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 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
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Crash Course Pods: The Universe
Universe Today Podcast
Astronomy Cast
The Supermassive Podcast
The Astro Ben Podcast