PODCAST · science
AstrotalkUK
by Gurbir Singh
Weekly audio podcast by and predominantly amateur astronomers.
Episodes
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Episode 140: Science Beyond Borders: Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund on COSPAR, Space Stewardship, and the Global Lunar Frontier
Founded in 1958, COSPAR organises Scientific Assemblies and Symposia in different countries where thousands of scientists, engineers and researchers gather over several days to share their latest work. This interview was recorded on 8 August 2026, on the final day of the 46th Scientific Assembly…
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Episode 139: The Cosmic Diplomat: Dr Lev Zelenyi on Sputnik, Sanctions, and the Secrets of Venus
Dr Lev Zelenyi talks about his long career in many roles, including 17 years as the Director of the Space Research Institute (IKI), contributing to structural reforms within the Russian Academy of Sciences and his deep conviction in cultivating global partnerships in several key Russian space...
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Episode 138: Dr Serge Plattard on Space Debris, Militarisation, and the Governance Gap
Our Staggering, Invisible Space Dependency: Approximately 8% to 10% of all global socioeconomic activity is now directly dependent on space-based assets. Dr Plattard shares his concerns on the absence of international rules and potential long term impact.
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Episode 137: Bouncing on Phobos. MMX – Mars Sample Return Mission
The ambitious Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission is expected to launch to Mars on 20th October 2026 and return a sample from the surface of Phobos by 2031. Several years in the making, it is a collaborative venture between CNES, DLR, NASA and led by JAXA.
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Episode 136: Science – The Bedrock of China’s Space Program
Every national space programme rests on four pillars: visionary leadership, unwavering political and economic commitment, realistic ambitions, and a deep acknowledgement that fundamental science is the essential bedrock for a successful and enduring space programme. Professor Wu, Ji has continued...
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Episode 135: Pulsars, Politics and Faith – Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell
Just between you and me, one of the best parts of this podcast is the opportunity it gives me to meet some very unique and special people, like today's guest, Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell. Last summer I met and recorded this interview in Oxford. We covered a range of topics, including Pulsars (of...
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Episode 134: The European Solar Telescope project with Dr Hector Socas-Navarro
The European Solar Telescope is a project to build ever laregr telescope on Earth but this time for a solar telescope. This interview was recorded in Tenerife but the EST will be built on the negighboring Island of Las Palmas.
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Episode 133: The Toliman Space Telescope – an update
The Toliman Space Telescope. A small, novel spacecraft looking for Earth-like planets in our nearest neighbour star system, Alpha Centauri.
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Episode 132: Space Elevator
Imagine a giant vertical railway stretching 100,000 km from the equator, somewhere in the Pacific, straight up into space. Instead of expensive, polluting rockets, the space elevator offers a smooth, slow electric ascent to Earth orbit. This "bridge to the stars" connects a floating Earth…
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Episode 131: Space Weather and the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad in India
We are increasingly aware of the impact of space weather on spacecraft in space and, occasionally, on electrical power transmission on Earth, but what about its impact on the Earth's atmosphere? That is exactly the research interest of Professor Pallam Raju, Dean of the Physical Research…
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Episode 130: Mobile solar powerbank for satellites in orbit
Space Power Ltd, founded in 2019, is developing a novel solution for contactless power delivery using high-intensity lasers to extend the lifespans of ageing satellites in space. I spoke with its founder, Keval Dattani, in Nicosia during Cospar2025.org.
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Episode 129: Space Law
Professor Kai-Uwe Schrogl is a space law expert with experience in many roles, including working with the European Space Agency ESA, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and as the Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) in Vienna. In this interview, recorded in Nicosia...
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Episode 128: George Danos: Cyprus in Space
Cyprus is a small country with a small population and a small economy. But it has big ambitions in space. In this episode, recorded at Cospar 2025 in Nicosia, George Danos, who has been championing this case for Cyprus for years and can be considered Cyprus's Carl Sagan, explains the rise of...
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Episode 127: Weaving with Graphene. Vivek Koncherry
From centruries of weaving in the state of Kerala in India to automated AI controlled machines weaving Graphene coated fibres in Manchester. A modern day Cottonopolis.
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Episode 126: Graphene: From scientific discovery to commercial application
rofessor James Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester, describes Manchester’s journey to commercialise the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of Graphene.
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Episode 125: Britian’s Greatest Pilot Captain Eric “Winkle” Brown
You may have seen the BBC documentary Britain's Greatest Pilot. Yes, he was an outstanding pilot, but there was much more to him than just that. I published extracts from an interview with Captain Eric Brown in April 2011. Much of that interview was not published .. until now.
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Episode 124: Exploring the Stellar Neighbourhood. The Toliman Space Telescope
Just as the Moon was the first stepping stone for our interplanetary exploration, our nearest star, the Alpha Centauri System will inevitably become our stepping stone for our Interstellar Journey. That is in the distance. A new mission, The Toliman Space Telescope, is launching soon will target...
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Episode 123: Soaring over the surface of Titan: NASA’s Dragonfly Mission
It is December 2034. A spacecraft launched from Earth in July 2028, enters Titan's atmosphere at 5km/s. Around 2 hours later, it softly lands on the surface at less than 1m /s. Over the next three years, NASA's Dragonfly mission, a rotorcraft the size of a small car, will chemically analyse the...
