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The Supermassive Podcast
The Royal Astronomical Society
97 episodes
6 days ago

The UK's #1 space podcast.


Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.


Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm


And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Astronomy
History,
Science,
Physics
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All content for The Supermassive Podcast is the property of The Royal Astronomical Society and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

The UK's #1 space podcast.


Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.


Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm


And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Astronomy
History,
Science,
Physics
Episodes (20/97)
The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - What Shape is Space?

Izzie Clarke is joined by Dr Robert Massey to tackle your questions on the shape of space, measuring gravitational waves and planet spotting. We also have another - another! - astronaut: Producer Richard chats to British ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan about her background as an astrophysicist. 


Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.


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




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6 days ago
19 minutes 27 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
Astronauts. Do we need them?

It’s a brave question to put to three astronauts live on stage but it’s a risk we are prepared to take. Recorded in front of a live audience at the UK Space Conference in Manchester, European Space Agency astronauts Tim Peake, Meganne Christian and John McFall discuss the future of human space exploration. Could robots or AI take their place? Will a trip to the Moon be as common as flying across the Atlantic? And can humans be trusted to not mess with Mars?

 

Host Izzie Clarke asks the big questions, producer Richard Hollingham threatens the audience, and (soft sceptic) Dr Robert Massey is prepared to be unpopular as they contemplate the role of astronauts in the 21st century.

 

Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.

 

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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 weeks ago
50 minutes 4 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Where are Earth's rings?

What would happen if asteroid Bennu impacted Earth? Can we timelapse Saturn's rings developing? Where are Earth's rings? Plus the solar wind on Mars... The Supermassive team answer YOUR questions.


Keep sending questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk, on Instagram @SupermassivePod or join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and to support the show.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 month ago
12 minutes 50 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
Why isn't Pluto a planet?

Izzie and Dr Becky decided that little ol’ Pluto doesn’t get much attention anymore. So we’re giving the dwarf planet some time in the spotlight. Why isn't Pluto a planet? How small is it? And what makes it so unique?


Thank you to Prof Alan Fitzsimmons from Queens University of Belfast joining us episode.


Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share you questions, images and more. Or email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 month ago
50 minutes 42 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Why aren’t stars closer together?

What would happen if planets collided at a snail's pace? How much of Avengers Endgame regarding time is scientifically acceptable? Why aren't stars closer together? And the team discuss a listener's theory to terra-form Mars.


Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @Supermassivepod


Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening.


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



Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm


And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 months ago
17 minutes 40 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
Is Time Real?

Start your stopwatches, set your timers, turn back your clocks because Izzie and Dr Becky are talking time. What is it? How, and why, do we measure it? And is time real or a human construct?!


Izzie speaks with Anne Curtis at the National Physical Laboratory who works on one of the world’s most accurate clocks, and editor Richard has been to the very heart of time itself in Greenwich with Finn Burridge at the Royal Observatory.


The Supermassive Club is finally here. Join to support the show and for ad-free listening: https://supermassive.supportingcast.fm/


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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2 months ago
57 minutes 2 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Mole People on Mars

Should astronauts live underground on the Moon or Mars? Black hole jets, rogue planets, the big crunch (or freeze) and the Ontario question. Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert Massey tackle your correspondence from the Supermassive mailbox and producer Richard makes a pronunciation intervention.


The book Becky mentions is Red Rising by Pierce Brown.


Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @Supermassivepod


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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3 months ago
16 minutes 6 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
What is Gravity?

This episode is a weighty one. Some might say massive. It’s all about gravity. What is it? Why does it matter? Izzie and Dr Becky explore Einstein and Newton’s different ideas on the subject, plus Izzie visits the Royal Society to see Isaac Newton's original manuscript for his works on gravity and the laws of motion.


Special thank you to listener Hanna_m_e for suggesting this episode topic and to Professor Tessa Baker, at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, and to Keith Moore, head of collections at the Royal Society for appearing on the show.


See THAT coffee table here: https://youtu.be/5XlTkGEO564?si=9Z8KwTqOPk-Sf0xM


If you have a question for the team, or an episode suggestion, send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.


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



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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3 months ago
53 minutes 54 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Can we gravitationally "hitch hike" out of the Solar System?

