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The exoplanet podcast
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- Apr 29, 202641 min
Exocast-82b: Exoplanet Emission and the paradigm shift of JWST with Dr Megan Weiner Mansfield
For this episode the Exocast team are joined by Dr Megan Weiner Mansfield from the University of Maryland, USA. Megan’s work focuses on the measurement of exoplanet atmospheres with a particular look at the eclipse as the planet passes behind the star and we can measure the thermal dayside of tidally locked giants. We talk about the paradigm shift that JWST has brought to the field and some really cool techniques that can be used to dive into the atmospheres of these alien worlds more. In addition, as always we ask our guest to adopt an exoplanet into our Exocast family with Megan choosing GJ 486b – listen in to find out why! Megan completed a PhD at the University of Chicago in Geophysical Science before being awarded a NASA Sagan Fellowship which she took to the University of Arizona and later awarded a 51 Pegasi Fellowship at Arizona State University. She is now faculty at the University of Maryland where her group works on methods of measuring exoplanet atmospheres from observations and theory. Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on bluesky. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) and is supported by listener donations at buymeacoffee.com/exocast. We cannot make the show without your support and it is very much appreciated.
- Mar 25, 202643 min
Exocast-81b: A chat with Dr Matt Kenworthy about weird dips in light curves and the future of instrumentation
For this episode the Exocast team are joined by Dr Matthew Kenworthy from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. Matt’s work focuses on strange transit events and the search for new ways to better process data. Matt started his career in the instrumentation lab and we dive into that transition to more remote hands-off research. We talk about his work with the assassin, sorry ASASSN, network and the search for weird dips, and then what the future of instrumentation holds for our search for planets in the universe. In addition, as always we ask our guest to adopt an exoplanet into our Exocast family with Matt choosing PSR 1829-10 – listen in to find out why and if it exists at all!? Matt is a British astronomer who did his PhD at the University of Cambridge after an undergrad at Oxford, he then held postdocs at Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, and then at the University of Cincinnati then back at Steward as an instrument scientist, however he has been working and living in the Netherlands for the over a decade as a professor at the Leiden Observatory. Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on bluesky. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) and is supported by listener donations at buymeacoffee.com/exocast. We cannot make the show without your support and it is very much appreciated.
- Feb 24, 202645 min
Exocast-80 b: Are giant planets friends or foes? With Dr Jonti Horner
We sat around our virtual studio to chat with Queensland-based astronomer Jonti Horner, who works on planetary dynamics – both within our own solar system, and around others. As well as discovering the impact of giant planet dynamics on habitable planets like earth, we also discussed the importance of aboriginal astronomy in Australia, his various media appearances, and Jonti’s namesake asteroid. Finally, Jonti adopts a special planet into our hall-of-fame list. Listen to find out more! Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on bluesky. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) and is supported by listener donations at buymeacoffee.com/exocast. We cannot make the show without your support and it is very much appreciated.
- Mar 2, 202538 min
Exocast-79b: Observing odd exoplanet orbits with Dr. Malena Rice
Join the Exocast team as they chat with Dr Malena Rice an expert on planetary and exoplanetary dynamics through both theory and observation. Malena tells us about her journey into professional astronomy. Malena grew up and attended college in California before moving to the east coast for grad school in the Yale Department of Astronomy, only taking a quick one years’ break as 51 Peg fellow at MIT before returning to Yale as an Assistant Professor in 2023. We ask what the first year as a faculty member is like and how she approaches her research and outreach.
- Feb 2, 202544 min
Exocast-78 b: Finding the most distant exoplanets with Dr Eamonn Kerins
This month the gang sit in with Dr Eamonn Kerins, expert in gravitational microlensing from the University of Manchester. He tells us how astronomers can find extremely distant exoplanets through the warping effect their mass has on light itself; and takes us through the past, present and future of one of the more obscure exoplanet detection methods. This includes how ESA’s Euclid mission could contribute to NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman campaign to find hundreds of new planets in the galactic bulge. We also hear about his journey through astronomy, and outreach projects including as a Green Alien at Jodrell Bank.
- Jan 16, 202540 min
Exocast-77b: Exoplanet Instrumentation with Dr Ben Pope
For this episode the Exocast team are joined by Dr Benjamin (Ben) Pope from the University of Queensland, Brisbane. Ben has worked on everything from transit light curve modelling, to direct imaging instrumentation, to using tree rings to study solar activity and we try desperately to cover it all in the episode. Ben shares with us what excites him the most about the search for exoplanets and how instrumentation developments drive or understanding of these worlds and more importantly (to some) their stars. In addition, as always we ask our guest to adopt an exoplanet into our Exocast family with Ben choosing K2-110b which holds a special significance for him and one of our Exocast hosts – listen to find out more! Ben completed a PhD in the UK at Oxford before being awarded a NASA Sagan Fellowship which he took to NYU in the USA. He is now faculty at the University of Queensland where his group works on methods of directly imaging exoplanets. Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on Twitter, bluesky, and mastodon. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) and is supported by listener donations at buymeacoffee.com/exocast. We cannot make the show without your support and it is very much appreciated.
- Nov 8, 202441 min
Exocast-76b: Exoplanet Interiors with Professor Caroline Dorn
The Exocast team are joined on this episode by exoplanetary interior investigator Professor Caroline Dorn. Caroline started her career in Earth sciences and geophysics, studying for her PhD aquifer systems at the University of Lausanne, before switching her focus to the interiors of more distant worlds in 2013 with postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Bern and Zurich. As of April 2023, Caroline is an Assistant Professor for exoplanet science at ETH Zürich, and her newly established interdisciplinary exoplanet research group at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics is also part of the Center of Origin and Prevalence of Life. Caroline outlines what we can learn about the interior structure of rocky exoplanets from mass and radius measurements, as well as how these planets may form and evolve over time and whether plate tectonics is necessary for sustaining an atmosphere and for habitability. As always, Caroline also adds another interesting exoplanet to our growing list of Adopted Planets. Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on Twitter, bluesky, and mastodon. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) and is supported by listener donations at buymeacoffee.com/exocast. We cannot make the show without your support and it is very much appreciated.
- Oct 21, 202440 min
Exocast-75b: Radial Velocity Surveys of Young Planets with Dr. Louise Nielsen
The Exocast team are joined on this episode by Dr. Louise Nielsen, a Danish astronomer who, after a batchelor’s degree at Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, moved to the Geneva Observatory for a PhD focussing on radial velocity (RV) observations of exoplanets. Louise then completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching, before joining the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich as a staff astronomer in 2023. Louise discusses RV of young planets, follow-up of candidates found by TESS, the future of RV surveys, and she also outlines her early work with ground-based transit surveys including the now-ended WASP survey and NGTS. As is tradition, Louise also adds another interesting exoplanet to our growing list of Adopted Planets. Danish speakers should check out her astronomy podcast Stjerneklart. Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on Twitter, bluesky, and mastodon. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) and is supported by listener donations at buymeacoffee.com/exocast. We cannot make the show without your support and it is very much appreciated.
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