*Rami Mandow and two telescopes, one an optical scope and one part of a home-made radio telescope. (Photo: Supplied; Post-processing: Stilgherrian*)

It’s time for another podcast about space, so we’re joined once again by astrophysicist Rami Mandow, founder of SpaceAustralia.com.

In this episode we talk about what may be a new kind of pulsar, the cancellation of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, three ways in which the solar system is being a jerk, Japanese folklore (no really), those astronauts who are definitely not “stuck” or “stranded” on the International Space Station because NASA says they’re not, and the ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope.

This podcast is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, JioSaavn, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Speaker.

You can also listen to the podcast below, or subscribe to the generic podcast feed.

Episode Links

01. Rami Mandow ???? (@CosmicRami) / Twitter

Researching Pulsars & Gravitational Waves with The Dish at @MQPhysAstro • Founder @SpaceAusDotCom #SpaceAustralia • Doggo #BalmainMax • He/Him • Views My Own
02. Spaceaustralia

We spent two years researching what the Australian space community wants as a platform – which has allowed us to build a user-centric website and given us a great long term strategy on rolling out new products for all our regional space needs! We want to be your one-stop-shop to find out all you need about our local space community and plan to share the stories and voices as that we, as a region, start to grow.
03. Astronauts on Boeing Starliner may be stranded in space until 2025 - YouTube

[8 August 2024] NASA astronauts on Boeing’s Starliner found out on Wednesday they may be stranded in space for much longer than expected. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck in the International Space Station (ISS) for over two months and may not return home until February 2025. This Tuesday marked 60 days both astronauts were stranded in the ISS. The initial trip into space was only supposed to be eight days, but thruster failures and helium leaks prevented their return home. \Due to the aircraft’s [sic] issues, the two astronauts have been in orbit over fears any attempt to return them home will result in a disaster.
04. Boeing Starliner astronauts may remain in space until 2025. Here's why

[8 August 2024] NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the first test flight crew of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, have now been in space for 63 days, with no return date in sight. Retired NASA astronaut Terry Verts shares how the crew may be feeling.
05. When Are the Astronauts ‘Stuck’ in Space Coming Home? | TIME

[8 August 2024] NASA is exploring a contingency plan to bring home the two astronauts who have been at the International Space Station (ISS) for two months with no clear end in sight.
06. Boeing Starliner - Wikipedia

The Boeing Starliner (or CST-100) is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists of a reusable crew capsule and an expendable service module.
07. Gilligan's Island - Wikipedia

Gilligan's Island is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz... It aired for three seasons on the CBS network from September 26, 1964, to April 17, 1967... The two-person crew of the charter boat SS Minnow and five passengers on a "three-hour tour" from Honolulu run into a storm and are shipwrecked on an uncharted island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
08. SpaceX Dragon 2 - Wikipedia

Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions.
09. Ground News - Elon Musk Takes A Dig At Dave Calhoun Amid Boeing's Starliner Crisis

[27 June 2024] Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk on Tuesday pegged Boeing Co‘s (NYSE:BA) lack of engineers in its leadership as the prime reason behind its ongoing crisis. What Happened: “The CEO of an aircraft company should know how to design aircraft, not spreadsheets,” Musk wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Musk is CEO of SpaceX, a direct rival to Boeing’s space division.
10. NASA not risking the return of astronauts on Boeing’s Starliner - YouTube

[26 August 2024] NASA officials said there was “too much uncertainty” about the Boeing Starliner to return astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth, stretching their eight-day mission into eight months.
11. Globular cluster - Wikipedia

A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars that is bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards its center. It can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member stars,[2] all orbiting in a stable, compact formation.
12. Neutron star ...

The 9pm the Solar System is Being a Jerk with Rami Mandow