#62 - August 2017

The Discussion: Jeni’s bizarrely decided that a holiday is
preferable to being locked in a bunker with two megalomaniacal
Martians, so you’re left with an exhausted Paul and a jetlagged
Ralph this month. What could go wrong? We discuss outreach at
science festivals and a happy resolution to the light pollution
issue in the Brecon Beacons dark sky reserve.


The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we
have:


The new Doctor is upsetting some people (get over it!)

The hunt Planet 9 takes another turn

Have astronomers discovered the smallest possible star?

A deep dive on the Great American Eclipse on August 21st

And an update on the gravitational wave data debate



Astronomy You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: This month we give
Paul’s festering Hat of Woo and airing as we kick start another
occasional feature looking into the science progress in areas (or
astronomers) you’ve probably never heard of. This month we look
at cosmology and the expanding universe from the perspective of
the much-overshadowed astronomy giant, Vesto Slipher.


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’re tackling a question about the effects of using a centrifuge
to simulate gravity in space:


“Let’s say we build a spaceship which contains a massive wheel
which rotates to generate 1G. If you are standing on the inside
of the outer wall of the wheel, you will be rotating at the same
speed as the wheel and therefore feel the 1G. (Like you see in
2001 – A space Odyssey). So the artificial gravity is only
created by the rotation and centrifugal force and not by the
distortion of space time due to a massive body.


Now what will happen when I jump? When I jump up, I am no longer
connected to floor of the wheel. What happens to me? As I
understand it, I should start to float inside the wheel, like
they do in the ISS. The reason is that the centrifugal force
generated by rotating wheel no longer applies to me as I am
longer connected.


If this is the case, then you better never run inside the wheel
(running means you will have both feet of the ground between
steps) and most likely need to wear Velcro shoes to ensure you
stay connect to the floor of the wheel.


Am I missing something as a lot of proposed interplanetary
spaceships include some sort of wheel to generate artificial
gravity? Your humble listener and collector of your podcast
posters.


Raoul (@QuidneIT on Twitter) in Oxfordshire