Naked Astronomy Enhanced - From the Naked Scientists

Why are we still curious about Mars? This month on Naked Astronomy, we're looking into Martian matters to find out how we got to where we are today, ushering in a new era of Martian discoveries from the Mars Science Laboratory. Also, we'll examine the evidence for liquid lakes below the surface of Saturn's moon Titan, find out how supermassive stars can form and why the Google Lunar X-Prize is encouraging commercial missions to the Moon. Plus, our guests take on your space science questions...

This month on the Space Boffins Podcast, we will be exploring strange new worlds, discovering a Swedish spaceport, and celebrating the first American space walk. Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson meet the team sending a mobile phone-based satellite into orbit, explore Kepler the man and Kepler the mission, and delve into the archives of Gemini 4 mission control...

When does the impossible become possible? Researchers have found Red Dwarf stars that simply shouldn't exist, so in this month's Naked Astronomy we find out how theory needs to catch up with observations. Also, how do citizen scientists advance astronomical research, and why isn't the Earth a watery world? Plus, we take on your space science questions, and find out what to look out for in the night skies this month...

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission lands on Mars next month after a nine-month journey across our Solar System. On arrival the most advanced suite of instruments ever sent to the red planet will get to work. In this edition of the podcast, geologist and MSL scientist Professor Sanjeev Gupta, from Imperial College London, discusses the excitement and science behind the mission with Spaceflight UK's Jerry Stone and Space Boffins Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham. Plus, a report from the recent European space tourism conference where the major players pitched their space trips and a fascinating look back at the first manned Gemini spacecraft, Gemini 3, with original mission recordings from the launch. Do you know why it was called Molly Brown? Answers on a small asteroid please.

What can farmers learn from physicists? This month in Naked Astronomy we'll find out how satellite imaging can help to understand and control crop diseases, as well as how precisely timed pulsars point to gravitational waves. Plus, a roundup of space science news and the answers to your astronomy and cosmology questions.

This week at Naked Astronomy, we're launching something very special. We've teamed up with the Space Boffins podcast to bring you even more space science. Each month, Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson will be exploring the science and technology that gets us into space, bringing us the inside track on missions past, present and future. In the latest Space Boffins Podcast, Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham are joined by space scientist Andrew Coates and science writer Michael Hanlon, to talk SpaceX, Juice and Solar Orbiter. Richard also gets annoyed about space attire and Sue gets to grips with tortuous space acronyms. Plus we relive the entire SpaceX mission in less than 2 minutes...

When did Dark Energy become the dominant force in the universe? In this month's Naked Astronomy, we look back at the history of our expanding universe to find out when gravity lost its grip. We also examine the global trade in meteorites to explore the tension between scientists and collectors. Plus, we answer a bumper crop of your questions.

How do tornadoes form on the Sun? Why does Jupiter enhance our Meteor showers? And how can pulsars be used as a deep space positioning system? This month's Naked Astronomy comes from the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting, held this year at the University of Manchester. We'll hear how Juno hopes to probe beneath the surface of Jupiter, find out how a cloud of carbon gives us clues about star formation in the early universe, and explore how astronomers have helped archaeologists to understand a standing stone over 4000 years old...

Is an asteroid impact more likely than winning the lottery? What can Moon rock tell us about the Earth? And how did a biology teacher discover a new astronomical object? In this Naked Astronomy AstroFest special, we'll ask if the Kepler observatory is ushering in a new scientific revolution, meet Hanny van Arkel, who discovered Hanny's Voorwerp on citizen science project Galaxy Zoo and find out why one former MP thinks we should be concerned about being hit by an asteroid...

Can a mid-infra red view reveal the universe's secrets? In this month's Naked Astronomy, we meet MIRI, the Mid Infra Red Instrument set to launch on the James Webb Space Telescope. It should give us a glimpse of the very first galaxies and examine the clouds of hydrogen gas spread throughout the universe. We'll also find out how distorted galaxies can shed light on the distribution of dark matter, discover El Gordo - a newly discovered galaxy cluster.

If you could look down from the International Space Station, what would you look at? This month on Naked Astronomy, we discover UrtheCast - a system that could let you point a camera down from the International Space Station, and integrate your social media world with images from space. And we'll get a glimpse of a star as it explodes, and get the first evidence of its chemical composition. Plus, we have a round up of space science headlines, and we your questions on neutrinos, cosmic expansion and the age of the universe...

Can supernovae account for all of the oxygen in the universe? What happens to massive stars at the end of their lives? This month, we delve into stellar science to look at the ultimate fate of stars, and why the first stars might be smaller than we thought. Plus, a round up of astronomical news, and your space science questions...

What are the mysterious blue straggler stars? In this month's Naked Astronomy we'll find out why some stars stand out from the crowd, as well as investigate the polarity of the universe. Plus, we hear the latest news from the Royal Astronomical Society, and take on your questions on rocket stability, detecting dark matter and our place in the universe.

Are the foundations of Dark Matter crumbling? How can a planet be blacker than black paint? What are the sunsets like on a planet with 2 suns? In this month's Naked Astronomy, we'll discover Kepler-16b; a planet with two suns, we look to recent experimental results to see if the Cold Dark Matter theory still stands, and we explore the least reflective planet ever found...

We look back over the last few months of Astronomy interviews. We'll hear how scientists search for planets in the glare of their parent star, why a simulated mission to Mars will help us to understand how astronauts will cope with isolation, and the challenges of communicating astronomy on television. Plus, what our solar system looks like to a distant observer, and how antique globes tell the story of our understanding.