Show Notes
Right now, a high-stakes mission is underway to save NASA's Swift telescope before it falls back to Earth. There's just one problem… the rescue satellite has run into some issues. So who rescues the rescuer? Jonathan Webb and Dr Sara Webb launch into this issue to see what scientists are doing to get this satellite back on track, and whether it can save Swift in time. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more. Editor's note: the day after this episode was published, Australian time, NASA announced that its plan to boost the Swift Observatory was being abandoned because of ongoing issues controlling the pointing of the LINK spacecraft. It will still test out "rendesvous and proximity operations" which might provide useful results for similar missions in the future, but will not attempt to grab and lift the telescope as planned. Get in touch with us: [email protected] Featuring: Dr Sara Webb, Swinburne University of Technology This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
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Over the past few years, our environment seems to have experienced multiple extreme events in quick succession. With a summer fuelled by what may be the strongest and wettest El Niño ever, can our wildlife withstand more extremes? Jonathan Webb speaks with Professor Euan Ritchie about what we're currently seeing with flying foxes, what could happen to other species over the summer, and what we can do to help our native creatures. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more. Get in touch with us: [email protected] Featuring: Professor Euan Ritchie, Deakin University Further information: WIRES wildlife rescue assistance on 1300 094 737 24-hour Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
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In March 2018, a South African astronomer looking into the distant universe "discovered" a bright red spot in the sky that hadn't been there previously; it felt like an exciting potential discovery. A message was sent to other astronomers, asking them to look at this new dot and study it further. After forty minutes and a few more calculations, he realised this "star" was much closer to home and nothing new at all: it was the planet Mars. According to Dr Kat Ross, making this kind of mistake is something of a rite of passage for astronomers. You can binge more episodes of the Lab Notes podcast with science editor and presenter Jonathan Webb on the ABC Listen app (Australia). You'll find episodes on animal behaviour, human health, space exploration and so much more. Get in touch with us: [email protected] Featuring: Dr Kat Ross, Curtin University This episode of Lab Notes was produced on the lands of the Gadigal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.
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