dwarf? If re-tracing your astrophysical steps doesn’t help, it’s probably where you least expect to find it. In this episode, Alex and Malena bring us some brown dwarfs discovered in truly unusual locations. Alex sees the glass half full when he tells us how brown dwarfs could explain long secondary periods in red giants, solving a longstanding mystery. Malena guides us to a brown dwarf oasis in the phase space desert and manages to still talk about planets.

(Listen to the outro to hear Alex’s impersonation of an asteroid.)

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/05/13/red-giants-and-brown-dwarfs-an-unusual-friendship/

https://astrobites.org/2021/04/05/template-post-4/

Space sound: https://youtu.be/o0UOguMeaAE

(Ruben Garcia-Benito and CosMonic project)

CosMonic: http://rgb.iaa.es/cosmonic/#1559689666254-6a21da11-a004

Astronomy Beyond the Common Senses: https://accefyn.com/microsites/nodos/astroco/ii-workshop-on-astronomy-beyond-the-common-senses-for-accessibility-and-inclusion/

It’s time to talk radio on the radio! In this episode, we explore some of the research beaming out of the world's largest fully steerable radio dish -- the Green Bank Telescope (GBT)! We hear from Brenne Gregory, a Scientific Data Analyst at GBT, about her trek from the rolling hills of Scotland to the heart of the Allegheny Mountains. Will keeps his finger on the pulse of a pair of neutron stars, and Alex listens for a lawn mower at the heart of the Crab Nebula.

Astrobite: 

https://astrobites.org/2021/08/21/double-neutron-star-trouble/

Space Sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5BQV3WX80E

Green Bank REU and Internship page:

http://greenbankobservatory.org/about/careers/

All speeds are relative—especially in astrophysics. In today’s episode, we learn about the timescales of different transients and explore what the fastest and slowest events can teach us. Alex describes the fastest koala in the universe, Will shares the slowest rotating lighthouse known to date, and Malena tosses in a magnetic curveball to bring us home.

Astrobites: 

https://astrobites.org/2019/05/20/radio-pulsars-how-slow-do-they-go/

https://astrobites.org/2020/04/20/a-fast-blue-koala-shines-bright-in-a-distant-galaxy/ 

Space sound: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Sounds_from_space

Randall Munroe’s mole of moles calculation: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/

Do you enjoy reading and listening to science communication? Are you ready to get involved with it yourself? From chatting with friends to podcasting, blogging to writing magazine stories, the world of SciComm is more accessible and more diverse than you may have thought.

We share some personal stories about how we got started in scicomm and hear from 2 SciCommers who made the leap from being PhD students to full-time communicators. Kerry shares her experience pitching magazine articles and discusses her new job as a Communications Specialist for the American Astronomical Society. Stephanie tells us how she discovered her passion for public outreach and how it led to her dream job as the head of the social media campaign for the Vera Rubin Observatory.

Kerry’s article on the Green Bank Observatory: highland-outdoors.com/green-bank-observatory-wild-wonderful-radio-quiet/

SciComm Resources:

• ComSciCon: comscicon.com/
• The Open Notebook: theopennotebook.com/
• NPR Scicommers: npr.org/2017/08/24/537735624/friends-of-joes-big-idea-fojbis
• Stephanie’s list of resources: spacescisteph.com/scicomm-resources
• Astrobite with SciComm advice: astrobites.org/2018/03/16/beyond-communicating-science-like-a-boss/

Space Sound: youtu.be/kM2_Zq7DqUo (Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida))

This is Episode #42, so it might just contain the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Today we set our phasers to stun and dig into some astrophysics research that brings science fiction one step closer to becoming science fact! Will teaches us what it takes to become a class II civilization on the Kardashev scale, and Malena gently reminds us that we can’t stop the change, any more than we can stop the suns from setting. Plus, Alex has a space sound that’ll leave you all starry-eared.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/09/15

https://astrobites.org/2021/01/26

Space Sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESz8Cvirh00&t=41s

How do we figure out the masses of astronomical objects far too large to fit on any human-made scale? In this episode, Alex tracks the paths of planets to figure out which ones are winning a gravitational game of tug-of-war, while Will describes a mysterious little galaxy that seems to be missing a key component. And, you won’t want to miss our spectacular sonification contest runner-up from Tharindu Jayasinghe, who brought to sound the most extreme heartbeat star known to date!

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/08/17

https://astrobites.org/2021/07/07 

HR 8799 gif: https://jasonwang.space/orbits.html 

ASAS-SN variable star sonifications: https://asas-sn.osu.edu/atlas

We’re back from vacation! We play 2 truths and a lie about what we did this summer and learn that the truth might be subjective. Alex brings a BBQ-themed Astrobite about the brightest galaxies, teaching us that “astronomical Hot DOG” is a state of being. Malena discusses how planets vacation to the outer solar system (spoiler: they never return home). 

