The Kuiper Belt

The Kuiper Belt

Author: BBC Radio 4 March 2, 2017 Duration: 48:11

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Kuiper Belt, a vast region of icy objects at the fringes of our Solar System, beyond Neptune, in which we find the dwarf planet Pluto and countless objects left over from the origins of the solar system, some of which we observe as comets. It extends from where Neptune is, which is 30 times further out than the Earth is from the Sun, to about 500 times the Earth-Sun distance. It covers an immense region of space and it is the part of the Solar System that we know the least about, because it is so remote from us and has been barely detectable by Earth-based telescopes until recent decades. Its existence was predicted before it was known, and study of the Kuiper Belt, and how objects move within it, has led to a theory that there may be a 9th planet far beyond Neptune.

With

Carolin Crawford Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

Monica Grady Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University

And

Stephen Lowry Reader in Planetary and Space Sciences, University of Kent

Producer: Simon Tillotson.


Melvyn Bragg and a panel of academic experts gather each week to explore the vast history of scientific thought on In Our Time: Science. This BBC Radio 4 podcast delves far beyond simple explanations, instead tracing the long and often winding paths of discovery that shaped our understanding of the world. Each episode focuses on a single idea, from the concept of zero to the theory of plate tectonics, unpacking its origins, the controversies it sparked, and the key figures who championed or challenged it. You’ll hear lively, in-depth conversations that place science firmly within its human and historical context, revealing how principles we take for granted today were hard-won through centuries of debate, accident, and insight. The discussions are rigorous and accessible, designed for the curious mind eager to appreciate not just what we know, but how we came to know it. By treating science as a deeply historical endeavour, this series offers a richer appreciation of the discipline itself. Tune in for a thoughtful and engaging journey through the experiments, the arguments, and the brilliant flashes of imagination that have defined our quest for knowledge.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

In Our Time: Science
Podcast Episodes
Louis Pasteur [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:08
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) and his extraordinary contribution to medicine and science. It is said few people have saved more lives than Pasteur. A chemist, he showed th…
Pauli's Exclusion Principle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:13
After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects h…
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:47
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the high temperatures that marked the end of the Paleocene and start of the Eocene periods, about 50m years ago. Over c1000 years, global temperatures rose more than 5 C on average and sta…
Maths in the Early Islamic World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:07
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the flourishing of maths in the early Islamic world, as thinkers from across the region developed ideas in places such as Baghdad's House of Wisdom. Among them were the Persians Omar Khayy…
Parasitism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:45
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the relationship between parasites and hosts, where one species lives on or in another to the benefit of the parasite but at a cost to the host, potentially leading to disease or death of…
Johannes Kepler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:42
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630). Although he is overshadowed today by Isaac Newton and Galileo, he is considered by many to be one of the greatest scientists in history…
John Dalton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:40
The scientist John Dalton was born in North England in 1766. Although he came from a relatively poor Quaker family, he managed to become one of the most celebrated scientists of his age. Through his work, he helped to es…
Plasma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:53
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss plasma, the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid and gas. As over ninety-nine percent of all observable matter in the Universe is plasma, planets like ours, with so little plasma and…
Zeno's Paradoxes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:30
After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects h…
The Invention of Photography [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:46
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the development of photography in the 1830s, when techniques for 'drawing with light' evolved to the stage where, in 1839, both Louis Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot made claims for…