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In this week’s episode, we take a look at the hottest trend in dark matter candidates - Primordial Black Holes. They’re like black holes, only smaller (in some cases)! Join us as we see what all the fuss is about. Kiersten shares a story of a black hole playing video games inside a star and glitching out of the mainframe, while Shashank makes his a[s]b debut with an explosive transient conundrum that might explain the mystery of dark matter once and for all. We round off with a discussion about our favourite pet dark matter theories and the merits of direct experimental searches.
Author: astrosoundbites
Episode 92.5: The Ship of 3-seus
We've reached a pivotal moment for astro[sound]bites: the podcast era where each of the original co-hosts has been replaced. Just like the Ship of Theseus, we ask: Is astro[sound]bites still the same show, even though all its original components have been replaced? We believe it is, and we’re excited about its continued evolution. In this episode, we’re thrilled to introduce the three new astro[sound]bites co-hosts: Shashank, Cole, and Lucia. They'll be joining us in the next few months, and we’ll discuss what each is excited about for the future of the show. Stay tuned for an exciting new chapter as the new co-hosts take over steering the ship!
Episode 92: Beyond-Astronomy is a little Mental
Astronomy is hard! And in ways that extend far beyond the science we do every day. In this Beyond episode, Kiersten and Cormac talk all about mental health in astronomy and the structural issues that may be contributing to things like burnout and anxiety. It’s not all doom and gloom though. There are a few things that studies suggest that can help. We also chat about strategies that have helped us when we were struggling in hopes that they may be useful to you too. We round off with Cormac’s Hai-cool poetic riff for our one sentence summary. Papers discussed: https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.01768 https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4089 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733317300422?via=ihub https://comm.wayne.edu/files/keashly_spectra2015.pdf Cormac’s shameless plug for the Early Career Astronomers’ session at the European Astronomical Society’s meeting: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS2024/session.jsp?id=SS23 Crisis hotlines and remote support: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US): +1-800-273-8255 (live chat also available on website; hearing-impaired TTY users can also dial 800-799-4889) National Crisis Text Line: text/SMS HOME to 741741 for US; to 686868 for Canada; to 85258 for the UK Crisis Services Canada: +1-833-456-4566 (text/SMS and live chat also available on website) Samaritans (UK and Ireland): +44 116 123 (email also available on website) The Trevor Project (US): +1-866-488-7386 (text/SMS and live chat also available on website; the lifeline will talk with any individual regardless of sexuality or gender) Trans Lifeline: US: +1-877-565-8860; Canada: +1-877-330-6366 TelefonSeelSorge (Germany): 0800 / 111 0 111 or https://online.telefonseelsorge.de/index.php
Episode 91: A Uranian FareWill
91 is the atomic number of protactinium. Speaking of protracted, it’s finally time to say FareWill to Dr astroSaundbites himself, after five years of co-hosting our wonderful podcast. We begin with a deep dive into his Uranian adventures that might offer the key to our next mission there. We then reflect on his time in grad school, share some sage wisdom and explore what the future holds as he transitions to a not-postdoc at NASA.
Episode 90: The Great H0 Debate
How fast is the universe expanding? It turns out this important value, the Hubble constant (H0), is under constant debate. The two main teams have numbers that disagree by over 5 standard deviations! Today on a[s]b, we resolve the Hubble tension once and for all, as Cormac and Kiersten square off in the Great H0 Debate. Cormac comes in with feist and facts while Kiersten engages with rebuttal and reason. In the end, there can only be 1 winner, and that’s for you to decide! Vote here for the winner of the debate, what the true value of H0 should be, and what we got wrong in the episode (we tried our best!).
Episode 89: Extremely Emotional Exoplanets
In this episode, we hear about Kiersten and Will’s epic adventures in both hemispheres! Both Kiersten and Will watched the eclipse that passed through North America on April 8, 2024 and are still buzzing with excitement. Kiersten tells us about a recent paper that explores why planets might act so indecisive about sitting between being a super-Earth or mini-Neptune. Will’s astrobite describes a similarly chaotic exoplanetary tale about a very slow moving planet which “came in like a wrecking ball” and “never hit habitability so hard” (everything in quotations must be sung in Miley Cyrus’ singing voice). All in all, we all share a laugh and an emotionally charged episode!
Episode 88: The Luck of the Irish
In celebration of the a-bit-over-a-week after St. Patrick’s (definitely not Patty’s) Day, we bring you another Ireland-related episode. Due to historically unsupported stereotypes about the Irish being lucky, we bring you two astrobites busting with cosmic coincidences and a dash of luck. Kiersten tells about a plucky planet that avoided a hangry host star, while Will brings us yet another binary black hole bonanza. Cormac shares a bit of an infamous Irish space sound that you could call cosmic comic relief. In the spirit of luck, we talk about the role of luck in our own journeys to space and in the field of astronomy as a whole.
Episode 87.5: The Shamrock Shake-Up
In celebration of St. Patrick’s (not Patty’s) Day, we share a super short sneak peek at next week’s episode, featuring fun Irish astronomical facts. We’re calling it the Shamrock Shake-up! In addition to the astronomical facts, Will takes us on a journey to the past with some wild Irish lore of his own! We hope you enjoy what might be our first “Beyond the beyond” episode, and Lá Fhéile Pádraig faoi mhaise daoibh go léir!
Episode 87: Unexpected Gravitational Waves
We talk about gravitational waves again, but this time, in ways you wouldn’t expect. Cormac tells us how you could use gravitational waves to study the interior of the Sun, if the alignment is just right. Sabrina explores whether gravitational waves could be detected by Earth’s magnetosphere through the Gertsenshtein effect. Simultaneously, we learn that Sabrina knows how to pronounce Russian names properly and Will isn’t the biggest fan of theory.
Episode 86: Indigenous Astronomy Part II – Science of the First Astronomers
In the second episode of the astro[sound]bites series focusing on Indigenous astronomy, we interview Duane Hamacher, a physics professor at the University of Melbourne and a world leading researcher in Indigenous astronomy. Duane shares his journey from Missouri to pursuing a PhD in Australia and immersing himself in the study of astronomy within the Torres Strait community, learning from Indigenous knowledge holders. He tells us how Indigenous peoples around the world have seen astronomy more as a way of life that’s embedded in their culture. Through our discussion, we challenge common misconceptions and gain insight into the profound significance that Indigenous astronomy has held for humanity, long preceding the invention of telescopes. However, our interview only scratches the surface of the field of Indigenous astronomy.
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