Stargazing Live

Episode: Episode 3
Broadcast Info: 2013 (60 mins)
Description: Dulverton Edge of the Solar System Exoplanets Super WASP aliens. The third and final programme of the series concentrates on the ongoing search for planets outside our own Solar System and the accompanying hunt for life. The team explains why finding exo-planets is so difficult and tells the story of the very first discoveries in the 1990s. They explain the science between the two most successful planet-hunting techniques, the Transit Method and Doppler Spectroscopy, and discuss the significance of the recent discovery of Kepler 22b, thought to be the most Earth like planet yet. With the help of astro-physicist Giovanna Tinetti, Brian outlines the ways scientists can determine the chemical composition of these new planets despite their extreme distances from earth and speculate about what the next likely milestone in our exploration could be. Meanwhile, Dara looks back at the history of man’s attempts to make first contact with an alien race and wonders what would actually happen if we were ever to succeed. In South Africa, Liz Bonnin ponders where our Solar System ends and investigates the mysterious Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud regions, whilst Mark Thompson leads an entire town in a mass switch off to highlight the need for the public to re-engage with the amazing night skies above their heads.
Genre: Astronomy; Space Exploration

The Open University, "Stargazing Live". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/82346 (Accessed 10 Jan 2025)

The Open University