Izzie and Dr Becky complete their tour of the solar system with a trip to Mercury, the space spirograph (copyright: Dr Becky). Join them as they explore what we know about the planet so far and what ESA's current mission, BepiColombo, is hoping to find. Plus, Dr Robert Massey is on hand to answer your questions. 

Special thanks to guests Dr David Rothery from the Open University and Dr Simon Lindsay from the University of Leicester. 

Don't forget to send your questions to the team via [email protected] or Instagram @SupermassivePod

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Does an instantaneous star map exist? Where are the perfect spheres in space? How did Venus get so close to the Sun? It's a bonus episode from The Supermassive team. 

Sign the petition and support Herstmonceux Observatory here... https://www.change.org/p/save-the-observatory-science-centre-herstmonceux

This is Venus’ moment in the supermassive spotlight. What do we know about this hellish planet? And what missions are going there in the near future? 

Izzie and Dr Becky speak with Dr Phillipa Mason from Imperial College London about EnVision, an upcoming mission to Venus, as well as RAS librarian Sian Prosser to explore the archive. Plus Dr Robert Massey is here to take on your questions.

The paper about the sounds on Venus can be found here. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

The Supermassive Overmassive Podcast has a special bonus episode. Join Izzie, Dr Becky, Dr Robert and Richard as they discuss the last two years of JWST and share their recommendations for Space Book Club. 

Recommendations:

Have black holes existed since the beginning of the Universe? Could we produce a black hole in the lab? Could we use gravitational waves to probe beyond the event horizon? 

It's a black hole Q&A as Izzie put your questions to Becky and Robert. Plus, author and broadcaster, Marcus Chown, runs through a potted history of discovering black holes. His latest book on the same topic, A Crack In Everything, is out now: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/crack-in-everything-9781804544303/

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

In this month's bonus episode Izzie, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey tackle questions on pulsars, woo woo sounds from black holes, imperfect spheres and alien aurorae. Send your questions to: [email protected], and we’re also on instagram @SupermassivePod. 

The Supermassive podcast is produced by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham and is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society.

Every 18.6 years, our moon reaches its farthest northern and southern point, known as a major lunar standstill. This month, Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring why this might be significant to Stonehenge in the UK and another historical site in the US called Chimney Rock. With special thanks to Dr Heather Sebire, Dr Amanda Chadburn and Dr Erica Ellingson.

The southernmost Moonrise at Stonehenge will be livestreamed, allowing viewers to witness this celestial spectacle firsthand. Plus, there'll be events throughout the standstill season which include talks, a pop-up planetarium, stargazing sessions, storytelling, and a new exhibition display at the Stonehenge visitor centre in October. To find out more, visit...  
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/major-lunar-standstill/#:~:text=Stonehenge%20is%20famous%20for%20its,'major%20lunar%20standstill'%20occurs.

Or have a look at Chimney Rock in Colorado: 
https://www.chimneyrockco.org/puebloan-resources/lunar-standstill/

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

The UK witnessed the most amazing Northern Lights in years.... And Izzie missed it.

In this bonus episode, Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Robert Massey and Izzie Clarke talk about those Northern Lights and answer your questions. What is Jupiter's giant blue dot? If the sun is losing mass (by giving out energy) will that affect the gravity and orbit of the solar system? And how do you date a rock? 

Two of the most remarkable spacecraft ever launched are the stars of this month’s episode: Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Izzie and Dr Becky talk to Dr Jamie Rankin, the mission’s current Deputy project scientist, and editor Richard gets to chat to Ann Druyan, the original Creative Director of the Golden Record project, who worked alongside her husband Carl Sagan.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Can wobbly planets have more than two solstices? Are we earthlings receding from the sun and the other planets? What is dark flow and why is it controversial? When stars die, is their energy lost forever? 

Send your questions to [email protected] or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Izzie and Dr Becky are venturing into interstellar space. What is it? Where is it? And what do we know about it? 

With special thanks to Professor Martin Barstow from University of Leicester and Professor Chris Lintott from the University of Oxford. Chris' new book "Our Accidental Universe" is out now. 

Check out the RAS's video on Pons Brooks here: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/12ppons-brooks-how-and-when-see-devil-comet

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

What is cosmic dust? Could we reignite a dying Sun with a nuclear weapon? How do we know what galaxies stars are in, and can the JWST see streetlights on alien worlds?

If you have a question for the Supermassive team, send them to [email protected] or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring shaky ground, whether that’s on Earth, other planets and even on our neighbour the Moon. This month is all about quakes. 

With special thanks to Mark Panning, the project scientist for NASA's InSight mission, and Dr Jess Johnson from the University of East Anglia.

Join Izzie and the UK Space Education Office for Mars Day on Tuesday 5th March, sign up to the virtual event here. 

Explore the North Tyneside Solar Trail and discover models representing planets from our solar system, 16 & 17 March 2024

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Do we see black hole mergers as a result of galaxy mergers? What did the night sky look like to the dinosaurs? Is a gas giant just a rocky planet with a huge and dense atmosphere? Do all orbits eventually end up in resonance? 

The Supermassive Team is back with the first bonus episode for 2024! Send in your questions to [email protected] or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

The Supermassive Podcast is back for 2024 and putting the "happy" in Happy New Year! What could be a cheerier start to the year than an episode about the End of the World… Astronomically speaking!?

From supernova explosions, to super volcanoes, Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey are running through the checklist of big bad things that put our planet at risk. Special thanks goes to Professor Chris Impey from the University of Arizona and author of How It Ends, and Dr Mike Cassidy from the University of Birmingham.

Things we promised we'd put in the show notes: 
NASA worksheet - https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/earth/10Page5.pdf
Recent Betelgeuse paper - Saio et al. (2023; Betelgeuse in carbon fusion stage) - https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.00287.pdf 

Don't forget to leave us a review, send in your questions ,or share your astrophotography using [email protected] or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for The Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst are rounding off 2023 with a biggie. Arguably the biggest of them all. This episode is ALL about the Multiverse. What is it? What does it mean? Does it even exist?  

A big thank you to Andrew Pontzen from UCL and author of "Universe in a Box" for explaining the basics, Katie Mack from The Perimeter Institute for going from physicist to film reviewer, and to listener Wendy Entwistle who suggested the Supermassive team cover this topic.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

From barbie dolls, to birds baths, what will happen to all the stuff we have made between now and the end of time? Could a large black hole spaghettify a small black hole? Could more satellites block JWST's view? And what came first, the Big Bang or Inflation?

It's time for another deep dive into The Supermassive Mailbox with Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

They've done it. It has taken them all year but Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst have reached the final planet in our solar system; Neptune.

Dr Leigh Fletcher from the University of Leicester is back to cover the basics of the planet and Carolyn Kennett, Chair of the Society for the History of Astronomy, tells Izzie about its controversial discovery. Plus, Dr Robert Massey is on hand for some winter stargazing.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham for the Royal Astronomical Society. 

Bizarre free-floating planets in space, the retrieval mission from a 4.6 billion year old asteroid, and the first images from our dark universe. Join Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst, and Dr Robert Massey as they take you through the latest space news. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Follow or subscribe for free so you never miss an episode. 

It's been a while, so Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert dive into The Supermassive Mailbox for a Q&A Special. How is the mass of a star determined? Does JWST have fuel to come back? And is it possible for Voyager 1 or 2 to switch their cameras back on?

Here's the link for space-related jobs that Becky mentioned: https://jobregister.aas.org/

Got a question for the team? Email it to [email protected] or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.