Astrophysics
Turnabout Intruder
Jan Eldridge, Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland on the facts behind the fiction of the Star Trek mind-swap episode - Turnabout Intruder. Audio
Dr Becky Smethurst: Black Hole gazing
Dr Becky Smethurst: Black Hole gazing We all know what a black hole is don't we? They suck everything in and there's no light or time in the middle. At least that's how they work in films. Our guest… Audio
Dr Jane Rigby: Nasa’s biggest ever telescope set to launch
Later this month the James Webb Space Telescope will be shot into space, and when it reaches its destination - approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth - the massive telescope will slowly… Audio, Gallery
Physics on ice
Stories of physics research in Antarctica - into, under, and from within the ice. Claire finds out about measuring sea ice thickness and supercooling. Katy Gosset learns how scientists detect… Audio
Surveying the skies
Two stories of looking to the skies. Claire Concannon joins a hunt for planets outside of our solar system. Katy Gosset reveals the results of the annual New Zealand Garden Birds Survey. Audio
Stephen Curran: visiting Venus and giant comets
Kiwi-Scottish starman Dr Stephen Curran returns by popular demand to unpack cosmic goings-on. Audio
Finding life on alien worlds - mission possible, according to a leading astrophysicist
The astrophysicist Dr Nicholas Rattenbury talks about how alien life might be discovered on alien worlds in this highlight from the 2021 season of Auckland University's popular Raising the Bar event.
…Stephen Curran: Star ovens and mass extinctions
Kiwi-Scottish starman Dr Stephen Curran returns by popular demand to unpack cosmic goings ons. This week: how all the iron in your blood came from a massive star which lived and died before the Sun… Audio
Dr. Katie Mack: How the universe is likely to end
How the universe will end remains a question that has not been definitively answered. Theoretical cosmologist Katie Mack researched and outlined five of the most likely ways it will come about in her… Audio
Sara Seager: searching for planets beyond our solar system
Sara Seager is a renowned Canadian-born astrophysicist and planetary scientist based at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on the discovery of planets outside our own… Audio
Materials: Fact of Fiction - Neutronium
Associate Professor in Physics at the Faculty of Science, University of Auckland, JJ Eldridge gives us her scientific take on Neutronium - a material widely written about in fiction - including Star… Audio
Alcohol in space
Alexander MacKinnon is a Senior Lecturer of Astrophysics at the University of Glasgow. He's going to be talking about how the universe and how it's full of alcohol, not the bottled stuff, in the… Audio
Neil Degrasse Tyson - A Cosmic Perspective
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. He's a best-selling author, Emmy Award winner, recipient of 19 honorary doctorates, and a man who was once named… Audio
Kip Thorne: interstellar activity
Kim Hill talks to the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology, and co-founder of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory. He is in… Audio
Where are all the aliens?
Aliens should exist - but where are they all? An Oxford professor of astrophysics explains what's going on with the seach for extraterrestrial life. Audio
How to discover a planet from your sofa
Chris Lintott is an astrophysics professor from the University of Oxford and presenter of The Sky at Night TV programme. He is in New Zealand to talk about, galaxy evolution, the discovery of new… Audio
Australian Professor gets top job to hunt for aliens
An Australian astrophysicist says he's 'blown away' at being given the job of leading a multi-million dollar search for alien life. Audio
Liquid Water on Mars
As NASA's Curiosity rover discovers liquid water on Mars, astrophysicist Duncan Steel discusses what that might mean for life on Mars. Audio
Boldly going where your ancestors have already been - what the rediscovery of traditional navigation means
Explorer Kevin Biggar, astrophysicist Prof. Richard Easther, designer Kate Sylvester and celestial navigator Jack Thatcher talk with Jesse Mulligan. Audio
Marcus Chown Explains the Big Stuff
Astrophysicist and writer Marcus Chown talks about his latest book, What a Wonderful World. Audio