Oct 2007

Lecture 16: The Starry Messenger - Galileo and the Telescope

Tycho reached the limits of what could be done with the naked eye. A new technology was required to extend our vision: the telescope. This lecture introduces Galileo Galilei, the contemporary of Kepler who was in many ways the first modern astronomer, and describes his many disco ... Show More

41m 48s

Oct 2007

Lecture 17: On the Shoulders of Giants: Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion

Copernicus, Kepler, Tycho, and Galileo together gave us a new way of looking at the motions in the heavens, but they could not explain why the planets move they way the do. It was to be the work of Isaac Newton who was to sweep away the last vestiges of the Aristotelian view of t ... Show More

44m 47s

Oct 2007

Lecture 18: The Apple and the Moon - Newtonian Gravitation

What is Gravity? Starting with the properties of falling bodies first formulated by Galileo, Newton applied his three laws of motion to the problem of Universal Gravitation. Newtonian Gravity is a mutually attractive force that acts at a distance between any two massive bodies. I ... Show More

40m 8s

Mar 2023

Tycho Brahe

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) whose charts offered an unprecedented level of accuracy.In 1572 Brahe's observations of a new star challenged the idea, inherited from Aristotle, that the heavens were unchanging. He went o ... Show More

53m 35s

Feb 2019

Johannes Kepler

There was a time when science and religion worked in harmony, as two parts of a celestial design. Astrologer and philosopher Johannes Kepler oversaw this marriage of theory and belief when he proposed the revolutionary laws of planetary motion in the early 17th century. Amidst pe ... Show More

42m 54s

Oct 2022

Episode #163- What Was The Galileo Affair? (Part I)

The Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei has been remembered as the "father of modern science." The discoveries he made with his telescope led to a completely new understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. The theory first put forward by the Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus ... Show More

1h 7m

Oct 2022

Episode #164- What Was The Galileo Affair? (Part II)

Galileo is often credited with inventing the telescope, but he never made that claim. He simply whipped up his own take on the device and sold it to the Republic of Venice before his Dutch competitors could beat him to the punch. Galileo also gets credit for being the first perso ... Show More

58m 20s

Jan 2020

Solar Wind

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flow of particles from the outer region of the Sun which we observe in the Northern and Southern Lights, interacting with Earth's magnetosphere, and in comet tails that stream away from the Sun regardless of their own direction. One way of defi ... Show More

55m 13s

Nov 2021

William and Caroline Herschel

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss William Herschel (1738 – 1822) and his sister Caroline Herschel (1750 – 1848) who were born in Hanover and made their reputation in Britain. William was one of the most eminent astronomers in British history. Although he started life as a musician, ... Show More

50m 56s

Jul 2024

#437: Mars' Sulphur Surprise & Extreme Exoplanet Orbits

Mars, Exoplanets, and Spacewalk Solutions Join Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in this captivating episode of Space Nuts, where they explore the latest discoveries and innovations in space exploration. Episode Highlights: - Curiosity's Sulphur Surprise: Discover the unex ... Show More

32m 28s

Lecture 15: The Watershed - Tycho and Ke...