Astrophiz 64: Dr Shi Dai ~ Pulsar Hunter 

This episode features a fabulous radio astronomer, Dr Shi Dai, who is on a very exciting quest, to find elusive pulsar-black hole binary systems. https://soundcloud.com/astrophiz/astrophiz64-dr-shi-dai-pulsar-hunter

To continue his search he is working with the CASS pulsar group which is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility, a division of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science. Dr Shi Dai has his Doctorate in radio astronomy from Peking University, a major Chinese research university located in Beijing. and has recently been awarded the coveted Bolton Fellowship to continue his research which he takes up later this year. He researches many aspects of pulsar astronomy including pulsar timing, pulsar emission properties and mechanisms, gravitational wave research, scintillation studies and pulsar searching. Shi uses the Parkes radio telescope for the majority his pulsar research but is also involved with collaborations with the SKA and the new FAST instrument in China.

Then Dr Ian “Astroblog’ Musgrave presents his regular segment ‘What’s Up Doc?  where he tells us what’s up in the evening, night and morning skies for the next two weeks. In this episode he tells us about the four planets currently visible to the naked eye, and about the launch of the Parker Solar Probe.

In the News: 

1. More on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe
2. Arecibo radio telescope observatory upgrade
3. TESS downloads and releases first tranche of data in the search for a billion exoplanets