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IAU General Assembly Special 2006

This is the voice of the plutons... we know that you can hear us Earthlings. The General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union took place in Prague in the Czech Republic between the 14th and 25th August 2006. We have interviewed astronomers at the General Assembly to find out what they are up to and what has been attracting their interest. And, with such a range of sizes for objects in the Solar System, we find out a little about how difficult it is to come up with a scientific definition for a planet (check out our cut-out-and-keep Venn diagram in the show notes).

Interview with Michael Burton (Friday 25th)

Stuart Lowe and Hannah Thrall talked to Michael Burton about astronomy in the colds of Antarctica as well as finding out about 'Science down the pub'.

Planets: points of view (Thursday 24th)

Lisa Harvey-Smith got the views of (anonymous) astronomers before the final session and vote on the proposed definition of a planet.

Interview with Gordon Squires (Friday 25th)

Stuart and Hannah talked to Gordon Squires (Assistant Director for Public Affairs of the Spitzer Space Telescope at Caltech) about the latest cosmological results from Spitzer.

Interview with Gilbert Satterthwaite (Thursday 24th)

Debbie Mitchell interviews Gilbert Satterthwaite about his involvement with the Royal Observatory, Greenwich and the history of astronomy.

IAU session voting on the definition of a planet (Thursday 24th)

Nick introduces a recording of the session at the IAU General Assembly in Prague 2006 at which many astronomers put forward their questions about the proposed planet definition. The Chairman of the session was Ron Ekers, with assistance provided by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The audio is courtesy of the IAU.

A Venn diagram of the results of the planet vote at the IAU
A Venn diagram of the results of the planet vote at the IAU

Interview with Dr. Carolina Odman (Wednesday 23rd)

Nick and Stuart talked to Dr. Carolina Odman (Leiden Observatory, The Netherlands) about the Universe Awareness project. This is an international initative for economically disadvantaged young children aged four to ten to introduce them to the inspirational aspects of astronomy.

Interview with Dr Enno Middelberg (Monday 21st)

Lisa Harvey-Smith talked to Dr Enno Middelberg of the Australia Telescope National Facility at the IAU General Assembly in Prague. He has been involved with the discussions surrounding the definition of a planet and tells us about the latest suggestions.

Interview with Prof. Ian Robson (Friday 18th)

Nick and Stuart rang up Prof. Ian Robson of the Astronomy Technology Centre (Edinburgh) who is at the IAU General Assembly. He told us about the plans for International Astronomy Year which were being discussed as we rang. He described the active galaxy sessions he has attended so far and the ones he wants to go to next week about supermassive black holes. Oh and, of course, we found out a bit more about the definition of a planet.

Interview with Prof. Mike Bode (Thursday 17th)

Nick and Stuart caught up with Mike Bode of Liverpool John Moores University (operators of the Liverpool Telescope) who is currently at the IAU GA in Prague. They asked him about the IAU, the General Assembly and asked him for his views on the definition of a planet. He also told us the latest about the nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph).

Round table discussion with Nick Rattenbury, Tim O'Brien, Megan Argo and Stuart Lowe (Wednesday 16th)

Nick chairs an informal round-table discussion about the proposals for the definition of a planet. The proposals were put forward to the IAU General Assembly in Prague today.

Show Credits

Interview:Stuart Lowe and Hannah Thrall talked to Michael Burton (University New South Wales)
Planet Views:Lisa Harvey-Smith got the views of (anonymous) astronomers
Interview:Stuart Lowe and Hannah Thrall talked to Gordon Squires (Caltech)
Interview:Debbie Mitchell talked to Gilbert Satterthwaite
IAU vote:Nick Rattenbury introduces a recording of the session at the IAU General Assembly in Prague 2006. The Chairman was Ron Ekers, with assistance from Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The audio is courtesy of the IAU.
Interview:Nick Rattenbury and Stuart Lowe talked to Dr. Carolina Odman (Leiden Observatory)
Interview:Lisa Harvey-Smith talked to Dr Enno Middelberg (ATNF)
Interview:Nick Rattenbury and Stuart Lowe chatted to Prof. Ian Robson (UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh)
Interview:Nick Rattenbury and Stuart Lowe chatted to Prof Mike Bode (Liverpool John Moores University/Liverpool Telescope)
Round-table:Nick Rattenbury, Tim O'Brien, Megan Argo and Stuart Lowe
Editor:Stuart Lowe
Cover Art:The famous astronomical clock on Prague's townhall - flickr.com/photos/polanri/
Website:Stuart Lowe