The Supermassive Podcast

What are the threats to our dark night skies? And what needs to be done to protect them? Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert explore this important topic and head outside (...and the weather was not on their side!) 

Thank you to Dr Samantha Lawler at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan and Andy Lawrence, the Regis professor of astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. 

Don't forget to join The S...

Can JWST detect exomoons? How can black holes keep absorbing more mass? How big is our cosmic neighbourhood? And what is a rogue black hole?! Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert answer YOUR questions.

You can add to The Supermassive Mailbox by emailing podcast@ras.ac.uk or messaging us on instagram @SupermassivePod.

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Grab your space swimsuit, Izzie and Dr Becky explore Mars' wet past. When did the red planet have water? Where did it go? And were there canals on Mars? 

Thank you to Joe McNeil from the Natural History Museum and Sian Prosser from the Royal Astronomical Society. 

If you like this topic, you might want to check out the NHM's new exhibition Space: Could life exist beyond Earth?

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It’s space book club time, featuring the latest book by author and photography expert Andy Saunders: Gemini and Mercury Remastered. Producer Richard enthuses about these mid-60s missions and we talk to the author. Meanwhile, Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert also discuss Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. With questions on the size of space and why the centres of galaxies are brighter, it r...

It's been 166 years since scientists recorded the world's most powerful solar explosion. Izzie, Dr Becky and Dr Robert Massey are big fans of anniversaries, so they investigate how the Carrington Event affected the Earth - and why something similar today could be devastating.

Thanks to Kate Bond from the Royal Astronomical Society and Matthew West from ESA's Vigil for joining us on this episode.

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What would happen if the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy disappeared? Dr Becky is back to tackle your toughest of black hole questions. Alongside science journalist Izzie Clarke and Dr Robert Massey, the team also discuss what the night sky would look like in an elliptical galaxy…and are we living inside a black hole?

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We are live at the National Astronomy Meeting in Durham with questions on everything from white holes and fuzzy stars, to solar storms and time travel. Science journalist Izzie Clarke is joined by Dr Ziri Younsi – part of the team that took the first picture of a black hole. Also on the panel, Jim Wild, Professor of Space Physics at Lancaster University and president-elect of the Royal Astronomical Society…and the one and only Dr R...

Izzie Clarke is joined by Dr Robert Massey to tackle your questions on the shape of space, measuring gravitational waves and planet spotting. We also have another - another! - astronaut: Producer Richard chats to British ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan about her background as an astrophysicist. 

Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.a...

It’s a brave question to put to three astronauts live on stage but it’s a risk we are prepared to take. Recorded in front of a live audience at the UK Space Conference in Manchester, European Space Agency astronauts Tim Peake, Meganne Christian and John McFall discuss the future of human space exploration. Could robots or AI take their place? Will a trip to the Moon be as common as flying across the Atlantic? And can humans be trus...

What would happen if asteroid Bennu impacted Earth? Can we timelapse Saturn's rings developing? Where are Earth's rings? Plus the solar wind on Mars... The Supermassive team answer YOUR questions.

Keep sending questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk, on Instagram @SupermassivePod or join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and to support the show.

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Izzie and Dr Becky decided that little ol’ Pluto doesn’t get much attention anymore. So we’re giving the dwarf planet some time in the spotlight. Why isn't Pluto a planet? How small is it? And what makes it so unique?

Thank you to Prof Alan Fitzsimmons from Queens University of Belfast joining us episode.

Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share you questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@r...

What would happen if planets collided at a snail's pace? How much of Avengers Endgame regarding time is scientifically acceptable? Why aren't stars closer together? And the team discuss a listener's theory to terra-form Mars.

Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm

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Start your stopwatches, set your timers, turn back your clocks because Izzie and Dr Becky are talking time. What is it? How, and why, do we measure it? And is time real or a human construct?!

Izzie speaks with Anne Curtis at the National Physical Laboratory who works on one of the world’s most accurate clocks, and editor Richard has been to the very heart of time itself in Greenwich with Finn Burridge at the Royal Observato...

Should astronauts live underground on the Moon or Mars? Black hole jets, rogue planets, the big crunch (or freeze) and the Ontario question. Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert Massey tackle your correspondence from the Supermassive mailbox and producer Richard makes a pronunciation intervention.

The book Becky mentions is Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via...

This episode is a weighty one. Some might say massive. It’s all about gravity. What is it? Why does it matter? Izzie and Dr Becky explore Einstein and Newton’s different ideas on the subject, plus Izzie visits the Royal Society to see Isaac Newton's original manuscript for his works on gravity and the laws of motion.

Special thank you to listener Hanna_m_e for suggesting this episode topic and to Professor Tessa Baker,...

What the bloomin’ hell is a Gravastar? Are fast radio bursts like solar flares on steroids? Plus an interesting question on multiverses that can't be summed up in a short sentence. Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey dive into The Supermassive Mailbox and take on your questions.

Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @Supermassivepod

The Supermassive Podc...

Climb aboard The Supermassive Rocket, Izzie and Becky are (talking about) sending humans back to the moon. Joining them on their trip is European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer and Jacki Mahaffey, the Chief Training Officer for NASA’s Artemis II mission. Plus, Dr Robert Massey, the Deputy Director of the Royal Astronomical Society, is there as well to answer your questions and share his top stargazing tips.

For...

If black holes are so dense, how can gamma rays jet shoot out from it? At what point in space does our sun become invisible to the naked eye? And a question about CubeSats, black holes and detecting alien civilisations... It time for Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey to take on your questions!

Got a question to add to The Supermassive Mailbox? Email it to podcast@ras.ac.uk or message us on Instagram, @Su...

This time Dr Becky Smethurst and Izzie Clarke discover why it’s touch and go when it comes to returning asteroid samples to Earth and hear how we’ve been exchanging spit with Mars since the dawn of the Solar System.

The team is joined by Dr Sara Russell, a meteorite researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, and Dr Albert Haldemann, Mars Chief Engineer for the European Space Agency.

As ever, Dr Robert Massey is...