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 124: The Best Candidate for Life, with Jason Dittmann
Episode 123: Dark Matter Bridging the Galaxies, with Michael Hudson
Episode 122: What if the Sun had a Sibling?, with Quinn Konopacky
Episode 121: Scary Resolutions to the Fermi Paradox, with David Kipping
Episode 120: When Galaxies Collide, with Gurtina Besla
Episode 119: From Knots to Donuts: Exotic Possibilities for the Shape of Our Universe, with Paul Sutter
Episode 118: The Sun: Our Local Mystery, with Terry Kucera
Episode 117: The Universe is Going Green, with Matt Malkan
Episode 116: The Transit of Mercury, with Suzanna Nagy
Episode 115: Searching for Aliens with the World’s Biggest Telescopes, with Dan Werthimer
Episode 114: The Milky Way's Dark Matter Twin, with Roberto Abraham
Episode 113: Astronomical Observatories of Ancient Britain, with Gail Higginbottom
Episode 112: Geysers on Europa, with William Sparks
Episode 111: Can Supernovae Cause Extinctions!?, with Shawn Bishop
Episode 110: Peering Into the Void, with Nico Hamaus
Episode 109: Rethinking Ancient Mayan Astronomy, with Gerardo Aldana
Episode 108: The Closest Exoplanet Could Be Habitable, with Guillem Anglada-Escudé
Episode 107: Surveying the Cosmos, with Ludovic Van Waerbeke
Episode 106: Is Our Solar System Unique? The Complex Process of Planetary Formation, with Aaron Boley
The Star Spot Episode 105: Ad Astra?, with Zachary Fejes
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