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A Star Is Born

Episode 26 of 30

Heather Couper looks at William Herschel's discovery of infrared radiation in 1800 and its impact on astronomy today. From June 2008.

Heather Couper presents a narrative history of astronomy.

Infrared radiation was discovered by William Herschel two centuries ago, but only recently has infrared astronomy come of age. Infrared is able to peer inside dark clouds that mask regions of the galaxy such as the Orion Nebula from optical telescopes. Within these clouds we can now see the processes through which the gas clouds contract, heat up and ignite to give birth to a new generation of stars.

Readers are Timothy West, Robin Sebastian, Julian Rhind-Tutt and John Palmer.

15 minutes

Last on

Tue 5 Dec 2017 02:15

Broadcasts

  • Mon 30 Jun 2008 15:45
  • Thu 6 Jun 2013 14:15
  • Mon 2 Mar 2015 14:15
  • Tue 3 Mar 2015 00:15
  • Mon 4 Dec 2017 14:15
  • Tue 5 Dec 2017 02:15