Feature Guest: Jorge Zuluaga
Astronomers have yet to confirm a single detection of an exomoon, that is a moon orbiting a planet outside our solar system. Now it turns out at least part of the explanation is that we may have been looking in the wrong place all this time. Introducing ploonets. No, I did not just mispronounce the word planet. Today we’re joined here at The Star Spot by Jorge Zuluaga, whose team coined the name to describe a moon that has gone rogue, and while it may sound exotic, a speculative theory posits that ploonets could have played a key role in the evolution of our very own planet.
Current in Space
Tony is back with an exciting discovery made in fresh snow in Antarctica: an isotope that can only have been manufactured in one place – the infernal heart of a supernova. Then Joseph and Tony once again ask the cosmic question: what are fast radio bursts, or FRBs, as eight more repeating FRBs have been detected in deep space, and we just may be on the cusp of solving the mystery. Finally, Amelia and Tony talk about a glitch. A software glitch? No. A neutron star glitch!
About Our Guest
Jorge Zuluaga is Professor of Astronomy at the Institute of Physics at the University of Antioquia in Colombia. His research interests include astrophysics, planetary science and astrobiology. He also enjoys teaching and popularizing Astronomy and Physics in his hometown.
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 170: The Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts, with Vikram Ravi
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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