logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2022
55m 15s

A distant planet’s atmosphere

Bbc World Service
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Jan 16
Science down under
This week the Unexpected Elements team has travelled Down Under to sunny Sydney where we discover some wonderfully Australian science with the help of some wonderfully Australian panellists. First, we discuss the surprising American origins of Australia’s iconic marsupials and Ma ... Show More
49m 30s
Jan 9
Science of the future
We take a look at some exciting science of the near future. First, the latest developments in animal-to-human organ transplants and the ambitious goals of eliminating cervical cancer around the world.We are then joined by plasma physicist Dr Fatima Ebrahimi from the Princeton Pla ... Show More
49m 29s
Jan 2
An episode inspired by our listeners
We revisit our listeners’ favourite topics and dig deeper in this special programme.First, we hear from some of our insomniac listeners and explore how we fall asleep with neuroscientist Dr Ada Eban-Rothschild from the University of Michigan.Next, we return to our favourite food ... Show More
49m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
A distant planet’s atmosphere
Nasa's JWST space telescope has unpicked the chemical contents and state of the atmosphere of planet WASP-39b 700 light years away. Astronomer Hannah Wakeford explains. Meteorologist Laura Wilcox warns that atmospheric haze over China and South Asia is masking some of the effects ... Show More
28m 4s
Jul 2022
Inside Sentience
Marnie Chesterton and guests mull over the saga of an AI engineer who believes his chatbot is sentient. Also, climate scientists propose a major leap in earth system modelling, that might cost £250m a year but would bring our predictive power from 100 km to 1km. And the story of ... Show More
28m 10s
Dec 2019
Ten years of Zooniverse; what happened to volcano Anak Krakatau and visualising maths
Adam Rutherford talks to Chris Lintott about the citizen science platform he set up ten years ago. Zooniverse is a place where the public can help scientists analyse huge swathes of data. Projects such as spotting distant galaxies, counting penguins and tagging WW2 diaries have a ... Show More
30m 17s
Mar 2017
Climate change and extreme weather; Primate brain size; Earthquake forecasting; Planet 9
Following yesterday's US House Committee on Science,Space,and Technology's controversial hearing on scientific method and climate change, Adam Rutherford meets atmospheric scientist Professor Michael Mann after he emerged from the heated debate and who's just published a new pape ... Show More
28m 12s
Feb 2017
Does the full Moon make us act oddly?
Listener Paul Don asks: "I'm wondering what's the feasibility of terraforming another planet ie Mars and if it is possible to do the same thing with something like the moon? Or, why isn't there already a moon-base? Surely that is easier."Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry consi ... Show More
26m 59s
Jan 2023
Climate science activism
Climate researcher, Rose Abramoff took to the stage at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meetings, not as a guest speaker but in protest. Whilst her demonstration only lasted 15 seconds, she found her employment terminated from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and research s ... Show More
29m 24s
Nov 2023
Life beyond Earth
Under the mighty radio Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, Victoria Gill brings together some of the UK’s leading experts who were visiting the recent ‘bluedot’ science and music festival. They discussed the ongoing hunt for extraterrestrial life. We hear from Karen Olsson-Francis, ... Show More
38m 53s
Aug 2021
Lucy in the Sky With Asteroids
How did the planets form? How did life happen? Where did Earth’s water come from? To answer questions like these, scientists used to go big—looking at planets, dwarf planets, and moons—but now small is the new big. Technology is zooming in on the pint-size stuff—asteroids, comets ... Show More
30m 51s
Apr 2024
#411: Aussie Astronaut Adventures & Jovian Journeys: Unveiling Space's Latest Marvels
Embark on an astronomical adventure with Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson in the latest episode of Space Nuts, where they celebrate a historic moment for Australia with the announcement of the nation's first female astronaut, Catherine Bennell Pegg. Discover her remarkabl ... Show More
29m 42s