What the bloomin’ hell is a Gravastar? Are fast radio bursts like solar flares on steroids? Plus an interesting question on multiverses that can't be summed up in a short sentence. Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey dive into The Supermassive Mailbox and take on your questions.


Keep sending in your wonderful ponderings. Email them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or via Instagram @Supermassivepod


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4 months ago
15 minutes 1 second

The Supermassive Podcast
Returning to the Moon - with ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer

Climb aboard The Supermassive Rocket, Izzie and Becky are (talking about) sending humans back to the moon. Joining them on their trip is European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer and Jacki Mahaffey, the Chief Training Officer for NASA’s Artemis II mission. Plus, Dr Robert Massey, the Deputy Director of the Royal Astronomical Society, is there as well to answer your questions and share his top stargazing tips.


For more supermassive astronaut episodes, here's our episode with Samantha Cristoforetti and another with Gene Cernan.


Keep sending your questions to The Supermassive Podcast at podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram, @Supermassive Pod.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4 months ago
52 minutes 8 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Can A Star Orbit Another Star?

If black holes are so dense, how can gamma rays jet shoot out from it? At what point in space does our sun become invisible to the naked eye? And a question about CubeSats, black holes and detecting alien civilisations... It time for Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst and Dr Robert Massey to take on your questions!


Got a question to add to The Supermassive Mailbox? Email it to podcast@ras.ac.uk or message us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod. There's no such thing as a silly question. In fact, the sillier, the better!


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



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 months ago
12 minutes 3 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
Sample Return Missions - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

This time Dr Becky Smethurst and Izzie Clarke discover why it’s touch and go when it comes to returning asteroid samples to Earth and hear how we’ve been exchanging spit with Mars since the dawn of the Solar System.

 

The team is joined by Dr Sara Russell, a meteorite researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, and Dr Albert Haldemann, Mars Chief Engineer for the European Space Agency.

 

As ever, Dr Robert Massey is with us to answer your questions and look ahead to the next month in the night sky.

 

Keep you questions coming…you can email podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on instagram, @SupermassivePod.

 

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



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5 months ago
46 minutes 40 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
EMERGENCY BONUS - Asteroid 2024 YR4

Scientists have detected an asteroid that has a small chance of hitting Earth. Resident expert Dr Robert Massey tells Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham why we shouldn't be worried.


Want to suggest a topic to the team? Contact podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod.


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



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6 months ago
13 minutes 9 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Could we capture a primordial black hole?
What are the implications on space exploration with a change of president? Did cosmic inflation come before the Big Bang? Are there sonic booms in space? Izzie, Becky and Robert take on your questions! 

Keep sending your questions to podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on instagram @SupermassivePod. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6 months ago
16 minutes 34 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
The Search for Space Aliens
Hosts Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst are starting 2025 with a biggie. The scientific search for extraterrestrial life: 

Where are scientists looking? How do they search for potential signals? And what the heck is the plan if they find one?! The Supermassive team hears from Seth Shostak from the SETI Institute about the search for life beyond Earth, and Dr John Elliot from the University of St Andrews explains what would happen if we were to detect them. 

Thanks for all of your brilliant questions - keep them coming! You can email podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on instagram, @SupermassivePod.

And, as promised, here's more information on National Astronomy Week 2025, running from 1st-9th February: https://astronomyweek.org.uk

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6 months ago
55 minutes 21 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
Q&A - Space Potatoes and Christmas Stars
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 podcast@ras.ac.uk 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. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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8 months ago
53 minutes 30 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Why can't anything go faster than the speed of light?
From planetary alignment through the galaxy to spacetime expansion, The Supermassive Team answer your questions.

Keep sending us your questions, email us on podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on instagram @SupermassivePod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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8 months ago
14 minutes 11 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
The Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts
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 podcast@ras.ac.uk 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




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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8 months ago
40 minutes 41 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
BONUS - Nuclear Pasta & G-Astronomy
... 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. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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9 months ago
17 minutes 42 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast
Strange Stars and Bizarre Binaries
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 podcast@ras.ac.uk 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show more...
9 months ago
48 minutes 10 seconds

The Supermassive Podcast

The UK's #1 space podcast.


Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.


Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm


And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.


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


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.