The band is back together! In this episode Jacinta, Tshia and Dan sit together in the cupboard once again to catch up and to reflect on Season 5. The post Episode 70: Season 5 in Review appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

n this mini episode Jacinta has a quick interview with Professor Russ Taylor, one of the founders of IDIA ( The Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy). The post Mini Episode: Big data, big IDIA appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In the second part of the Polar ring galaxy series, Jacinta and Tshia drop in on Dr Lucia Marchetti and Alex Sivitilli in the IDIA (The Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy) Visualisation Laboratory at UCT (The University of Cape Town) where they learn how Virtual Reality (VR) can be used to model astronomical data in three dimensions. The post Episode 69: Into the Matrix – Visualising Polar Ring Galaxies appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

This week Dr Nathan Deg returns to The Cosmic Savannah to discuss Polar-ring galaxies and how he models these incredible structures. The post Episode 68: Untangling the Origins of Polar Ring Galaxies appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this “unplugged” episode, we hear from our own! New host Tshiamiso Makwela tells us about her research and we introduce you to our new podcast manager, Francois Campher. Tshiamiso (Tshia) discusses her work in the field of Astronomy Education Research. She asks us "how big is big" and "how far is far"? Tshia explains why these concepts so difficult, yet so important, to comprehend. The post Episode 67: A Stroll to the Edge of The Universe appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this new exciting episode Professor Matthew Bailes returns to discuss his recent work on Pulsars as well as his thoughts and feelings on winning the 2023 Shaw Prize for the discovery of Fast Radio Bursts. The post Episode 66: Meertime Mysteries – Pulsars and Prizes appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

This is a re-run of episode 29 of The Cosmic Savannah in anticipation of an upcoming interview with Prof Matthew Bailes so all our listeners can get up to speed about everything to do with Neutron Stars! The post Episode 65: Zombies of the Cosmos (Re-run) appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this episode, Tshiamiso and Dan have a discussion with Alexander Andersson from Oxford University about Zooniverse, citizen science projects and how citizens can contribute to the work that Astronomers do. The post Episode 64: Bursts from Space appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this episode, Jacinta sits down with Dr. Sthabile Kolwa to discuss the ways in which galaxies change over cosmic time, how astronomers are able to study these changes and what these studies can tell us about the cosmos as a whole. The post Episode 63: How Galaxies Evolve – The Quest for Cold Gas appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In the third and final part of the SKAO Construction Commencement Ceremony series, Jacinta sits down with Professor Phil Diamond, the Director-General of the SKAO to discuss his thoughts and feelings around the construction commencement ceremony in Australia and on the future of the project as a whole. The post Episode 62: Behind the Scenes of the SKAO with Phil Diamond appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In the second part of Episode 61, Jacinta takes us on a journey to the SKA-low site in Western Australia and shares her experience of the Construction Commencement Ceremony for the Square Kilometre Array that took place in December. The post Episode 61: Part 2 – SKAO Construction Commencement Ceremony – Australia appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

Join Episode 61 as Dan reminisces about visiting the SKAO site in South Africa. He shares highlights from the Construction Commencement Ceremony for the Square Kilometre Array. Exciting memories unfold! The post Episode 61: Part 1 – SKAO Construction Commencement Ceremony – South Africa appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In the world of astrophysics, few names shine as brightly as Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell. In today's episode, we are very privileged to welcome Jocelyn as a guest on The Cosmic Savannah. Jocelyn shares with us the full story behind her groundbreaking discovery of pulsars in the 1960s, how she overcame numerous obstacles as a woman in a male-dominated field, and her initiatives for improving diversity in physics and astronomy. The post Episode 60: Pulsars and possibilities – a conversation...

The Cosmic Savannah Podcast returns for its 5th season, taking listeners on another captivating cosmic journey. Explore distant galaxies, enigmatic black holes, and groundbreaking research in Africa. Engaging interviews, discussions, and unravelling the universe's complexities await. Stay tuned for updates on our website and social media platforms. In this pre-season special, Jacinta and Dan sit down to chat about what we've both been up to over the past few months and what we're looking...

The 5th of December 2022 sees the commencement of construction of the long-awaited Square Kilometre Array (SKA)! We are honoured to be joined by the SKA Observatory Council Chairperson, Dr Catherine Cesarsky to talk about this momentous occasion. The post Episode 59: Construction of the SKA commences! appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this week's episode, Jacinta and Dan take a step back to review the past year of the Cosmic Savannah podcast. We chat about some of the highlights of the past year in astronomy and also some of our favourite episodes of the season. The post Episode 58: Season 4 in Review appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this episode we are joined by Dr Omima Osman who studies the lifecycles of cosmic dust. Omima explains how she is using computer simulations to understand how dust is created, grows and is destroyed in interstellar space. The post Episode 57: From dust to dust appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy! We are joined by Dr Iniyan Natarajan who is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Witwatersrand and who was part of the team of over 300 astronomers who made this possible. The post Episode 56: Our supermassive black hole appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

An oldie but a goodie - re-run of Episode 11. Jacinta takes us on a tour of her homeland, into the Australian bush, and chats about pathfinders, precursor telescopes and exciting collaborations between South Africa and Australia in the lead up to the Square Kilometre Array! The post Episode 55: A Trip Down Under (Re-run) appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this week's episode we are joined by fours members of the board of the recently established African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA). AfNWA is an initiative that aims to connect women working in astronomy and related fields in Africa. AfNWA aims to guarantee the future participation of girls and women at all levels in astronomy and science developments in Africa. The post Episode 54: The African Network of Women in Astronomy appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

A powerful, naturally occurring “space laser”, called a megamaser, has been discovered with South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope in a galaxy nearly five billion light-years away. We speak with the lead researcher Dr. Marcin Glowacki and team-lead Associate Professor Sarah Blyth. The post Episode 53: Space lasers! appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In this week’s episode, we take a step back from astronomy and focus on mental health in academia and beyond. We are joined by Dr Jack Radcliffe, an astronomer from the University of Pretoria who speaks to us about his work on galaxy evolution, as well his recent efforts to speak out about mental health challenges facing academics in particular. The post Episode 52: Head Space appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

We are joined by Prof Travis Rector, co-founder of Astronomers for Planet Earth, who chats about why and how astronomers can teach climate change! The post Episode 51: No Planet B appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.

In celebration of our 50th Episode, we are joined by a Titan of Astronomy, Dr Bernie Fanaroff, who speaks with us about his illustrious career and his vision for the future of astronomy in Africa The post Episode 50: Titans of Astronomy appeared first on The Cosmic Savannah.