AstrotalkUK

Not for profit website/blog on astronomy, space and my writing

Episode 118 : Galactic Magnetic Fields

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D Vasuhandra Shaw

Dr Vasuhandra Shaw is a postdoctoral research Associate at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. Her subject of interest is a huge one, and I mean ginormous. It concerns the magnetic field of a Galaxy. 

I knew that the Earth and many other objects in the solar system have magnetic fields, but I had no idea about the galaxy as a whole. Our Milky Way galaxy is huge; how do you even begin to understand the magnetic field of something like that? She will explain. 

We also spoke about her interesting journey from Lucknow in northern India, where she completed her undergraduate studies, to Pondicheri in southern India, where many people still speak French, where she completed her first Master’s degree; Paris, where she completed her second, and Berlin, Germany, where she completed her PhD. 

We also discuss the precarious uncertainty in the careers that researchers and academics must endure before acquiring a full-time post. Not all of them make it that far.

Cliff Richard and astronomer from Yorkshire Fred Hoyle, who was the Professor Brian Cox of the 1960s, also popped up in our conversation.

Episode 117 – Early Aviation in Manchester

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Credit. Museum of Science and Industry

Manchester has always been associated with the spirit of scientific discovery and technological innovation. Cotton spinning and weaving, steam engines, railways and computing are familiar themes but Manchester also played a leading role in the development of aviation.

Frank Pleszak, an author and volunteer at the avroheritagemuseum.co.uk in Woodford, which celebrates its centenary year with an open day on September 15th, 2024, has written a blog post that includes a map of locations in Manchester identifying many of the events and people of aviation at the beginning of the twentieth century.

In this program, Frank shares his research on early aviation in Manchester.

Episode 116: Exploring Cosmic Events with Professor Rene Breton at Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

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Professor Rene Breton. Deputy head of the Department of Astronomy and Physics at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

Some of the most energetic events in the cosmos are associated with the products left after a star’s violent end. These products are always smaller and denser: a white dwarf (the size of a planet), a Neutron star (the size of a city), or a Black Hole (an object without a size). The bigger the initial mass of a star, the sooner and more energetic its end will be. Our Sun is not all that massive; it will end up as a white dwarf in and out 4.5 billion years from now.

Professor Rene Breton, originally from Quebec, has been working at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics for over a decade. We discuss only a small part of his current research, including how Pulsars may one day be used as a GPS for interstellar travel. Other topics include

Credit McGill University
  • Why and how he ended up in Manchester
  • His first impressions of Manchester and comparisons with Quebec in Canada
  • The key role of a high-school teacher, Mr. Gaudreault, setting him on his career in science
  • Stellar evolution – how stars are born and the process by which they end up as white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes
  • Event Horizon Telescope – imaging the black hole in the centre of our galaxy
  • The ultimate fate of our Sun
  • Quasars are distant galaxies with a Black Hole in the centre,  so distant that they look like stars. 
  • FAST Radio bursts, including Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs), are from extragalactic distances. Events that last a few seconds or less – a sign of merging neutron stars or evidence of Hypernovae (not novae or supernovae)!
  • Neutron Stars in Binary Systems, accretion discs and “spiders”
  • Neutron Stars as a cosmic GPS for future space travellers
  • Detect Gravitational Waves using neutron stars. Gravitational Wave detectors are not very sensitive, so they can only detect high-energy events, such as the collision of two neutron stars or the formation of black holes. 
  • Space-borne Gravity Wave detectors, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, which NASA plans to launch in the 2030s, will be able to detect a wider range of cosmological phenomena.
  • Square Kilometer Array’s role in detecting more neutron stars, pulsars and even pulsars orbiting black holes
  • Pulsar Timing Array – a GPS for interstellar travel
Professor Rene Breton. University of Manchester. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

Episode 115 – Professor Michael Garrett & Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

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Prof. Mike Garrett FRS

In this episode with Professor Mike Garrett FRS, we discuss some of the many research activities conducted by him, his colleagues and students at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JCBA) University of Manchester. Many of these activities involve international collaboration and are thus conducted elsewhere around the world and not just in Manchester. One of the big takeaways for me was the work of Mancunian Dennis Walsh who made the very first Gravitational Lensing observation from Jodrell Bank. He was also Professor Garrett’s PhD supervisor.

A shorter version of this interview was broadcast on Allfm.org 11th June 2024.

Some of the topics we discussed include: