Could we send our litter into space?
Can we send our litter into space? And why is everything in space round? Two spacey cases today for doctors Rutherford and Fry to investigate.
Two spacey cases today for doctors Rutherford and Fry to investigate, both sent in to 大象传媒 Future via Facebook.
The Stellar Dustbin
'Can we shoot garbage into the sun?' asks Elisabeth Hill. The doctors embark on an astronomical thought experiment to see how much it would cost to throw Hannah's daily rubbish into our stellar dustbin. From space elevators to solar sails, they explore the various options that could be used to send litter to the Sun. Featuring space scientist Lucie Green and astrophysicist Andrew Pontzen.
A Study in Spheres
Another stellar question comes from Brian Passineau who wonders: 'why everything in space tends to be circular or spherical?'
Hannah gazes at Jupiter at The Royal Observatory, Greenwich with public astronomer, Dr Marek Kukula. Science writer, Philip Ball, explains how the astronomical obsession with celestial spheres came to an untidy end. And, physicist Dr Helen Czerski helps Adam on his quest to find the perfect natural sphere.
If you have any everyday mysteries for the team to investigate using the power of science, please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Michelle Martin
Image: A spiral galaxy, Credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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What shape is the Earth?
Duration: 01:18
Broadcasts
- Mon 19 Sep 2016 21:32GMT大象传媒 World Service except East and Southern Africa & News Internet
- Tue 20 Sep 2016 01:32GMT大象传媒 World Service Americas and the Caribbean
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- Tue 20 Sep 2016 06:32GMT大象传媒 World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
- Tue 20 Sep 2016 14:32GMT大象传媒 World Service except News Internet
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