The Cosmic Savannah - Ep. 65: Zombies of the Cosmos

Jan 25, 2025

Matthew Bailes, a leading expert on pulsars from Swinburne University, and Katia Moskvitch, an acclaimed science journalist and author, dive into the intriguing world of neutron stars—dubbed the 'zombies of the cosmos.' They discuss the groundbreaking MeerKAT telescope, exploring how it sheds light on pulsars and gravitational waves. Topics include the life cycle of neutron stars, their bizarre behaviors, and the connection to dark matter. Katia also shares insights from her engaging book, making complex cosmic phenomena accessible to all.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Exploring Neutron Stars and Pulsars

01:37 • 15min

Exploring Cosmic Mysteries with Meerkat

16:19 • 23min

Neutron Stars: Life, Death, and Dark Matter

39:27 • 5min

Navigating the Path to Science Writing

44:51 • 2min

The Human Element in Science Writing

46:26 • 2min

Cosmic Revelations and Quirky Analogies

48:15 • 4min

Hosted by Dr. Jacinta Delhaize, Dr. Tshiamiso Makwela & Dr. Daniel Cunnama.

This is a re-run of episode 29 of The Cosmic Savannah in anticipation of an upcoming interview with Prof Matthew Bailes so all our listeners can get up to speed about everything to do with Neutron Stars!

We are firstly joined by Prof. Matthew Bailes from the Centre for Astrophysics and Super computing at Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology. Matthew is a world expert on pulsars and the Director of the “OzGrav” ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery.

Matthew chats with is us about pulsars, gravitational waves and some of the incredible science we can expect from projects such as Meertime. MeerTime will use the MeerKAT telescope to explore fundamental physics and astrophysics using radio pulsar timing.

We’re then joined by Katia Moskvitch, who was the 2019 British Science Journalist of the Year and the 2019 European Science Journalist of the Year! Katia tells us about a her new book “Neutron stars: The Quest to Understand the Zombies of the Cosmos.” This popular science book is written for a general audience and describes the fascinating and bizarre existence of neutron stars and pulsars.

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