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Episode 122: Are we alone and the Breakthrough Initiatives
A two-day Breakthrough Discuss conference held on 23rd and 24th April 2025 in Oxford England, took stock of the latest developments through three main sessions: "Forms of Non-Terrestrial Life", "The Nature of Consciousness and Intelligence", and "Detecting Life As We Do Not Know It". Breakthough...
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Episode 121: Failed stars or successful planets?
The story of Teide-1 (the first brown dwarf to be observed) is the story at the other end of a star's life cycle. That early stage is when stars transition from a huge cloud of dust and gas (billions of km across). to the size of a large planet (150,000 km). This is way smaller than the size of…
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Episode 120: Prof. Gengxin Xie. A Greenhouse on the Moon
On Thursday, 3rd January 2019, some water was added to some seeds in a tiny greenhouse. The seeds, cotton, potato, Rape and Arabidopsis sprouted. This was an experiment fonducted on the lunar surface
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Episode 119: Professor Ivan Almar and Astronomy in Hungary during the Soviet Era
A brief but fascinating life and work of Professor Ivan Almar. he and his wife's contributions to asttronautics in Hungary during and after the Soviet era.
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Episode 118: Galactic Magnetic Fields
Did you know our galaxy (the Milky Way) has a magnetic field? News to me! Dr Vasu Shaw explains how astronomers go about understanding such phenomena. We also speak her fascinating international journey to becoming an astrophysicist.
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Episode 117: Early Aviation in Manchester
Its not just cotton, trains and computers that Manchester is known for its innovation but aviation too. Frank Pleszak shares his insights in to the role Manchester played in aviation more than 100 years ago.
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Episode 116: Exploring Cosmic Events with Professor Rene Breton at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics
In this episode, Professor Rene Breton, originally from Quebec, has been working at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics for over a decade. We discuss only a small part of his current research, including how Pulsars may one day be used as a GPS for interstellar travel.
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Episode 115: Professor Michael Garrett & Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics
In this episode, Professor Mike Garrett from @jodrellbank, discusses research activities at the #Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, including international collaborations, Dennis Walsh's work on #GravitationalLensing, and the increased #SETI activities through the #Breakthrough Listen…
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Episode 114: Chris Riley and The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks
Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks is an immersive audio-visual experience in a unique venue in the centre of London. Written by @alifeofriley and Tom Hanks. Available only in London and only until 13th October 2024
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Episode 113: Rocket Pioneer Hermann Oberth
If you want to learn about the life and work of rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth, there is only one place to visit. The Hermann Oberth Space Travel Museum in the German Town of Feucht, near Nurnberg. @OberthMuseum #Oberth
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Episode 112: Brown Dwarfs, Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Euclid, a @esa science mission, will shed light on both dark matter and dark energy. It was launched in July 2023 and arrived in its L2 orbit a month later. It has just two instruments which will produce a high-resolution 3-D map of a third of the sky, stretching back 10 billion years during its...
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Quick Update
It's been a while since I posted episode 72. Now that the book The Indian Space Programme has been published, I am resuming podcasting. You can see some Amazon Reviews and if you have one, add your own too. More about that book on this short BBC radio interview here. . If you want, you can...
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Jim Reavis – Cloud Security Alliance
Jim Revis. Credit Jim Revis A short interview with Jim Revis recorded in London on 24th April during InfoSec 2013. In this interview, Jim talks about the evolving definition of Cloud Computing, the CSA's Star Registry, the CSA's Cloud Computing Security Knowledge certification, and his take on…
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Ben Kepes – Future of Cloud Computing
Ben Kepes When I speak to anyone in a time zone with a 12 hours difference and in opposite hemispheres it implies we are about as far as two people on the planet can be. You can play or download the recording at the bottom of this page. Ben is known for, amongst other things, being the curator of...
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Mars Curiosity’s seven minutes of terror – in less than 3 minutes
Mars Curiosity landing in a nutshell (less than 3 minutes audio below) by Dr Anita Sengupta from the Entry Decent & Landing and Advanced Technologies group at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Full interview in Episode 55 - tomorrow. For the YouTube video, click the image below....
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Transit of Venus and the Great British Story
The last hour of so of the transit of Venus on 6th June 2012 will be visible during sunrise from northwest of England. The following links should answer most if not all your queries. Listen to a short interview above on Radio Merseyside with Roger Phillips today. For details of the Yuri Gagarin...
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Gagarin Statue in Manchester – Quick Update
It appears that the public support for the statue to come to Manchester is not an issue once people get to know about the campaign. Halfway target of 500 was met on Thursday last week. My thanks to all of you. Another name, Professor Carl Murray a scientist working on the Cassini probe currently...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does AstrotalkUK have?
AstrotalkUK currently has 145 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is AstrotalkUK about?
Weekly audio podcast by and predominantly amateur astronomers.
How often does AstrotalkUK release new episodes?
AstrotalkUK publishes regularly with 145 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to AstrotalkUK?
You can listen to AstrotalkUK on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts AstrotalkUK?
AstrotalkUK is created and hosted by Gurbir Singh.
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