Awesome Astronomy Episode 54 - December 2016

Paul Hill, Ralph Wilkins and Jenifer Millard host. Damien Phillips and John Wildridge produce. Summary of content: The Discussion: This month we take a look at the recent supermoon and what it takes to make the moon ‘super’; Jeni goes teaching kids about space and hones her exoplanet hunting skills; while Paul’s been hosting events with British astronaut Tim Peake. The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: - An update on Blue Origin’s spaceflight ambitions - More on Shiaparelli and Exomars part 1 - A NASA Director’s worries about science in a Trump administration - An Ocean like the Dead Sea under Pluto’s ice sheets - The roundest object in space - Could dark energy actually be an emergent property of entropy? - The dinosaur-killing asteroid may have turned planet Earth inside out The Hat of Woo: Delving into the rank and putrid world of conspiracy theories to debunk the nonsense that lies within. This month Paul pulls Project Pegasus out of his fetid hat where a young President Obama was part of a team of juveniles used in the 1980s to teleport to Mars and into the past. No, really! Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month we go back to Tycho Brahe: What is a plain regular (non-super) nova? Doug, @DesRon94, Detroit Michigan http://www.awesomeastronomy.com Do go visit http://astrogear.spreadshirt.com/ for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by Astrosphere New Media. http://www.astrosphere.org/ Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. While you're at it, do support our Learning Space educator training program by going to this site: https://www.patreon.com/LearningSpace Please help us keep training the trainers! Learning Space is a weekly G+ Hangout on Air about topics in astronomy education, outreach and other ways to share science both in the school setting and outside it. We bring you interviews, hands-on demonstrations, lists of our favorite educational resources and more!