Our final episode of 2024 is a SUPERMASSIVE Q&A. 

Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey make their way through your questions.  What’s the farthest star we can see with the naked eye? Why do black holes expand and shrink? And what would happen if we accelerated an uncompressed medium sized potato to 99% the speed of light? 

And remember, do not confuse the ISS with Santa's Sleigh in the run up to Christmas. To avoid any confusion, find out when the ISS is flying over your home using https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/home.cfm

If you have any questions for a future episode, email [email protected] or find us on instagram @SupermassivePod. And thank you to anyone who has listened or reviewed the podcast this year, we really appreciate it. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

From planetary alignment through the galaxy to spacetime expansion, The Supermassive Team answer your questions.

Keep sending us your questions, email us on [email protected] or find us on instagram @SupermassivePod

The Supermassive Team are investigating strange blasts of energy in space called Fast Radio Bursts. What are they and where do they come from? Dr Stuart Ryder from Macquarie University in Australia joins Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert to help explain. 

Christmas Present Ideas 

• Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s talk - A Journey into The Cosmos
• Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition at Royal Museums Greenwich
• Telescope SeeStar S50 
• Image stabilising binoculars
• Cosmos (book) from DK
• The Impossible Man by Patchen Barrs. 
• The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes by Sarah Webb
• The Night Sky Almanac for 2025 by Radmila Topalovic, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion

Keep sending your brilliant questions and photos to [email protected] or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham

... Potentially the silliest bonus episode we've ever recorded. 

The Supermassive Team takes on your questions; What are Brown Dwarfs? How can photons have different energies? Do frozen stars exist? And they get extremely distracted by the concept of nuclear pasta. Even Producer Richard gets involved. 

Here's the paper mentioned by listener Hanna, Thermodynamics of Frozen Stars

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

From pulsating stars to those with diamond cores, Izzie and Dr Becky are exploring weird and wonderful stars. What are the different types of stars in our universe? And what are the oddballs? Plus Dr Robert Massey is here for your top stargazing tips.

With thanks to Professor Andrew Norton from the Open University for joining the team this episode.

Keep sending your brilliant questions and photos to [email protected] or on Instagram @SupermassivePod. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham

Auroras, and comets, and launches... Oh my! Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst, and Dr Robert Massey run through a MEGA month for the astronomy community. Plus, there's just enough time to squeeze in a few listener questions. 

Here's our recommendations on news or journals sites to keep up with all things space and science: 

space.com
Universe Today
Astronomy Now
Sky at Night
Sky and Telescope
NASA
ESA
ESO
The RAS Website and Journals
Dr Becky's YouTube channel
Astrobites.org
TheConversation.com 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Izzie and Dr Becky are untangling the cosmic web - the large scale structure of the universe - with help from Dr Chiara Mingarelli from Yale University. What the heck is it? What do we know about it? And can we use gravitational waves to "see" it? Plus, Dr Robert Massey is on hand to answer your questions.

Got a question for the team? Contact us on [email protected] or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

What happens when a black hole and gravitational wave collide? How will the moon's gravity impact tides with rising sea levels? And "the Supermassive Wise Ones" discuss Einstein vs Newton in this bonus episode. 

Send your questions to [email protected]. 

Izzie and Dr Becky complete their tour of the solar system with a trip to Mercury, the space spirograph (copyright: Dr Becky). Join them as they explore what we know about the planet so far and what ESA's current mission, BepiColombo, is hoping to find. Plus, Dr Robert Massey is on hand to answer your questions. 

Special thanks to guests Dr David Rothery from the Open University and Dr Simon Lindsay from the University of Leicester. 

Don't forget to send your questions to the team via [email protected] or Instagram @SupermassivePod

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. 

Does an instantaneous star map exist? Where are the perfect spheres in space? How did Venus get so close to the Sun? It's a bonus episode from The Supermassive team. 

Sign the petition and support Herstmonceux Observatory here... https://www.change.org/p/save-the-observatory-science-centre-herstmonceux

This is Venus’ moment in the supermassive spotlight. What do we know about this hellish planet? And what missions are going there in the near future? 

Izzie and Dr Becky speak with Dr Phillipa Mason from Imperial College London about EnVision, an upcoming mission to Venus, as well as RAS librarian Sian Prosser to explore the archive. Plus Dr Robert Massey is here to take on your questions.

The paper about the sounds on Venus can be found here. 

The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production by Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.