Darkened Skies and Nebulous Space. This month, we talk to experts about searching for transients, multiprobe cosmology and planetary nebulae. We also discuss what it’s like doing a PhD with some of our guests and talk about what we got up to over the summer.

The Eclipse

For listeners in the UK and across Europe, we were treated to a celestial event with a solar eclipse in August. For folks in Manchester, we experienced about 95% coverage - not a dimming in the light, but a slight dip in temperature and a change in the colours of the sky & surroundings. Whether you were armed with a colander, or lucky enough to get hold of a pair of sold-out eclipse glasses, we hope that you took a few minutes out of your busy lives to experience the celestial event.

Listener Bob Ashworth sent us a photo of himself enjoying the eclipse on a dock, wearing a Jodcast t-shirt in solidarity with Jodrell Bank. He got the t-shirt from Stuart Lowe and Chirs North from buying the very first copy of their book, Cosmos. (Which myself and Phoebe have been exploring their infographic interactives online - well worth checking out!)

Whereas, for those lucky enough to find themselves in Spain, France or on a cruise in the Atlantic, they had the chance to experience totality - the perfect alignment of the passing Moon with the Sun, causing complete darkness for those in its path. The fact that the distance to The Sun is exactly 4 x the distance to the Moon, and the Sun is 4 times bigger than the Moon, really makes this a cosmic coincidence, highlighting our place in the cosmos. Jodcaster Thea was out in France and captured the moment she and friends observed totality, in this short audio clip.

If you have a great eclipse story, we would love to hear how you experienced it! Feel free to send in the story via email or on our socials.

Interview with Alex Reeves

Next up we hear from Alex Reeves who talks to Sohini about his experience as a PhD student, growing up with Jodcast, his work in multiprobe Cosmology and the various computational techniques he uses in his work.

Jodbite with Alec Csukai

Next up, Sohini is back and this time she’s talking to one of JBCA’s most recent graduates Alec Csukai about finishing his PhD, working on planetary nebulae, and the most dreaded question for every PhD student - what’s next!

Jodcast Summer Update - NAM

What has the Jodcast been up to over the summer? Over the summer, the Jodcast team headed down to Birmingham for the National Astronomy Meeting where we held a little birthday party for the Jodcast’s 20th Birthday. At this event, we got to speak to other astronomers from across the UK and chat to them about their thoughts and experiences doing outreach. The party theme continued, as we asked participants to play pass the parcel, pin the ‘antenna on the interferometer’ as well as signing our birthday banner - overall the session was a great success and huge fun! We thought we would share some outreach experiences that stuck with people:

One person said that whilst working as a planetarium presenter, with each year more and more attendees feeling that university and the study of astronomy was accessible and possible for them. Someone else said that they loved running world space week astronomy activities for their school whilst they were at school. Another said that there had been some primary school students visit and the children’s excitement to hear about astronomy reminded them why they chose it in the first place. And someone’s journey came full circle when they went back to the Royal institute to give a presentation, having been there many times as a child.

We had an amazing time at this event and it was lovely to have a chance to hear about and learn from other outreach activities and programs. If you are interested to learn more about other ways to get involved with astronomy in the UK keep an eye on our social media as we showcase some of the activities we learnt about.

And if you are sad that you missed out on an opportunity to sing happy birthday to the Jodcast, do not fear- we have a live event coming up at Jodrell Bank! For this anniversary celebration, Jodcasters past and present will reunite to share behind-the-scenes stories, memorable moments and fascinating insights from two decades of exploring the Universe. Tickets are available on the Jodrell Bank Website.

Interview : Alex Reeves and Sohini Dutta
Presenters : Phoebe Ryder and Louisa Mason
Editors : Louisa Mason, Josh Bishop, and Jamie Incley
Show Editors : Jordan Norris
Website : Lily Correa Magnus
Producer : Lily Correa Magnus
Cover Art : Hubble observations of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 CREDIT:NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team