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 165: Landing on Europa, with Cynthia Phillips
Episode 164: Jupiter's Ancient Odyssey, with Simona Pirani
Episode 163: The Ring Worlds of Saturn, with Bonnie Buratti
Episode 162: The End is Nowhere Near Nigh, with Fred Adams
Episode 161: The Boom Time of the Universe, with Rosemary Wyse
Episode 160: Boom to Bust Part 1: Before the Beginning, with Katrin Heitmann
Episode 159: Living on the Edge: Are We On the Boundary of an Expanding Universe?, with Ulf Danielsson
Episode 158: Telling Space Stories, with Rayna Slobodian
Episode 157: How We Discovered Blazars Cause Mysterious Cosmic Rays
Episode 156: The Do-It-Yourself Spacesuit, with Cameron Smith
Episode 155: Artificial Photosynthesis: Taking the Sun on the Road, with Katharina Brinkert
Episode 154: The Vatican Observatory: Astronomy and Faith in the Modern World, with Cosette Gilmour
Episode 153: A Reality Check on Terraforming Mars, with Bruce Jakosky
Episode 152: Alien Viruses, with Ken Stedman
Episode 151: New Moons of Jupiter, with Scott Sheppard
Episode 150: At the Birth of Our First Newborn Planet, with André Müller
Episode 149: The Question of Life on Mars, with David Hamilton
Episode 148: Does Canada Have a Vision for Space Exploration?, with Chuck Black
Episode 147: Postcards From Home
Episode 146: Supernovae and the Evolution of Life on Earth, with Brian Thomas
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