#27 - September 2014

The Discussion: Sirius Astronomy and The Knowledge Observatory’s
educational outreach and preparation for our dark sky observing
weekend in Wales: AstroCamp.


The News: In the news we have the latest on the European Space
Agency’s ambitious Rosetta spacecraft as it settles into it’s
science program at Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko; details of the
science payload for NASA’s ‘Curiosity 2’ Mars rover; revealing
images of the Pluto system from the New Horizons spacecraft;
China’s lunar orbit & spacecraft return mission and turbulent
happenings on Uranus (sorry).


The 5 Minute Concept: Distant radio sources that reveal unknown
monsters from the past, unleashing hell from afar. In this
month’s 5MC, Paul takes us billions of light years away from home
to explain one of the brightest and most energetic objects in the
universe. Quasars.


The Interview: This month we return to the most exciting current
space mission. In an attempt to understand the life of comets and
unlock the secrets of the birth of the solar system, Ralph speaks
to the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission Project Scientist,
Matt Taylor.


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
Ralph & Paul answer:


Why does Venus rotate retrograde? Dave Bood from Scarborough,
UK & Beatriz Caicedo, Guatemala .

With the idea that all that is the universe originated in a
speck with the big bang, and that the universe is expanding, how
is it that things such as galaxies collide? Kurt Green, Chicago
Illinois via email.

How much would my 20 stone (280lbs) wife weigh on each of the
planets in the solar system? Darren Knight .