The Sky at Night - Season 58 / Year 2014
Season 58 / Year 2014
Episodes
Jupiter: Weather and Moons
New presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock joins Dr Chris Lintott in a revamped line-up that launches the show in its new home on BBC Four.
The main subject is Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system and particularly bright in the night sky during the British winter. What makes Jupiter's extraordinary weather? Its coloured bands and iconic 'eye' are visible manifestations of an extremely violent atmosphere. Chris and Maggie are joined by guest reporter, physicist Dr Helen Czerski, to explain why Jupiter looks so extraordinary.
Sounds Of The Universe
The Sky at Night team listens to the sounds of the cosmos. Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Chris Lintott explore how sound can reveal extraordinary secrets about the universe - from orchestral tunes rippling on the surface of the sun and the crackle of Jupiter's atmosphere to the sound waves that reveal how the universe was formed. This is astronomy as you've never heard it before.
Mysterious Mars
Mars captures the imagination like no other planet and currently our nearest neighbour is at its brightest for several years, so it's a perfect opportunity to explore a planet that is tantalisingly similar to our own. And in the past it may have been even more like Earth, an inviting and habitable place, a perfect environment for life to flourish.
Geologist Iain Stewart investigates how we can read the story of Mars's extraordinary past from its rocks, Maggie Aderin-Pocock comes face to face with the latest Mars rover and Chris Lintott meets the man behind the discovery which the whole history of the universe now rests upon.
How Gravity Shapes the Universe
The universe is filled with spectacular objects, from gloriously-coloured nebulae to the swirling motion of a billion stars formed into a single galaxy. One force has created it all - gravity. The Sky at Night team steps away from the bright lights and travels to the Brecon Beacons AstroCamp to see how gravity shapes the universe, in all its spectacular glory.
Maggie Aderin-Pocock asks why so much of the night sky is filled with spheres and why not all these spheres are what they seem. Chris Lintott finds out about the newest moon in the solar system that has just formed in Saturn's rings, and how it could shed light on how the planets formed billions of years ago.
Plus, how to get great images of the night sky without using a telescope and what the shape of a galaxy tells you about its past.
Impacts
From asteroids crashing into the surface of the moon to galaxies colliding with each other, cosmic impacts have shaped the universe around us. Materials scientist Mark Miodownik investigates the astonishing physics of the moment when a meteorite hits a planet like our own. And the team is asking for viewers' help to spot asteroids that could be on a collision course with Earth.
Maggie Aderin-Pocock discovers how evidence suggests the moon was formed from the biggest impact in Earth's history, an impact so powerful the whole surface of the Earth melted. Chris Lintott explores the creative power of impacts on the biggest scales, when whole galaxies collide. Pete Lawrence takes us on a tour of the moon, revealing the beautiful range of impact craters available for us all to see almost every night.
The Brightest Star
As we pass the longest day, The Sky at Night introduces astronomy with a difference - stargazing in the daytime. Lucie Green looks at how seasons change on other planets across the solar system, Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores what makes the sun special and Chris Lintott engages in some stellar archaeology to uncover the cosmic nursery our star and its siblings were born in.
How to Catch a Comet
The team goes behind the scenes at mission control for the critical point of the most ambitious space project of the decade. The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe finally catches up with the comet it has been chasing across the solar system for ten years and prepares to send out a lander armed with drills and harpoons for a daredevil attempt to hitch a ride.
With the latest images revealing that it may even be two comets stuck together, Dr Chris Lintott is on hand in Germany with updates from the mission team on this unparalleled challenge, whilst Dr Maggie Aderin- Pocock reveals the instruments that the lander is carrying.
The Hunt for ET
Are we alone in the universe? Right now we are in a period of unprecedented change that is taking us closer than ever to answering this fundamental question. A dizzying array of planets are being discovered orbiting alien stars and we've developed instruments so sensitive we can detect the weather systems on these new worlds. But do any harbour life? Geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford seeks to define what life is and Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores our chances of finding it in the universe.
Ice Giants
The vast frozen worlds of Uranus and Neptune are the most enigmatic and mysterious planets in the solar system. From the most powerful winds ever recorded to their exotic atmospheres, what makes these planets so unique? Chris Lintott and Maggie Aderin-Pocock reveal the latest images of the ice giants, while award-winning astro-photographer Damian Peach shares his tips for capturing these jewels of the night sky.
Rosetta: A Sky at Night Special
t is one of the most extraordinary space adventures in a generation - to land a spacecraft on a comet.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft has been hurtling through space for over 10 years, tracking down a comet called 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Now it is about to do something that has never been attempted before and land a spacecraft on the comet's surface.
This special episode of The Sky at Night puts the viewer right at the heart of the action, witnessing events as they happened from inside mission control. It reveals the latest images, explores the first groundbreaking science coming back from the comet and asks the astonishing questions that make this mission so captivating. Could Earth's water have come from comets? How do comets survive for so long? Could they have triggered the start of life on Earth?
The journey has been fraught with risk and at every stage the comet seems to surprise, but if the mission succeeds it will be a momentous day in the history of space exploration.
The Pillars of Creation
Perhaps no object in the night sky conjures up a greater sense of awe and wonder than a nebula. These vast clouds of dust and gases are stupendously beautiful, but they aren't just pretty objects. Nebulae play a key role in the birth and death of stars, and therefore in our own origins. And driving their creation is a kind of chemistry that the textbooks say shouldn't be happening.
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