The Sky at Night

自然

S2018 E7 Death Star

本集简介

This episode looks at a solar phenomenon called coronal mass ejection - violent eruptions from the sun's surface - examining just how damaging a CME could be and how astronomers, using two new satellites that will travel closer to the sun than ever before, can better prepare us for its impact. A well-known example of a CME was recorded in 1859, when a spectacular blood-red aurora borealis appeared across America. Earlier that same day, in a leafy garden in the UK, a gentleman astronomer had noted a 'white light flare' on the sun's surface. The two events were linked, and it is now known that the flare caused the aurora. Back then, it was considered an astronomical curiosity, but when it happens again, it will be a different story. For the modern, technological world such a violent solar phenomenon could be devastating.

上一集

2018/07/08 S2018 E6 9.5

Outback Astronomy

In February 2018, news broke that astronomers had seen the cosmic dawn - the moment when stars first formed, flooding the universe with light. What's remarkable is that this incredible event was discovered by an instrument the size of a ping-pong table in a remote corner of Western Australia. Chris Lintott travels to the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory to find out how they did it and what else the extraordinary radio telescopes there can tell us about the universe.

下一集

2018/09/09 S2018 E8 9

Expedition Asteroid

A look at two missions attempting one of the most difficult feats of space exploration, to collect a rock from another world. This episode checks in on the US and Japanese attempts to bring a piece of an asteroid back to Earth. The missions have taken decades of planning, but the results will be worth it. We'll find out how studying these space rocks can teach us about the origins of our solar and may one day help save earth from a catastrophic collision.

当前季

S2018

2018-01-14

哇，窗口太小啦

The Sky at Night