November 2017 Extra: Pulsars and beyond

Pulsars and beyond. In the show this time we have a collection of special interviews from the IAU Symposium 337: Pulsar Astrophysics: The Next Fifty Years Conference that took place at Jodrell Bank in September. The conference celebrated 50 years of pulsar astronomy since they were discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. In her second interview with the Jodcast, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell joins us at Jodrell Bank to talk about advocating for women in science. We also have interviews with Rob Archibald and Emily Parent who tell us about pulsars, Rebecca McFadden who talks about identifying pulsars with machine learning, Emma Osborne tells us about mountains on Neutron stars, and Anne Archibald talks about testing General Relativity with the Pulsar Triple System. Sticking with tradition, your astronomy questions are answered by Prof. Anna Scaife in Ask an Astronomer.

Interview with Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was first interviewed by the Jodcast in 2007 to celebrate 40 years since the discovery of pulsars and now she's back for 50 years to talk about advocating for women in science

Interview with Rob Archibald and Emily Parent

Rob Archibald talks about magnetar-like bursts from the high-magnetic-field radio pulsars and Emily Parent tells us about Pulsars

Interview with Rebecca McFadden

Rebecca McFadden talks about identifying pulsars with machine learning

Interview with Emma Osborne

Emma Osborne tells us about mountains on Neutron stars

Interview with Anne Archibald

Anne Archibald talks about testing General Relativity with the Pulsar Triple System

Ask an Astronomer

Prof. Anna Scaife answers your astronomical questions:

• Sean Mulcahy asks: "What is the expected remaining lifespan for the Lovell telescope?"
• Yodatheoak asks: "Have we worked out if a galaxy has a magnetic influence on light or is it just down to gravity lensing?

Odds and Ends

Evidence has emerged that the evidence of the existence of exoplanets was detected as early as 1917, not in 1992 as previously thought. Spectra of the white dwarf van Maanen 2 have shown the presence of heavy elements which should not be present on the surface of such a star. It has been theorised that these elements are being resupplied by the remains of planets which were destroyed when the star entered its red giant phase.

A recent article has featured in The Mancunion, Manchester's Student Paper entitled ''Where Brian Cox has failed''.The catchy title is certainly an attention grabber however in truth this is article brings to light a massive issue facing the scientific community as a whole: How to deal with science rejectionists. In recent times an increasing distrust in the opinions of experts has grown within the public. This is a serious issue that could stem from a lack of understanding from both parties, the public in comprehending the scientific method, and the scientists in conveying their points in an obtainable way. This can result in the disregarding of important issues such as climate change, reproductive rights, and many more due to what may be becoming an inherent distrust of science.

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