August 2010 Extra - show notes

In this show, Dr Fraser Duncan tells us about the SNOLAB facility in Canada, Chris Wareing answers your astronomical questions, and we round-up the feedback we've received since the last show.

Interview

Earlier this year Dave was lucky enough to visit the SNOLAB facility in Canada where experiments to detect neutrinos are carried out 2km underground. While he was there, he interviewed Dr Fraser Duncan, the SNOLAB Associate Director of Operations, and found out more about the history of SNOLAB, the original Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment and the current and future experiments in place at SNOLAB. We also hear about how amateur astronomers can get involved in supernova detection research.

Ask an Astronomer

Jodrell Bank's Dr Chris Wareing answers your questions:

Zachary Kessin emails from Israel to ask what types of objects he could expect to observe if he build a spectrograph for a 10" go-to telescope.
Neall Campbell asks if as the Sun leaves a solar minimum and enters a solar maximum, we in danger of experiencing solar storms as large or larger as the ones that caused damage,in Quebec in 1989.
Ian Curran apologises for another black hole question (!) but was wondering if there is an underside to a black hole. Are they (black holes) flat like a pancake or the opening/neck of an invisible bottle?

Odds and Ends

The Sun's activity is increasing. Five sunspots were seen on the Sun on August 11 2010 and outbursts of energy at the beginning of August lead to beautiful displays of the Northern Lights. Please get in touch and let us know if you saw them.

The Perseid meteor shower is now over for another year. Not much was seen from Manchester but elsewhere people were treated to some spectacular meteors, including the folk at the Newbury Astronomical Society who provided the cover art for this episode. Again, please get in touch with us with your experiences and send us any good photos!

Jen talked about the INTECH Science Centre near Winchester. INTECH is home to the UK's largest capacity planetarium, and as well as normal planetarium shows, they hold regular Space Lectures on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and Telescope Amnesty events twice a year.

Show Credits

Interview:	Dr Fraser Duncan and Dave Ault
Ask An Astronomer:	Dr Chris Wareing
Presenters:	Jen Gupta, Libby Jones and Mark Purver
Editors:	Jen Gupta and Mark Purver
Segment voice:	Lizette Ramirez
Website:	Stuart Lowe
Cover art:	Multi-coloured Perseid streaks past Deneb in August 2010 Credit: Richard Fleet, Newbury Astronomical Society

Comments

Comment by Jen Gupta on Aug 17 2010:
Comments, clarifications and corrections for the August 2010 Extra show go here. Bonus points if you can tell us where the line at the beginning of the shownotes comes from!
Comment by EarthUnit on Aug 19 2010:
Thanks to all Jod kind for getting another episode out, and a big thanks to Dave for a most excellent and interesting interview, being old enough to remember the time of the solar neutrino mystery it was great to hear about it again and what SNO is up to these days.
I'm not sure if Ian Curran is on the forum, but Prof Alex Filippenko has recorded a lecture on black holes at http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/
I have only managed to get half way though it so far as its about 2hrs long (you can skip the first 12 mins or so all about pluging books etc), but what I have listen to so far it's quite informative and easy going.
There are a few other audio pods on astro subjects at the address which could be worth having a look at.
PS I have not managed to fall asleep during any of Ian Morison's night sky sections,
well not SO FAR :-)
I just drift in to a nice warm place surrounded by twinkling stars, and let Ian's mellow tones guide me though the heavens. And on top of that it's still great even when I am sober !
Comment by Reesiepie on Aug 21 2010:
Having listened to another excellent Jodcast, I thought I would just tell you how I experienced my first ever meteor shower.
I was fortunate enough to be on holiday in Sicily mid-August. On the eve of 12th, I went to a performance of Swan Lake in an open air Roman theatre, with the resort lights of the next village twinkling between the columns at the back of the stage and Mount Etna rising in the background. As the lights went down for the start of the performance, the whole audience gasped as one, as the 'shooting stars' fell above the stage. Definitely clear skies!
Keep up the good work guys - I like hearing all your voices but I do miss Stuart!
Comment by jr_edge on Oct 01 2010:
Just listened to this episode for a second time. The Snolab segment was really good, such a good explanation of the mysterious Neutrinos; one of the best segments ever on the Jodcast I would suggest.
Thanks to Dave for making these available.

Leave a comment on this episode in the forum

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Interview with Dr Fraser Duncan [Duration 39:10]:
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Ask an astronomer - spectrographs, solar storms and black holes [Duration 05:00]:
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August 2010 Extra: There's No Place On Earth To Hide