• MP3 - the whole show
  [Duration 68:25, 23.5 MB]
• MP3 - The News
  [Duration 05:25, 1.9 MB]
• MP3 - News in Hindi
  [Duration 05:43, 2.0 MB]
• MP3 - Nouvelles en Français
  [Duration 04:48, 1.7 MB]
• MP3 - Notícias em Português
  [Duration 03:32, 1.2 MB]
• MP3 - The News in Chinese - December 2006
  [Duration 05:00, 1.7 MB]
• MP3 - Interview with Dr Cormac Purcell (Jodrell Bank Observatory)
  [Duration 23:27, 8.1 MB]
• MP3 - Ask an astronomer - Big Moon
  [Duration 07:31, 2.6 MB]
• MP3 - The night sky for December
  [Duration 10:12, 3.5 MB]

December 2006

The last Jodcast of 2006 has arrived with Dave, Nick and Stuart all presenting via the wonders of the Internet. We start, as always, with a round up of the past month in astronomy which can now be downloaded in six languages if you feel like practicing your Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Hindi or Portugeuse! We talk to Cormac Purcell about the microwave equivalent of lasers (masers) that are found in space and discover what they can tell us about the evolution of stars. In Ask an Astronomer, Tim explains why the Moon often appears to be larger when near the horizon and Ian tells us what we can see in December's night sky. As we were feeling festive this month, we suggest some great, free, astronomy software (Stellarium, Google Earth and Celestia) that nobody should be without. We've also replaced our usual sci-fi style intro/outro with a Jodcast pantomime. It's certainly a long way from Kansas...

• December 2006 MP3: Download the whole show (low and high bandwidth versions)
• Google Earth (explore our planet)
• Stellarium (explore the night sky)
• Celestia (explore the Universe)

The News

In the news this month: a transit of Mercury is observed, the Large Millimeter Telescope is inaugurated in Mexico, the barrel toroid magnets on the ATLAS detector at CERN were powered up, Mars Global Surveyor is feared lost and we get a summary of the Leonid meteor shower.

• The News MP3: Download this segment individually
• Transit of Mercury seen by NASA/ESA's SOHO spacecraft
• The Large Millimeter Telescope in Mexico
• The ATLAS detector at CERN
• NASA press release about the loss of Mars Global Surveyor
• Society for Popular Astronomy meteor section

News in Hindi

• News in Hindi MP3: Download this segment individually

Nouvelles en Français

• Nouvelles en Français MP3: Download this segment individually (low and high bandwidth versions)

Notícias em Português

Trânsito de Mercúrio observado por SOHO. LMT abre em Mexico. Atlas foi ligado pela primeira vez. Mars Global Surveyor temido perdido.

• Notícias em Português MP3: Download this segment individually (low and high bandwidth versions)

The News in Chinese - December 2006

• The News in Chinese - December 2006 MP3: Download this segment individually (low and high bandwidth versions)

Interview with Dr Cormac Purcell (Jodrell Bank Observatory)

Nick talked to Cormac Purcell about microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation or masers. We find out what a maser is, how they form in space and what they can tell us about the evolution of stars.

• Interview with Dr Cormac Purcell (Jodrell Bank Observatory) MP3: Download this segment individually
• The Mopra telescope
• The Australia Telescope Compact Array

Ask an astronomer - Big Moon

Nick asks Tim why the Moon often appears to be larger when it is closer to the horizon. Is it nearer? Does refraction play an effect? Is it due to the orbit of the Moon? Are our brains playing tricks on us? Tim explains the possibilities.

• Ask an astronomer - Big Moon MP3: Download this segment individually
• The Moon Illusion
• Moon illusion on Wikipedia

The night sky for December

Ian Morison tells us what we can see in the night sky from northern latitudes during December 2006. Around the middle of December we have the shortest day, so the evenings are better for observing and you can still see Vega and the rest of the summer triangle. In the south after sunset in Pegasus - the winged horse - and Andromeda where you can see the Andromeda Galaxy. Soon after sunset, rising in the north-east, are the Pleiades and then the Hyades. Rising later is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere, Sirius. Looking below Sirius with binoculars you will see an open cluster of stars named M41. To the left of Orion are Gemini which is the radiant of a meteor shower this month. The planet Saturn is a few degrees up and to the right of Regulus in the constellation Leo but will move westwards near the start of December. If you find a clear western horizon, you should be able to spot Venus shortly after sunset. Jupiter, Mercury and Mars are just coming into the morning sky. Highlights for this month: on December 4th the Moon passed infront of the Hyades cluster; around 9th to 12th December Jupiter, Mars and Mercury will be within a degree or so from each other and will look nice in a pair of binoculars before dawn; the Geminid meteor shower occurs around 13/14th December with a Moon near to new. A good month for observing the sky.

• The night sky for December MP3: Download this segment individually
• Ian Morison's Night Sky pages for December 2006

Show Credits