logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2023
42m 35s

Southern Skies

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Brian Cox and Robin Ince start a new series from Sydney, Australia. They are joined by astrophysicists Kirsten Banks and Devika Kamath and comedian Ross Noble as they discuss how different the night sky looks from the southern hemisphere. They hear stories of how different cultures have always used constellations in the sky to help navigate life down here, on planet Earth. They find out how just one point of light can tell you exactly what a star is made of and why this can be the key to understanding the future of our galaxy.

Producer: Caroline Steel Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem

Up next
Jul 9
201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar
Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists. Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world o ... Show More
42m 35s
Mar 2025
Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley
Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman.The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had ... Show More
42m 27s
Mar 2025
The Sound of Music - Brian Eno, Sam Bennett and Trevor Cox
Brian Cox and Robin Ince explore the history of music recording, joined by acoustics professor Trevor Cox, music professor Sam Bennett and musician and producer Brian Eno. Together they guide us through the evolution of sound recording, a space in which technology hasn’t stood st ... Show More
42m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2021
Things You Thought You Knew - A Constellation Prize
How did Uranus get its name? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explain all the things you thought you knew about the names of the planets and moons in our solar system, the formation of the moon, and the constellations.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to ... Show More
42m 56s
Dec 2023
A Star Is Born ... And Then What? Journey Through The Life Cycle of a star
Soon after the sun sets on winter nights, if you live in the northern hemisphere you can look into the sky and find the Orion constellation near the eastern horizon. Astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance has always been drawn to a particular star in Orion: Betelgeuse, a red supe ... Show More
14m 36s
Mar 2003
The Life of Stars
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life cycle of stars. In his poem Bright Star John Keats wrote, "Bright Star, would I were steadfast as thou art". For Keats the stars were symbols of eternity- they were beautiful and ordered and unchanging - but modern astronomy tells a very d ... Show More
28m 19s
May 2023
The Shapes in the Sky
Scientists from around the world gathered in Rome on 2nd May 1922 to agree on a definitive list of 88 constellations, which up until then had been an astronomical free-for-all. The collection of eminent astronomers eventually settled on 42 animals, 29 inanimate objects and 17 hum ... Show More
11m 12s
Mar 2024
Into The Interstellar
Izzie and Dr Becky are venturing into interstellar space. What is it? Where is it? And what do we know about it?  With special thanks to Professor Martin Barstow from University of Leicester and Professor Chris Lintott from the University of Oxford. Chris' new book "Our Accidenta ... Show More
45m 45s
Apr 2024
S27E47: Stellar Nurseries: Unveiling the Origins of Brown Dwarfs and Starbursts
Prepare to illuminate the shadowy frontiers of space in SpaceTime Series 27 Episode 47. We begin by shedding light on new findings that reveal brown dwarfs, those celestial enigmas straddling the line between the largest planets and the smallest stars, are far more star-like than ... Show More
25m 1s
Mar 2024
The first stars in the universe
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope think they have seen the glow from the first generation of stars after the Big Bang. Newton Kavli Fellow Hannah Übler discusses. The Anthropocene is meant to mean the latest geological era in which humanity is shaping the rocks and ... Show More
29m 46s
Jun 2023
Life Lessons From Supernovae
For many scientists, science isn't something they check in and out of — it permeates their whole lives. That's true for Sarafina El-Badry Nance, an astrophysicist and science communicator. In her new memoir, Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark, Sara ... Show More
14m 30s
Apr 2024
Things You Thought You Knew – The Geometric Universe
What is the Sun’s ecliptic? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down the things you thought you knew about spheres in the universe, navigating the sky, and taking spacecraft out of orbit. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here ... Show More
53m 56s
May 2024
Ep. 721: Rogue Planets
Astronomy Cast Ep. 721: Rogue Planets By Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Streamed live on May 20, 2024. Most of the exoplanets we’ve found are around stars, where they belong. But a few have been found free-floating in interstellar space. The evidence is growing that there are a lot ... Show More
29m 49s