Feature Guest: Vikram Ravi
They come to us from deep space. They last a tiny fraction of a second. They contain as much energy as the sun’s total output in 80 years. Yet we still haven’t figured out what causes these so-called Fast Radio Bursts or FRBs. I don’t want to say it’s aliens, but... no, it’s probably not aliens. Today we’re joined here at The Star Spot by Professor Vikram Ravi whose team is quickly zeroing in on the origin of these bizarre FRBs.
Current in Space
Amelia and Tony explain new research stating that worlds with completely frozen oceans, fittingly known as snowball planets, may actually be habitable . . . on the surface! And while the peak of the prolific Perseid meteor shower may have already passed, Simon reminds us that it's still not entirely over, and to get out there and take a look while you still can. Finally, robots are on the International Space Station! Joseph and Tony explain the purpose of three artificial helpers floating in the orbiting laboratory, one of which arrived only in late July.
About Our Guest
Vikram Ravi is Assistant Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. He received a PhD from the University of Melbourne, then worked as the Millikan Fellow in Astronomy at Caltech followed by the Clay Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard and Smithsonian. He describes his interest as exploring the “ephemeral, unseen universe,” studying phenomena that “vary on time-scales of nanoseconds to years.”
Episode 185: Did a Supernova Cause a Mass Extinction?, with Brian Fields
Episode 184: The Milky Way's First Fast Radio Burst, with Sandro Mereghetti
Episode 183: COVID-19 Meets the NASA Space Apps Challenge, with James Slifierz
Episode 182: Planet Nine or Black Hole One, with Jakub Scholtz
Episode 181: Reports of Betelgeuse’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated, with Emily Levesque
Episode 180: Wormholes through Space and Time, with John Cramer
Episode 179: Dreams of Floating Cities, with Geoffrey Landis
Episode 178 Sibling Rivalry at the Centre of the Galaxy, with Smadar Naoz
Episode 177: The Case of the Missing Dark Matter, with Guo Chi
Episode 176: Second Genesis, with Jay Melosh
Episode 175: The Truth is Out There (at the University of Manitoba)
Episode 174: Fuzzy Dark Matter, with Lachlan Lancaster
Episode 173: Discovering an Ancient Oasis, with William Rapin
Episode 172: The Hubble Not-So Constant
Episode 171: Ploonets: When Moons Go Rogue, with Jorge Zuluaga
Episode 169: Science at the Limits (Part 2)
Episode 168: Celebrating Apollo + Science at the Limits (Part 1)
Episode 167: Current in Space + The Best of The Star Spot: Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt
Episode 166: Nanodiamonds are Forever, with Jane Greaves
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