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June 2016 Extra: Deep and Wavy

June 2016 Extra

In the show this time, we talk to Professor James Dunlop about the ALMA observations of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Dr. Minnie Mao tells us about Spiral DRAGNs (Double Radio Sources Associated with Galactic Nuclei in spiral galaxies) in this month's JodBite, and your astronomy questions are answered by Dr. Joe Zuntz in Ask an Astronomer.

The Jodcast Survey

Our listener feedback survey for 2016 is live and can be found here. Please take a few moments to fill it in and let us know how we're doing, and how we can do better.

JodBite with Dr. Minnie Mao

Dr. Minnie Mao is a Marie Curie fellow at JBCA who previously worked at JIVE in the Netherlands. Dr. Mao is currently studying spiral galaxies that host DRAGNs (Double Radio Sources Associated with Galactic Nuclei), the existence of which defy many current galaxy formation theories. She discusses her research, talks to us about training the latest group of summer students, and describes her hunt for hedgehogs around the grounds of JBO.

Interview with Professor James Dunlop

Professor James Dunlop from the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh talks with Monique Henson about his observations of high-redshift galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field with ALMA. The observations are some of the longest observations ever performed with ALMA and have detected the brightest infrared galaxies in the field, yet Professor Dunlop has plans to observe the field even longer to detect the galaxies with more typical infrared brightnesses.

Ask an Astronomer

Joe Zuntz answers your astronomical questions:

Odds and Ends

Many scientists at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics work on data from the Planck spacecraft, which was a European Space Agency mission to measure the Cosmic Microwave Background. People from the Jodcast have been working with colleagues from multiple other UK universities to put together a video about Planck for the Royal Society Summer Exhibition. The video, available here will form part of our stand at the Exhibition.

Carbon Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars are leftover fossils of the early universe, the remnant of an earlier population of stars which had not yet been contaminated by heavier elements and metals formed in supernova explosions. A team from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have recently explored the possibility that very different planets could form around CEMP stars and that these planets could host to life. Because the CEMP stars are carbon-rich, the planets which surround such stars would be formed mostly of carbon, taking the form of carbides, graphite, or even diamonds. The team mainly focused their research on the formation potential of such planets and on their possible features. They also suggest that dedicated observation plans could be used to detect such planets around known CEMP stars.

Early this month, scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) announced yet another discovery. The two detectors caught a signal from the merger of two black holes on Boxing Day 2016. Unlike the first detection by LIGO, one of these black holes was spinning, which suggests that it may have sucked up mass from a neighbouring star at some point in its history. Members of the public can help the LIGO team in their search for more events by taking part in the Einstein@Home project, which uses volunteers' computers from across the world to analyse data from LIGO, or this Zooniverse project. Don't have a computer? If you have an Android smart phone you can still get involved by using either the BOINC or HTC Power to Give Android apps.

Also, listener Daniel Chu Owen from the Traveling Telescope Company has taken an excerpt of last Month's interview with Toa Waaka, and cut it against some fantastic footage filmed from the International Space Station. It is well worth a look.

Finally, if you fancy joining the ranks of Sir Bernard Lovell, or Professor Michael Brown (a.k.a. Pluto Killer), by building your own radio telescope this summer, why not take a look at this project?

Show Credits

JodBite:Dr. Minnie Mao and Alex Clarke
Interview:Monique Henson and Professor James Dunlop
Ask An Astronomer:Dr. Joe Zuntz and Saarah Nakhuda
Presenters:Monique Henson, Andy May, Charlie Walker
Editors:Damien Trinh, James Bamber, George Bendo, Charlie Walker
Segment Voice:Tess Jaffe
Website:George Bendo and Stuart Lowe
Producer:George Bendo
Cover art:ALMA at night CREDIT: Enrico Sacchetti/ESO

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