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The Astrophysics Podcast

The Astrophysics Podcast

By: Paul Duffell
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Once a month, Purdue University's Professor Paul Duffell discusses astronomy and astrophysics with experts from around the world. Duffell and guests discuss supernovae, galaxies, planets, black holes, and the nature of space and time.

Supported by the National Science Foundation under grant AAG-2206299.

Music by Brittain Ashford.

Produced in beautiful Lafayette, Indiana by Paul Duffell.

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Episodes
  • Dr. Daniel Polin -- The Biggest Digital Camera in the World

    Dr. Daniel Polin -- The Biggest Digital Camera in the World
    Mar 1 2026

    The Vera Rubin Observatory has just started taking its first data this month. We have a special guest (Dr. Daniel Polin) who helped in the construction of the camera for Rubin. This digital camera was a major feat due to the very large amount of data contained in each exposure, requiring clever techniques for reading and transmitting data quickly. Let's find out what it takes to build the biggest digital camera in the world.
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Dr. Gurtina Besla -- Dark Matter in the Milky Way

    Dr. Gurtina Besla -- Dark Matter in the Milky Way
    Feb 1 2026

    Most of the mass in the universe is invisible. We call it "Dark Matter", and the only reason we know it's there is because we can see how it gravitationally interacts with regular matter. For example, in our own galaxy, Dark Matter comprises most of the mass, in a large spherical "halo" that binds the smaller spiral of gas and stars that we can see. As all our stars orbit the Milky Way, they are passing through a sea of dark matter, and this should create observable consequences that allow us to test theories about the nature of dark matter itself. Dr. Gurtina Besla develops large-scale computer simulations of the Milky Way to compute these observational signatures, allowing us to put our theories of dark matter to the test inside our own galaxy.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Dr. Abigail Polin -- Astrophysics Q & A #2

    Dr. Abigail Polin -- Astrophysics Q & A #2
    Jan 1 2026

    What's the deal with black holes?
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    1 hr and 23 mins
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