Episode 37 - Lunar craters, primordial black holes & growing galaxies

Episode 40 - globular clusters, extended disks, high redshift galaxies and aliens!

In this episode, Michelle and Payel discuss results from the searches for extra-terrestrial life, a natural mechanism for producing light element variations in globular clusters, a typical galaxy at z>10 and the origin of Andromeda's extended stellar disk. And take a look at the papers below Globular cluster abundance patterns inherited from giant molecular clouds [https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.05509] - William McClymont et al. Project Hephaistos -- IV. James Webb Space Telescope Observations of Two Dyson Sphere Candidates [https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.09460] - Erik Zackrisson et al. Deep Spectroscopic Follow-Up of Maisie's Galaxy -- A Typical Galaxy in the Early Universe [https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.08749] - Rebecca Larson et al The Merger-Driven Origin of the Vast Extended Stellar Disc Around the Andromeda Galaxy [https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.02480] - Tsakonas et al

Episode 39 – data-driven stellar population studies, multi-scale AGN feedback, and solar flare ribbons

In this episode, Payel and Nicole discuss machine learning methods to to transform composite galaxy spectra and determine key features of galaxy evolution. They also examine new observations of the Centarus cluster with JWST, closing the loop on AGN feedback across multiple radial scales. Finally, they discuss new solar observations that shed new light on the formation of solar flare ribbons. A novel data-driven approach to extract stellar population properties from galaxy spectra using absorption indices [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.13791] – Zahra Sharbaf et al. JWST reveals how black holes are fed: kiloparsec-scale multiphase filaments feed sub-kiloparsec circumnuclear disks [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.06620] - Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo et al. pop-cosmos: Disentangling galaxy properties from observables using data-driven approaches [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.11308] - Benedict Van den Bussche et al. Solar flare ribbons structured by uncombed chromospheric loops [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.10505] - Lakshmi Chitta et al.

Episode 38 - merging galaxies, exploding stars and the beauty of individual galaxies

In this episode, Michelle and Nicole discuss machine learning methods to classify merging galaxies and different classes of supernova. They also look into whether planetary engulfment can explain unsual chemical signatures in some binary systems, and dive deep into some beautiful MUSE data for a spiral galaxy at redshift 0.09. Check it out below, on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7rDlEt8V1FN8bSKOZW9Siu?si=993097053ab54718], Apple podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/starxiv-a-podcast-discussing-the-latest-astronomy-papers/id1812680909], or wherever you get your podcasts! Check out the papers we featured below A Deep Study of the Spiral Galaxy W2246f [https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29014] - Evelyn J. Johnston et al. Chemical paradox in a binary system: Exploring metal enrichment in HD 81809B [https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.31060] - Nuno Moedas et al. Vision-Language Model Ensembles Achieve Human-Expert Accuracy for Galaxy Merger Classification [https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.00415] - Marco Chiaberge et al. Photometry is all you need: supernova classification as a mixing problem [https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.28922] - Ana Sofía M. Uzsoy & V. Ashley Villar

Episode 37 - Lunar craters, primordial black holes & growing galaxies

In this episode, Michelle and Payel talk about the asymmetry in the number of craters across the moon, using microlensing to find primordial black holes, tracing the growth of disk galaxies since z~1, and using machine learning to detect group galaxies merging with massive clusters. Check out the papers we discussed below: Lunar ejecta as the missing piece to resolving lunar cratering asymmetry [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.09884#] - Hailiang Li et al. AMPM II. — A Lunar-Mass Primordial Black Hole Microlensing Candidate in the Milky Way Halo [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.19375] - Renee Key et al. Witnessing the rapid growth of disk galaxies over cosmic time using JWST and HST [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.15327] - Samane Raji et al. Identifying group galaxies merging with massive clusters using machine learning [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2605.14930] - Rhys Jordan et al.

Episode 36 - Dead Earths, magnetic fields and Galactic amnesia

In this episode, Michelle and Nicole discuss primordial magnetic fields, Galactic merger memory, the origin of Venus's carbon dioxide rich atmosphere and using Galactic stars to predict extragalactic abundances. Listen below, on Apple podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/starxiv-a-podcast-discussing-the-latest-astronomy-papers/id1812680909], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7rDlEt8V1FN8bSKOZW9Siu?si=167a7dfab9a545e5], or wherever you get your podcasts.