Solving a Cosmic Radio Signal Mystery with Kovi Rose
6/6/202630 min
Astronomer and soon-to-be Dr. Kovi Rose joins us to discuss his newly published Nature Astronomy paper on one of the universe's newest mysteries: strange repeating flashes of radio waves and X-rays coming form deep within our galaxy!
His team's discovery of ASKAP J174 has helped identify the source as a pair of stars orbiting each other, with a white dwarf pulling or accreting material from its companion. This discovery could help unlock the origins of mysterious signals flashing across the sky, unlocking even more secrets of the universe.
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First 90 secondsDr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host0:00
I'm Dr. Karl, coming to you from the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first Australians and traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. [upbeat music] Good day, Dr. Karl. Fellows of Science, University of Sydney. And today I'm here with almost Dr. Covey, Covey?
Kovi Rose· Guest0:23
Covey, yeah.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host0:24
Covey Rose. And you're here to talk about things flashing in the sky that are very unusual.
Kovi Rose· Guest0:30
Yes.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host0:31
And then, uh, a- and are unknown to us.
Kovi Rose· Guest0:33
Some less unknown than others.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host0:35
Yeah. But there's so much out there that we don't know about. So you're an astronomer?
Kovi Rose· Guest0:40
Yes. I'm finishing my PhD in astrophysics here at the University of Sydney.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host0:44
Okay. So, uh, firstly, to prove you're an astronomer to the audience, have a listen to this. Um, what is light?
Kovi Rose· Guest0:50
What is light? It's both a wave and a particle.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host0:52
Ah, l- l- talk about frequencies. We- Well- Bandwidth, bandwidth ...
Kovi Rose· Guest0:56
light is, is basically everything on the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays to radio waves. So it's not just the stuff that we can see with our eyes.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host1:03
See, that, that's the difference. See, astronomers, everything is light on the electromagnetic spectrum, whereas you and me, and geologists, w- it's just that little tiny bit of the rainbow. Okay, second question to prove you're an astronomer. How many elements are there in the periodic table?
Kovi Rose· Guest1:15
Uh, three.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host1:16
Which are?
Kovi Rose· Guest1:17
Hydrogen, helium, and everything else is a metal.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki· Host1:20
Okay, you're an astronomer. So you've got a paper here in Nature Astronomy, which is a great honor. Periodic, so that means regularly repeating, but not necessarily