91 is the atomic number of protactinium. Speaking of protracted, it’s finally time to say FareWill to Dr astroSaundbites himself, after five years of co-hosting our wonderful podcast. We begin with a deep dive into his Uranian adventures that might offer the key to our next mission there. We then reflect on his time in grad school, share some sage …

How fast is the universe expanding? It turns out this important value, the Hubble constant (H0), is under constant debate. The two main teams have numbers that disagree by over 5 standard deviations! Today on a[s]b, we resolve the Hubble tension once and for all, as Cormac and Kiersten square off in the Great H0 Debate. Cormac comes in with feist a…

In this episode, we hear about Kiersten and Will’s epic adventures in both hemispheres! Both Kiersten and Will watched the eclipse that passed through North America on April 8, 2024 and are still buzzing with excitement. Kiersten tells us about a recent paper that explores why planets might act so indecisive about sitting between being a super-Eart…

In celebration of the a-bit-over-a-week after St. Patrick’s (definitely not Patty’s) Day, we bring you another Ireland-related episode. Due to historically unsupported stereotypes about the Irish being lucky, we bring you two astrobites busting with cosmic coincidences and a dash of luck. Kiersten tells about a plucky planet that avoided a hangry h…

In celebration of St. Patrick’s (not Patty’s) Day, we share a super short sneak peek at next week’s episode, featuring fun Irish astronomical facts. We’re calling it the Shamrock Shake-up! In addition to the astronomical facts, Will takes us on a journey to the past with some wild Irish lore of his own! We hope you enjoy what might be our first “Be…

We talk about gravitational waves again, but this time, in ways you wouldn’t expect. Cormac tells us how you could use gravitational waves to study the interior of the Sun, if the alignment is just right. Sabrina explores whether gravitational waves could be detected by Earth’s magnetosphere through the Gertsenshtein effect. Simultaneously, we lear…

In the second episode of the astro[sound]bites series focusing on Indigenous astronomy, we interview Duane Hamacher, a physics professor at the University of Melbourne and a world leading researcher in Indigenous astronomy. Duane shares his journey from Missouri to pursuing a PhD in Australia and immersing himself in the study of astronomy within t…

Did you know that Indigenous communities around the world have been doing astronomy since ancient times? Indigenous peoples studied the night sky with great precision. In this episode, we talk to five indigenous astronomers from across the world to understand how their identity and communities shaped their journey to science. Their interviews tell …

Did we mention we’re recruiting two new co-hosts? And also our new Mars Office Manager and Chief Astrologer? Lots of exciting things are happening on a[s]b (and on Mars) in 2024 and we want you to be a part of it! Find out more and apply to be a co-host here: https://astrosoundbites.com/recruiting-2024/. We can’t wait to hear from you.…

It’s all about ice, ice, baby! In this episode, Sabrina takes us on a trek to Antarctica. While we hide from Cthulhu, she tells us how the frigid observatory IceCube is using elusive neutrinos to tell us about the Milky Way. Meanwhile, our meteorologist Will does some investigation of the flavors of ice we can expect to find on some potentially hab…

In this week’s episode, Cormac has somehow made it to hosting a second time (applause). This time, we discuss the smallest, reddest and exoplanetiest(?) stars - M dwarfs! Find out why we call them that, and why these temperamental ‘tars are interesting for exoplanets. Sabrina tells us about not-so-boring M stars showing complex and periodic behavio…

This week, our astro[sound]bites co-host crew starts a dance crew with the help of Kiersten, a former professional ballerina. We get a sample of Kiersten’s ballet skills through her astrobite, which tells us all about the secret spinning life of black holes. Our space sound sounds like something only those black holes could dance to! Cormac takes u…

In this week’s episode, Cormac makes his hosting debut as we talk about the most pressing threat to modern Astronomy (other than a worldwide coffee shortage) – megaconstellations! Despite sharing a majority of syllables with the collective noun of asterisms we all know and pretend to remember, these formations of hundreds of satellites are becoming…

In this week’s episode, we meet some of the animals in the neutron star zoo through astrobites with two surprising observations. Will tells us about a mysterious signal from a magnetar that appeared two years ago for 20 minutes and has yet to come back. Meanwhile, Cormac provides Will’s magnetar with some hope by telling us the story of a pulsar si…

Spooky season is here! In this episode, we’re investigating the ghostly disappearances of astrophysical objects. Sabrina does some detective work to solve the mystery of a missing black hole, and Kiersten tries to convince her that Halloween is the best holiday. Meanwhile, Cormac convenes with ghosts of stars to figure out where they have vanished …

We went on summer break (or winter break for our astronomer down under) but JWST did not! In our first episode back, we report on two new JWST Astrobites about exoplanet atmosphere. Kiersten tells us about the search for an atmosphere in a famous planetary system, Sabrina explains how poisonous gasses can signal “pre-life,” and Will appreciates nul…

