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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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Paul Duffell 2024
Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Physics Science
Episodes
  • Dr. Daniel D'Orazio -- The Black Hole Shuffle
    Aug 1 2025

    Just how big can black holes get? Well, they can get super-massive! That is, millions to billions of times as massive as the sun. How do we know this? We've detected these supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies in a number of ways, and Dr. Daniel D'Orazio has been leading the way in figuring out new ways we can detect more, especially if it's not one but two black holes orbiting one another in a binary system.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Dr. Abigail Polin -- Astrophysics Q & A
    Jul 1 2025

    In this week's episode, Dr. Abigail Polin joins us to answer your questions from the internet, on a variety of topics tangentially related to astrophysics! Questions range from the basic and fundamental to the obscure and weird. Answers are totally unprepared and rambling. Our guests this week are Dr. Abigail Polin, PLUS an extra-special mystery guest!

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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Dr. Andrea Derdzinski -- How do we see black holes?
    Jun 1 2025

    A black hole is so dense, its gravitational field prevents anything from escaping, including light. You would think that would make them the "blackest" things in the universe; how in the world do we know they are there? Dr. Andrea Derdzinski tells us about how we detect black holes, either due to the gravitational waves they produce, or due to their interaction with material orbiting around them, which paradoxically can make them some of the brightest objects in the universe.

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    56 mins
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