For this week’s space sound, we speak with the winner of the 2021 Sonification Competition, Misty Bentz. Listen to and view her winning sonification, Fantasy on Active Galaxies: https://astrosoundbites.com/2021/09/11/episode-40-space-summer-surprise/

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/07/21/cosmic-bbq-hot-dogs/

https://astrobites.org/2021/06/26/super-jupiters-be-like-im-getting-outta-here-the-disk-is-too-eccentric/

Billions of years before Van Gogh put paint to canvas and immortalized them forever, the stars in the sky were nothing more than an intricate tangle of magnetic fields and swirling gas. Turn the clock back with us as we learn about the physics of these protostellar systems! Northwestern/CIERA postdoctoral associate Erin G. Cox teaches us about the polarization patterns of Class 0 and Class I systems, and Will gets all turbulated as he discovers how HII regions might drive star formation.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/05/05/inflating-hii-regions-cause-star-formation-to-pop/

https://astrobites.org/2020/08/05/protostar-polarization/

Erin’s website: 

https://sites.northwestern.edu/eringcox/

Space sound: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8qdJsLqR7w

Credit: System Sounds (M. Russo & A. Santaguida) and NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand 

Tired of vacations being ruined by cloudy weather? Alex the travel agent can book your next trip to brown dwarf binary 1416B, where it’s always a balmy 2000 degrees and never cloudy. Or maybe a sojourn to a hot Jupiter is more your style? Malena the meteorologist has you covered with your 10-million year forecast: cloudy and lopsided.

In recognition of Juneteenth and the start of #BlackInAstro week, both papers featured in this episode were led by Black astronomers. 

Read our new Astrobite about sonification: astrobites.org/2021/06/17/getting-started-in-sonification

Submit for the competition: astrosoundbites.com/sonification-competition-2021

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2020/08/18/inhomogeneous-clouds/

astrobites.org/2020/10/14/brown-dwarf-weather-forecast/

Space sound: nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/Parker-Discovers-Natural-Radio-Emission-in-Venus-Atmosphere. (Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio/Mark SubbaRao/Glyn Collinson)

In this episode, we discuss the varied methods used to determine stellar ages. Alex shares how planetary companions can slow the spin of twirling stars, Will compares the  spectroscopic fingerprints of binary systems (thanks, Barium!), and Malena provides some peaceful pulsations to enjoy on your next afternoon walk.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2021/05/24 

astrobites.org/2019/05/21 

Space sound: http://www.classicalmusicsentinel.com/KEEP/keep-talman.html

Credit: Jeff Talman and Daniel Huber

How can astronomers study something that nobody has ever seen? In this episode, we switch to the dark side to shine a light on one of the biggest questions in all of astrophysics: the nature of dark matter. Malena teaches us how dark matter helps galaxy clusters glow up, and Will takes a journey to the center of the Earth to find prehistoric prints from a big WIMP. Plus, Alex brings us our most romantic space sound yet. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2019/02/12

https://astrobites.org/2018/06/19

Space sound: https://www.system-sounds.com/heartbeat-stars/

Credits: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Credit: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo & A. Santaguida). Data recorded by Kepler and accessed from MAST.

In this Beyond episode, we veer off the traditional path to a PhD with three interviews from early-career astronomers who did things a little bit differently. 

Tim Holt shares his transitions from zoology to teacher and, finally, to astronomer. Ashley Walker describes how perseverance helped her to realize her dream as Chicago State University’s very first astrochemistry major. Natalia Guerrero paints a story of her journey leaving a graduate program, taking a leadership role on the TESS team, and reentering academia more inspired than ever. 

Hear all about Tim’s research in Episode 15

Listen to Ashley discuss her research in Episode 16

Learn about Natalia’s research and art at https://www.nataliaguerreroart.com/

Space sound: youtu.be/t7rMtVctvag. Credits: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

You’ve heard about planets, stars, galaxies, and other “types” of astronomical objects on the show -- but what about the objects that defy our classification schemes? Will discusses how a mysterious system of massive planets(?) came to be, Alex puts on his thinking cap and tells us about the Universe’s biggest hat, and we top it all off with a discussion of the benefits and shortcomings of classifications in astronomy.

