Episode 9 – Dr Julie Banfield – Radio Galaxy Zoo + Optical & Radio ‘Windows’

Dr Julie Banfield introduces the Radio Galaxy Zoo Citizen Science Project, Dr Nadeshzda Cherbakov on the ‘Radio Widow’ and ‘Sorry, no aliens there!’

Dr Ian Musgrave tells us about ‘Starshot’ and what to look for in the sky this week, and in ‘Ian’s Tangent’ he tells us about the stars in the Centaur – Alpha, Beta and Proxima.

In the news: Proxima Centauri b, Astrophotography tips, New SKA HQ, Dark Matter Galaxy, Black holes, SETI ‘signal’ unconfirmed.

We also explain how some electromagnetic waves can penetrate earth’s atmosphere … and others can’t.

The radio window is the range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that the earth’s atmosphere lets through. The wavelengths in the radio window run from about one centimetre to about eleven-metre waves. The corresponding frequencies that get through the radio window run from about 30GHz down to 27Mhz

Image by NASA (original); SVG by Mysid. – Vectorized by User:Mysid in Inkscape, original NASA image from File:Atmospheric electromagnetic transmittance or opacity.jpg., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5577513

Quicklinks: tinyurl.com/etasker SciAm Blog Article on Proxima Centauri b written by our special guest Dr Elizabeth Tasker – Red Dwarf planet’s ‘habitability’ – a must read!