In this show, Dr Fraser Duncan tells us about the SNOLAB facility in Canada, Chris Wareing answers your astronomical questions, and we round-up the feedback we've received since the last show.
Interview
Earlier this year Dave was lucky enough to visit the SNOLAB facility in Canada where experiments to detect neutrinos are carried out 2km underground. While he was there, he interviewed Dr Fraser Duncan, the SNOLAB Associate Director of Operations, and found out more about the history of SNOLAB, the original Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment and the current and future experiments in place at SNOLAB. We also hear about how amateur astronomers can get involved in supernova detection research.
Ask an Astronomer
Jodrell Bank's Dr Chris Wareing answers your questions:
- Zachary Kessin emails from Israel to ask what types of objects he could expect to observe if he build a spectrograph for a 10" go-to telescope.
- Neall Campbell asks if as the Sun leaves a solar minimum and enters a solar maximum, we in danger of experiencing solar storms as large or larger as the ones that caused damage,in Quebec in 1989.
- Ian Curran apologises for another black hole question (!) but was wondering if there is an underside to a black hole. Are they (black holes) flat like a pancake or the opening/neck of an invisible bottle?
Odds and Ends
The Sun's activity is increasing. Five sunspots were seen on the Sun on August 11 2010 and outbursts of energy at the beginning of August lead to beautiful displays of the Northern Lights. Please get in touch and let us know if you saw them.
The Perseid meteor shower is now over for another year. Not much was seen from Manchester but elsewhere people were treated to some spectacular meteors, including the folk at the Newbury Astronomical Society who provided the cover art for this episode. Again, please get in touch with us with your experiences and send us any good photos!
Jen talked about the INTECH Science Centre near Winchester. INTECH is home to the UK's largest capacity planetarium, and as well as normal planetarium shows, they hold regular Space Lectures on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and Telescope Amnesty events twice a year.
Show Credits
| Interview: | Dr Fraser Duncan and Dave Ault |
| Ask An Astronomer: | Dr Chris Wareing |
| Presenters: | Jen Gupta, Libby Jones and Mark Purver |
| Editors: | Jen Gupta and Mark Purver |
| Segment voice: | Lizette Ramirez |
| Website: | Stuart Lowe |
| Cover art: | Multi-coloured Perseid streaks past Deneb in August 2010 Credit: Richard Fleet, Newbury Astronomical Society |
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