Astrobites: 

astrobites.org/2021/02/05 

astrobites.org/2020/03/07

Classifying the Cosmos: https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030103798

Book review of Classifying the Cosmos: https://astrobites.org/2019/11/21/book-review-classifying-the-cosmos/

System Sounds: https://www.system-sounds.com/

Space sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHNeDlZp-Uk&t=3s

Do we have to explore astronomy data with our eyes? What if we used our ears?  In this episode, we explore these and other questions in the growing field of sonification. Find out what an interstellar pancake sounds like, discover the piano sonatas of a Martian atmosphere and an unusual stellar explosion, and learn how astronomer Garry Foran at Swinburne University, despite a visual impairment, sees deeper into space than most to study the properties of high-redshift star-forming galaxies. Plus, we announce our sonification contest! We can’t wait to hear what you come up with. Click the link below for details and to submit your audio piece.

Links:

Astro[sound]bites Sonification Contest: astrosoundbites.com/sonification-competition-2021

Data from Sonifications:

Alex: www.wis-tns.org/object/2005bf

Malena: www.nature.com/articles/nature25020 

Will: (pre-print of my accepted paper: http://williamrsaunders.com/Saunders_et_al_2021.pdf)

Benefits of Sonification: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019IAUS..339..251C/abstract

StarSound: https://www.jeffreyhannam.com/starsound

Astronify: https://astronify.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Astronify email: [email protected] 

TwoTone: https://twotone.io/

miditime: github.com/cirlabs/miditime

In this episode we zip through a flurry of exciting undergraduate research Astrobites. Malena weaves a tale of solar tornadoes and cometary corkscrews, Alex spins a yarn of spiders and snowy telescopes, and Will answers the age-old question of nature versus nurture...for stars. We offer some of our favorite astronomy resources, provide tips on doing a literature search, and lend advice on balancing coursework and research. 

Submit your own research as an undergraduate Astrobite: 

astrobites.org/about/undergraduate-research-abstract-submission/

All undergraduate Astrobites: 

astrobites.org/category/undergraduate-research/

Astrobites featured on the show: 

astrobites.org/2018/11/28/two-solar-tornadoes-observed-with-iris/

astrobites.org/2020/09/07/ur-seek-spider-pulsars-jerk-search/

astrobites.org/2020/11/10/ur-cluster-nature-nurture/

astrobites.org/2020/12/10/investigation-of-coma-morphology/

astrobites.org/2020/06/18/pointing-the-green-bank-telescope/

Some of our favorite astronomy resources: 

Python for Astronomers: prappleizer.github.io/

Canadian Astronomy Centre List of Upcoming Meetings:

cadc-ccda.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/en/meetings/

ADS modern: ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/

ADS classic (Will’s favorite): ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/classic-form/

Space sound: https://youtu.be/Mg7whxKFQsk

Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/K.Arcand, SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

Episode 31: Hypervelocity Heavens 

Today we pump the gas to get up to speed on the hypervelocity objects of our universe. Alex divulges how hypervelocity stars tell us about their black hole origins, Will discusses a beehive of stars marching to the tune of its own drummer, and Malena shares plans for our first shot at reaching another stellar system.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2020/03/25   

https://astrobites.org/2021/02/16

https://astrobites.org/2021/02/02

Space Sound: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-mars-perseverance-rover-provides-front-row-seat-to-landing-first-audio

It’s a harsh world out there, as the gang learns by trekking out to observe accretion in the wild. Will peers through his simulation binoculars to see whether tidal disruption events can really satisfy a hungry black hole, and Malena grabs her spectroscopic scalpel to pick apart a white dwarf’s last meal. Plus, we learn a few life lessons from planetesimals.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2021/01/07

https://astrobites.org/2020/07/07

Astrobites Advisors Conference: https://astrobites.org/advising-webinar-2021/

Space sound: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/audio/

Rainforest Sound Effects: https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search

In this episode, we’re blown back and blown away by the solar wind. Will offers a historical overview of how Eugene Parker discovered the solar wind without running a single experiment. Malena covers early results and next steps for the eponymous and incredibly hot Parker Solar Probe, as it ~enters the Sun~. Postdoc Chris Spalding also discusses Mercury’s (literally) impactful and (solar) windy childhood.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2020/02/13/visiting-the-sun/

astrobites.org/2020/09/03/parker-solar-wind-2/

Original solar wind paper: 

ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1958ApJ...128..664P/abstract

Chris’ personal website: 

christopherspalding.net

Space sound: 

https://www.system-sounds.com/exoplanets4k/

We were going to write show notes, but it’s been a little while since we recorded and we forgot what we talked about. I guess you could call our memory…. transient!

In this episode we discuss some of the quickest, most high-energy astrophysical phenomena in the Universe. Will describes a possible explanation for some of the speediest and most mysterious flashes of energy ever detected, while Alex describes a bizarre and brilliant stellar explosion.

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2019/03/05

https://astrobites.org/2020/12/29

More on FRBs with the SKA:

https://astrobites.org/2020/08/27

Space Sound:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/GLAST/2012/06/21/post_1340301006610/

We’re starting off the new year right by getting ahead of the curve! In this topsy-turvy episode, we tackle the stretching and curving of non-Euclidean geometry -- where it came from, why it teaches us about black holes and the shape of the universe, and how conformal diagrams help us wrap our minds (and our spacetime) around it all. Alex amazes with ascending audio, Will gives the all-clear to keep eating Pringles and Malena explains how theorists can help save trees. 

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2020/12/03

https://astrobites.org/2020/11/23

Penrose’s Nobel Prize: https://astrobites.org/2020/10/15

Space sound: https://soundcloud.com/nasa/quake-sol-173

Ever experience the last rays of sunlight sparkling across the ocean? In this episode, PhD student Michael Heslar tells us how we can use this twinkling across the methane seas of Titan to study waves, winds, and much more. Plus, Alex brings us an Astrobite using shimmering starlight to help you find your next exoplanet vacation destination!

Michael’s published paper: doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/aba191

Article about Michael’s paper: skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/winds-and-tides-drive-sea-waves-on-titan

Related Astrobite: astrobites.org/2020/10/22/

Exoplanet seas: astrobites.org/2019/05/10/

Please describe a time in your life when you experienced and overcame hardship.

Well, middle school wasn’t great...I stubbed my toe this morning….how much detail are you looking for here??

The decision to apply to grad school can be both thrilling and terrifying. And, just like in research, one question can lead to ten more. Have no fear, the team is here! Will the Worthful helps you find the perfect advisor, Malena the Musicological shares her tips for crafting the perfect personal statement, and Alex the Acaudal weighs the pros and cons of taking a gap year. 

Links referenced in the show: astrosoundbites.com/episode-25-resources/

Advice on writing a personal statement: astrosoundbites.com/personal-statement-advice/

Planets and quenching and stars, oh my! In this finale to our four-part series on machine learning in astrophysics, the team hits the (virtual) road to hear from the experts. Our first stop is Irvine, California, where Tae Baxter teaches us that even galaxies struggle to stay active during quarantine. Next, we’re off to Porto, Portugal, where Ana Barboza uses the planetary ends to justify the k-means. We also make a pit stop for some banana-inspired techno.

Tae’s Website:

sentientstarstuff.github.io

Ana’s UMAP result: 

astrosoundbites.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/ana-epsc-figure.png (EPSC)

Space Sound: 

Video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TR1wdozUYvkqmxqd6

Source: https://experiments.withgoogle.com/ai/giorgio-cam/view

They say the 20th century explorers were astronauts. The 21st century explorers might be data scientists using unsupervised learning methods to explore big data. In this episode, we learn Alex and computers have a love-hate relationship with authority, Will struggles to introduce his space sound, and Malena tells us she has enough coffee tables. 

Astrobites

astrobites.org/2017/09/21

astrobites.org/2020/09/12

Space Sound + Reference

merl.com/demos/deep-clustering

ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7471631

Today we get to talk about everyone’s favorite problem: too much data and too little time! It’s not yet Halloween, but today’s spooky episode is full of GHOSTs and ASSASNs. Alex shares his recent work applying random forests to create a supernatural catalog and predictor of supernova types, and Will describes a tremendous classification effort to automatically sort variable stars.

Alex’s GHOST website + paper: 

ghost.ncsa.illinois.edu

https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.09630

Astrobites: 

astrobites.org/2020/01/30

Space Sound: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/09/this-is-the-sound-of-a-forest-changing/499802/

This episode takes us into dark notions and oscillating questions! Malena spices rocks that orbit remote places and Will covers his dwarfs with tenderness and instability.

Okay, so none of this is true. But we used machine learning to generate this text! Episode 21 is the first in our three part series covering machine learning methods in astronomy.  First up? Neural networks! 

https://astrobites.org/2019/04/02/

https://astrobites.org/2020/01/02/

Space sound: https://openai.com/blog/jukebox/

Why are power laws so ubiquitous in nature? And how can they teach us about space? In today’s episode, we dive into some classic research results to understand the properties of objects at all scales and sizes. Malena has her head in the (molecular) clouds, Will gets a little peculiar, and Alex takes pulsars for a spin.

astrobites.org/2012/11/18

astrobites.org/2016/06/30

astrobites.org/2017/04/11

Space sound: youtube.com/watch?v=WJ9Go1PnAVA

Power laws derivation: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/courses/2006/cmplxsys899/powerlaws.pdf

