Past Programs
Astronomy (Space) - 2008
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
The Royal Observatory
22/11/2008
The Royal Observatory was important as British established itself as a maritime nation; the stars were used for navigation. The zero meridian of longitude which signifies Greenwich Mean Time is the zero point for time all over the world. It runs through the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Marek Kukula takes Robyn Williams on a tour of the grounds of the Royal Observatory. These days astronomy isn't done in Greenwich due to the poor weather and light from the city of London. The observatory isn't used as a working observatory, now it's a museum and science centre.
Supernovae and the fusing of elements
22/11/2008
Researchers at The University of Sydney have discovered an extremely young supernova, the corpse of a star that exploded around 1,000 years ago. Supernovae are the result of stars like our sun exploding at the end of their life. When they do, light is emitted equivalent to half a trillion stars. The last supernova in our galaxy was in 1604. Records exist of an extremely bright sky at that time. But it's a mystery as to why we've not seen one since. All elements heavier than iron were made in supernovae. Bryan Gaensler describes the fusing of elements in the centre of stars and how at a certain point, a catastrophic explosion results.
Galaxy Zoo
11/10/2008
Galaxy Zoo uses the power of the internet and allows interested amateurs to assist in classifying the millions of galaxies in the universe. So far around 900,000 galaxies have been identified.
Mars update
30/08/2008
Jonathan Nally reports on the latest from the Phoenix mission, and other missions to Mars.
Titan - moon of Saturn
02/08/2008
Saturn has over 60 moons. One stands out and that's Titan. But it came from somewhere else and is unrelated to other satellites around the planet. Titan is much bigger than the other moons of Saturn and could even be considered a planet. It is even bigger than the planet Mercury! Andrew Prentice discusses Titan's history and how it affects other satellites around Saturn.
Volunteers describe galaxies at Galaxy Zoo
02/08/2008
Volunteers have been called upon to help categorise images of a million galaxies using their home computers. The work is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Over 140,000 people are working on the project, named Galaxy Zoo. Some amazing objects in space are being discovered and the results have lead astronomers to describe a whole new category of galaxies. Naomi Fowler reports.
Mars Phoenix update
12/07/2008
Jonathan Nally reports on results from the Mars Phoenix mission which is analysing the Martian soil and looking for signs of water on the planet.
Phoenix lands on Mars
31/05/2008
After the crushing failures of previous Mars missions we now have a winner. Phoenix has defied the odds to land perfectly and will soon begin sampling the sub-surface of the Martian landscape. Jonathan Nally reports on the latest achievements.
Amateur astronomy
10/05/2008
Space scientists are using amateurs to help analyse astronomical data. Chris Smith talks to professional astronomer Pamela Gay and amateur Gerry Samolyk. The amateurs assist by measuring and plotting the change in light output of variable stars. This allow data to be collected over data over 24-hour periods.
Oscillating stars
19/04/2008
Most starts oscillate in some way. Detecting oscillations allows astronomers to see the properties of the inside of the star. Galaxy clusters can produce sound due to the diffusion of gas. One challenge is to try to explain why the hot gases don't cool.
Death Star
19/04/2008
Dan Evans has found two galaxies merging. Each hosts a supermassive black hole. One is sending out a jet of particles. This contradicts the earlier idea that black holes only swallow matter.
The Chandra observatory
19/04/2008
The Chandra observatory was launched in 2000. Chandra can see way back to the beginning of the universe. X-rays show the hot violent events in the universe. Two merging galaxies, appear like a mess with an optical telescope. But using X-rays, black holes can be observed. And Chandra has shown two black holes heading straight for each other, lining up for one of the biggest bangs in the universe.
Galactic clusters
19/04/2008
Clusters of galaxies are the largest gravitationally bound systems in the universe. Some are 1015 solar masses. That's 1,000,000,000,000,000 times the mass of the sun. Christine Jones describes how and why galaxies cluster. One famous cluster is the bullet cluster.
John Wheeler - a tribute
19/04/2008
Physicist Paul Davies presents a profile of the great American theoretical physicist John Wheeler whose work gave us much of our knowledge about black holes, and indeed gave them their name. John Wheeler talks about his early fascination with the universe, his collaboration with Niels Bohr and his conversations with Albert Einstein. (first broadcast 13/09/2003)
Eris - a dwarf planet
29/03/2008
There are eight big things in the Solar System. These are the planets. There are lots of little things, including dwarf planets. Eris is a dwarf planet and lies three times further away than Pluto. It has a single moon, Dysnomia, who in Greek mythology is Eris's daughter and the demon spirit of lawlessness.
Voyager spacecraft on the outer edge of the solar system
15/03/2008
The Voyager spacecraft are at the outer edge of the solar system. Voyager 1 is at 105 astronomical units. Neptune is only at 30 astronomical units. (One unit is the distance between the Earth and the Sun). Signals are received from the craft every day despite the transmitter on the craft being only 20 watts. The Voyager craft are expected to enter interstellar space in about five years time. Conditions outside the heliosphere are expected to be quite different from those within. Material floating around will be from other stars. The magnetic field will be different. Interstellar wind will be denser, and radio signals picked up by the craft should be stronger, with stronger cosmic rays. Energy for the craft, from the decay of plutonium will cool and power will run out some time after 2020.
Dawn - mission to asteroids Vesta and Ceres
15/03/2008
Vesta and Ceres are the two biggest asteroids in the asteroid belt. Vesta is barren. Ceres is a mystery. We have no meteorites from Ceres. One in 20 meteorites that fall on the Earth are from Vesta. So why is there nothing from Ceres? Might the meteorites evaporate? Might they be made of water?
Dawn is a mission launched September 2007 going to the asteroid belt. Arrival time is 2011. One year at Vesta will be spent mapping the surface. A spectrometer will identify minerals. At low altitude, 200km above the surface, gravity will be measured. Vesta and Ceres are seen as the building block of planets.
The challenge will be in avoiding asteroids when Dawn is travelling between the asteroids in the asteroid belt.
The James Webb space telescope
01/03/2008
The James Webb space telescope is an example of an international collaboration in physics. This telescope is planned to be the successor to the Hubble space telescope. It will look at the formation of stars, and how the Earth became habitable, among numerous other projects.
TMT - thirty-metre telescope
01/03/2008
Ed Stone outlines the plans for a thirty-metre telescope. It will be made from 492 hexagonal segments all controlled by a computer. The site for the telescope hasn't been selected yet. New adaptive optics techniques allow removal of the effects of the atmosphere. This gives the same resolution as the Hubble telescope has in space. Ed Stone cites dark matter as the area of astronomical physics that he'd be most pleased to have resolved!
Mars Rover Phoenix
23/02/2008
The latest Mars Rover, Phoenix is due to land on the planet on Sunday 25 May, 4.26pm US Pacific time. Celestial machanics allows for precise prediction of when the spacecraft will land. It is thought the surface is like permafrost without vegetation. Solar panels will be deployed for power, and surface samples will be collected and placed in an oven to determine their composition.
2008 - the year ahead in space and why we nearly didn't make it
02/02/2008
Jonathan Nally details a recent near miss as an asteroid came very close to Earth. He also considers some birthdays and the year ahead in the world of astronomy.