In this episode, astro[sound]bites gets even more international as we welcome our new co-host, Cormac Larkin, based in Europe! We sit down in three different time zones and continents to learn more about Cormac and discuss what we’re each excited about for the next year of astro[sound]bites. Introduction to research with astro[sound]bites: https://…

We take a deep breath of exoplanet atmospheres, discussing what JWST is capable of and what it already has accomplished using transmission spectroscopy. In this episode, we learn that Sabrina misses SOFIA, brown dwarfs have sandy clouds, and Will knows a thing or two about Picaso (yes, that’s with one “s”). AND as a tribute to Black Space Week, fol…

Only 1% of Physics PhDs awarded to US citizens were to Black students in 2019 (according to the American Institute of Physics). In celebration of Juneteenth, we’ve invited the Black In Astro team to chat about their mission to support and highlight Black people in space science-related fields. We hear about their trajectories in space sciences and …

Did you know that talking about astronomy can actually make you hungry? In this episode, Kiersten and Will take us on a culinary adventure through food themed astrobites. Instead of starting with the main course, Will takes us to Mars for dessert where we dine on a meteorite that initially got confused for a huge piece of chocolate. Then, Kiersten …

Before we bid our tearful farewells to Alex, Sabrina and Kiersten present and discuss two of his three publications. We learn how Alex developed and deployed a machine learning model to classify supernovae using only photometry from their host galaxies! Now that Alex is a *doctor*, he’s taking his machine learning and supernova expertise to MIT and…

Episode 73: Astrophysical Prison Break We’re planning a prison break! But first, we’re consulting the experts on this topic. Sabrina takes us to a distant galaxy cluster to figure out how so much light is escaping. Once we know how it’s breaking free, Will brings us back a little closer to home where he consults with the Trojans (and we don’t mean …

In case your graduate student insurance doesn’t cover you over the summer, join us now as we take a quick trip to the optometrist! Kiersten checks the prescription of a neural network in finding strong lenses, and compares the results to those found by the original signers of the Declaration of Independence (there were 56, not 55, but Will gets his…

Today we say halo from a bird’s eye view of the Universe by exploring some of the largest simulations that exist. Kiersten tells us how cosmological simulations help us study the black hole populations that the next generation of gravitational wave detectors will discover. We also say our first goodbye to Alex as he presents his last astrobite (but…

Who knew a decade would fly by so quickly? In the dramatic conclusion of our two-part series, we explore cosmology, supernovae, and galaxy evolution in the year 2033 (or 2034, if you ask Kiersten about Dragonfly). Alex tells us how massive stars might live out their final days (after a few too many disclaimers), and Sabrina portmanteaus her way thr…

What will astronomy be like in the year 2033? In the first of this two-part series, we predict the (short-term) fate of the solar system, exoplanets, and the culture of astronomy a decade down the line. Kiersten and Will both focus on planets, one close to home and the other (hopefully) not too far away. We then get futuristic forecasts from six gu…

Episode 68: Breaking the Stigma Around Community College Part II In our second episode taking another in-depth look into community college, we start off by hearing about Sabrina’s experiences. She tells us about her journey from attending high school abroad to starting community college. Kiersten also interviews , Prof. Andria Schwortz, a physics a…

Did you know that half of our astro[sound]bites co-hosts went to community college? We’re here to talk about our experiences and work towards breaking the stigma! This is our first episode in this two part series which features Kiersten’s trajectory from community college into a brilliant exoplanet scientist. Next, Alex interviews Dra. Natalie Nico…

This episode is all about magnetic fields because we couldn’t stay away from such a polarizing topic! Alex takes us on a journey to the center of a star where we find how intense its magnetic field actually is. Along the way, Kiersten brings up a blast from the past with a sonification that had its own record release. To wrap up, Sabrina tells how …

In this episode, the gang catches multiplicity mania and learn about sextuple systems of stars, galaxies, and planets. Sabrina brings us an astrobite that resonates with us all (or maybe none of us), Will the Fourth carries the torch in studying the hierarchical Castor system, and Alex speeds through a requiem for high-redshift galaxies taken from …

We’re back with more of the most important papers in our subfields. Sabrina tells us how Karl, an engineer at Bell Labs, became the father of radio astronomy and stole her heart through time and space. Kiersten couldn’t pick just one paper so she choses a review article and gives it a favorable review on our own little a[s]b revue program. The gang…

Episode 63: Our Take on Landmark Papers Part I In this week’s episode, we take a deeper look into Alex and Will’s research through two landmark papers in their field. Will pulls out a strip chart to teach us about how Neptune’s atmosphere looked in the 1960s (and why it’s still important today). Alex gives us a deeper look into explosive transients…

Halloween is in the air! Get ready for a spoooooky episode where we take a stroll through the haunted side of the Universe. Alex takes us on a trek through a graveyard to investigate the skeletons the Milky Way is hiding - and no, we’re not talking about the candy! Then Will tells us a ghost story about the old blue monsters hiding under our extrag…

The gang is back! In this episode, we take a trip to the largest and the smallest astronomical scales to learn about all the exciting new ways that JWST is transforming the field in its first 100 days. Sabrina zooms out to find some sparkly galaxies and catch a glimpse into the dazzling high-redshift Universe. Then Kiersten zooms into JWST’s first …