Is there extraterrestrial life? Are they on giant glowing planets? Do they listen to Bach? We explore three papers in the field of astrobiology that take concrete, experimental steps toward an answer. "Everything not forbidden is compulsory,” so we speculate wildly about first contact. 

astrobites.org/2020/03/12

astrobites.org/2019/08/27

astrobites.org/2020/04/06

Space sound: youtube.com/watch?v=qTpCD2Xvh_s

Cinder lake crater fields: youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=FVkBaaOBejc&feature=emb_title

We venture far beyond the local universe, outside our subfields, and back in time to look at galaxies when they just formed for the first time. In doing so, we learn Malena’s beagle was a good boy, Alex has a soft spot for dropouts, and Will’s doppelganger is a more prolific publisher.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2020/05/16

astrobites.org/2020/05/02

astrobites.org/2020/02/05

Space Sound: Prof. Alicia Margarita Soderberg

scholar.harvard.edu/asoderberg/supernova-sonification

What does it mean to be a successful astronomer? In our second Beyond episode, we delve into the notion of personal and professional success in the field, and revisit the constant expectation to "publish or perish".

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2017/10/27

astrobites.org/2016/12/16

astrobites.org/2018/08/17

astrobites.org/2020/06/19

Other links:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/21/early-journal-submission-data-suggest-covid-19-tanking-womens-research-productivity

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/upshot/pandemic-chores-homeschooling-gender.html

Space Sound: 

https://youtu.be/yT50Q_Zbf3s

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Long ago, we thought these substances were the building blocks for everything except Space. Today we know better. In this episode, we scour the furthest reaches of the Cosmos for the Elementals. Will goes with the flow, Malena keeps us grounded, and NASA Intern Ashley Walker and Alex take us over the (Titan) rainbow.

Ashley Walker: @That_Astro_Chic

https://astrobites.org/2018/07/18

https://astrobites.org/2017/06/01/

Space Sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7PX51IeMbU

#BlackInAstro

Little rocks rock! We learn from Will and PhD student Tim Holt that home is where the collision is, from Alex that Pluto is cold-hearted, and from Malena that rocks that orbit together, stay together.

astrobites.org/2020/05/13

astrobites.org/2020/02/14

astrobites.org/2019/07/01

Euler Diagram: wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_planet

Space Sound: ESA

We begin with a statement of solidarity with the Black community. We are working with Astrobites to better elevate Black voices in STEM. #blackinastro #blm

This Memorial Day weekend, we're dusting off the baby photos! We discuss how these snapshots of planets, galaxy clusters, and even the Universe itself can help us to understand where we came from and how the Universe evolved.

Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2019/07/26

astrobites.org/2018/10/30

astrobites.org/2016/11/28

Space Sound: youtube.com/watch?time_continue=160&v=IzeJq3CbiZM&feature=emb_title

CMB Sound: youtube.com/watch?v=2WuIWyxZ1D4

Music: Joel Ong

Logo: Joanna Ramasawmy

** After recording, we found another paper demonstrating that brown dwarf disks may, indeed, be common! https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.06448

This episode takes us as far out as Taurus and as far back as Will’s middle school days as we review exciting research into the chemical composition of our universe. Malena spices up the episode, Alex stays COM and collected, and Will sets his PHAZERs to stun.

Chembites: https://chembites.org/

Astrobites:

https://astrobites.org/2018/03/20/

https://astrobites.org/2020/02/24/

https://astrobites.org/2020/03/16/

Space sound: https://soundcloud.com/colchrishadfield/space-station-noise

In our first Beyond A[S]B episode, we take you all the way back to the beginning...of our research careers. We share the disappointment of unanswered emails, excitement of unexpected opportunities, and hard lessons learned.

Did you like hearing about us? Email us: [email protected].

Astrobite:

astrobites.org/2013/02/21

Malena’s particle physics video:

youtu.be/oTUPOoy7YL8

12th grade Will’s interview:

soundcloud.com/the-lisa-wexler-show/wiiliam-saunders

ISO Opening Ceremony: 

youtu.be/8YKnKBNcPKM

In today's episode, we delve into the realm of unpredictable astrophysical phenomena. Will explores chaos and instability in multiplanet systems, Alex explains what happens when >2 black holes don't practice social distancing, and Malena describes the algorithms we use to simulate it all.

Featured Astrobites:

astrobites.org/2020/02/11

astrobites.org/2018/02/23

astrobites.org/2017/05/01

Credits:

Music: Joel Ong

Logo: Joanna Ramasawmy

Space Sound: ESA, https://soundcloud.com/esa/philae-touchdown-thud