noun : an alignment of three celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, and earth during an eclipse.
also : a podcast wherein real-life, actual astronomer Dr Emily Brunsden from the University of York and not-astronomer but enthusiastic science nerd Dr Chris Stewart explore the universe.
Support us on PATREON | Find us at:
We know, we know — we did exoplanets last time. But that was the current state-of-play and a 2024 exoplanets wrapped update. In this episode, Emily looks to the future! She does a deep dive into the promise of the just wonderful JWST, as it prods exoplanets in ways they’ve never been prodded before.
I cannot tell you how many times I have walked outside to stare at the night sky at 4am after listening to one of your episodes …
They have more to say about astronomy than you can possibly imagine …
Awesome, quirky astronomy podcast keeping us updated about the latest astronomy news.
I really enjoy listening to your podcasts, I literally check your web everyday or two waiting for a new episode!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Love these podcasts — informative and fun! Chris and Emily work well together making the podcasts really engaging
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Simple, informative and a pleasure to listen to. What more can you want?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— This podcast provides a great review of new developments in these fields along with background information to help the listener understand the context of the new research. Highly recommended!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — … the alignment of Chris with Emily is what makes this wonderful. Chris teases out a simple explanation from Emily that is understandable to non-scientists like me …
We know, we know — we did exoplanets last time. But that was the current state-of-play and a 2024 exoplanets wrapped update. In this episode, Emily looks to the future! She does a deep dive into the promise of the just wonderful JWST, as it prods exoplanets in ways they’ve never been prodded before.
It couldn't be a season of exo-stuff without taking a good hard look at the current state of exoplanets, the OG exo-thing. Emily sums up the state of exoplanet research in 2024 — her Exoplanets 2024 Wrapped, if you like — then lines up her top three exoplanets of the year, and considers what's coming up next in this exo-ploding field.
Exoplanets, sure. Exo-moons too, apparently. But exo ... comets?! Yes indeed, they're a real thing, and we've known about them for ages! How do you spot something so tiny around another star, so far away? Emily has the insider knowledge, because it's something she's genuinely investigating in her job as an actual, real-life astronomer.
Way, way back in the early epochs of Syzygy (ep 19 in Oct 2018 if you must know) we talked about the exciting prospect of spotting the first exomoon — a moon orbiting a planet orbiting a star that is not our own. It seemed reasonable to expect that six years later exomoons would be a thing we've discovered, and maybe even started a catalogue. But turns out, observing a minute signal on top of an already minute signal is hard. Emily outlines our best prospects for exomoon discovery.
A short announcement: Syzygy is now seasonal! From now on we're going to release the podcast in seasons, and we're excited to announce the imminent release of the first episode of Syzygy Season Two. Yep. Two. Season One is everything we've done so far. Trust us, it's easier this way. Season Two is all about Exo-Stuff — exo-planets, exo-moons, exo-comets ... are they a thing? Apparently, yes. So keep an eye out in the days ahead for the new season of Syzygy.
Live from York's Festival of Ideas*, in front of an audience of ... what, had to be a few hundred thousand people, right? ... Emily and Chris discuss some awesome astronomy that you can go outside and see with your own eyes. In particular, they go deep on the incredible May 2024 aurora, and show what the 2024 total eclipse across the USA looked like, with a preview of amazing eclipses to look forward to in the coming years. Chris finishes with a song, as he does. Watch on YouTube!