We’re herded into a crowded auditorium for a press conference held by our very own Sabrina Berger. The breaking news? We’re going on break! But not just that, we’re launching our second sonification challenge! This challenge is focused on using sound for instruction, so submit a sound that teaches us about an astronomy concept in two minutes or les…

It’s time for our jam-packed sonification sequel, which includes two interviews, 5 (!) space sounds, and a critical fourth “i” for how sonification is used in astronomy! We’re first joined by Paul Green and Afra Ashraf, the creators of the new sonification project Sensing the Dynamic Universe. Then Sarah Kane, a senior undergrad at the University o…

Is it Halloween yet? This week, Alex, Kiersten, and Sabrina zoom out to stare at the spookiest voids on the most massive scales. Alex tells us how we can use baryonic acoustic oscillations, or BAOs – the astrophysical counterpart to the delicious buns – to study the shapes of these voids. Sabrina turns up the power for her space sound, and we turn …

Episode 58: Funky Fluids To take a break from the summer heat, Sabrina, Will, and Kiersten don their floaties and take a dive into some space fluids. Sabrina plays in the sandbox of granular instabilities, explaining how solids can behave like fluids. Then Will teleports everyone to a planet with an ocean where you’re guaranteed not to get a sunbur…

Break out your swim suits and fire up your Weber Spirit II 3-Burner Liquid Propane Grills, it’s summer vacation for those of us in the states! With their time off, Will, Kiersten, and Alex take a trip around the solar system in search of the best sunbathing spots. Will takes us to a molten Earth in search of the planet’s first “little dudes”, while…

Episode 56: Overpowered in the Universe In this episode, Sabrina teaches Will gamer lingo and the gang applies it to astronomy. Alex discusses a class of super-charged supernovae with bumpy and clumpy physics, and Sabrina shows us how to use pulsars to upgrade our data security (once we figure out how to uninstall Norton Antivirus). Then we discuss…

Our astro[sound]bites family has grown! New co-hosts Kiersten Boley and Sabrina Berger join Alex Gagliano and Will Saunders as the four moving forward. From now on, you’ll be hearing from three of us in each episode, so get ready to mix and match your favorite a[s]b combo pack. In this mini-episode, we get to know our new co-hosts a little and shar…

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. In her final episode as co-host, Malena reflects on her graduate school experience, research interests, and celebrity crushes. Will brings us Malena’s research to unlock the mysteries of planet formation through interstellar aliens, and Alex shifts the conversation and stacks together Malen…

Episode 54: Dusting off the Disks We recorded this episode a few months ago and are dusting it off today. We’re leaving a bit of dust though, because that’s what makes debris disks so exciting! Malena tells us about a disk that is both beautiful in appearance and in its scientific potential to reveal planetary dynamics. Alex tells us about a disk t…

What’s the opposite of high-energy astrophysics? In today’s episode, we recognize the unsung heroes of astronomy: the low-energy, sleepy objects that keep on chugging in spite of it all. Will describes recent findings that the Sun is a bit sleepier than its peers, Alex Illustr(is/ates) how galaxy cluster fly-bys can make an ultra-diffuse galaxy a l…

In this episode, the gang struggles to come up with a title (and Will manages to still get it wrong in the outro). More importantly, we are joined by PhD student Sophia Lilleengen, who tells us about her research into stellar streams and dark matter in the Milky Way, as well as her career in astronomy so far. Malena presents research about a quirky…

How are your sunglasses like the stars, planets, and galaxies that comprise our universe? Not only do they look cool – they’re also no stranger to polarization! In today’s episode, Will describes a mysterious transient lurking within our own galaxy, while Malena shares how baby magnetic fields might have polarized the baby Universe. Alex guides us …

Pop the champagne and blow out the candles, it’s our fiftieth episode!! To celebrate, we’ve prepared a list of fifty different paths that you can take with a degree in physics or astronomy. What’s the difference between soft money and hard money? What does Sir David Attenborough think about the moon? How do you really pronounce the word “potpourri”…

For the first time ever, astro[sound]bites is holding a hiring call. We’re looking to add a new co-host to the show! Why is that? Listen to this bite-sized episode to find out, and head over to astrosoundbites.com to learn more about the application process and what our team is looking for. Applications are due March 5th, 2022. We’re delighted to b…

Alex and Malena sit down for a gourmet meal and Will, with curved mustache and slicked hair, pours the wine. Alex enjoys his star cluster soup as he tells us about the state-of-the-art in star formation simulations. The gang then enjoys a space sound entremet (served chilled) before moving onto a main course of freshly seared planet. Malena explain…

We’re kicking off the new year by spinning a record from a few months back, about all the ways that rotation teaches us about the universe. Malena describes a few energetic stars lurking around the Main Sequence, and Will keeps his opinions about MOND to himself. Alex brings us home with an orchestral sonification to rival Stravinsky’s best. Astrob…