
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Brian Cox and Robin Ince referee as Saturn and Jupiter square up to each other in a planetary face-off. Representing Team Saturn is space physicist Professor Michele Dougherty, and in the opposite corner is Dr Paul Abel on Team Jupiter. Katherine Parkinson judges this cosmic contest, casting the final vote to decide who will be awarded the coveted Kuiper Belt.
It is not all about looks of course, but it is a significant factor in a first impression. Both Saturn and Jupiter score highly in this department, boasting magnificent icy rings and colourful stripes respectively. But what lies beneath their aesthetically pleasing exteriors? How do the planets compare on the inside?
The gas giants have been subjects of investigation for many years, with historic missions like Galileo and Cassini uncovering their secrets. But they aren’t alone, each planet is surrounded by its own mini solar system of moons, which get space scientists just as excited as their parent planets do. Both Jupiter and Saturn have moons which are hot contenders in the search for extraterrestrial life and our panel discuss the future plans to explore them.
Producer: Melanie Brown
 By BBC Radio 4
By BBC Radio 44.7
18191,819 ratings
Brian Cox and Robin Ince referee as Saturn and Jupiter square up to each other in a planetary face-off. Representing Team Saturn is space physicist Professor Michele Dougherty, and in the opposite corner is Dr Paul Abel on Team Jupiter. Katherine Parkinson judges this cosmic contest, casting the final vote to decide who will be awarded the coveted Kuiper Belt.
It is not all about looks of course, but it is a significant factor in a first impression. Both Saturn and Jupiter score highly in this department, boasting magnificent icy rings and colourful stripes respectively. But what lies beneath their aesthetically pleasing exteriors? How do the planets compare on the inside?
The gas giants have been subjects of investigation for many years, with historic missions like Galileo and Cassini uncovering their secrets. But they aren’t alone, each planet is surrounded by its own mini solar system of moons, which get space scientists just as excited as their parent planets do. Both Jupiter and Saturn have moons which are hot contenders in the search for extraterrestrial life and our panel discuss the future plans to explore them.
Producer: Melanie Brown

7,698 Listeners

529 Listeners

889 Listeners

1,042 Listeners

293 Listeners

5,429 Listeners

3,726 Listeners

2,112 Listeners

4,847 Listeners

487 Listeners

431 Listeners

823 Listeners

246 Listeners

355 Listeners

227 Listeners

143 Listeners

320 Listeners

3,187 Listeners

64 Listeners

102 Listeners

815 Listeners

998 Listeners

493 Listeners

614 Listeners

192 Listeners

115 Listeners

252 Listeners

262 Listeners

64 Listeners

80 Listeners

57 Listeners

3 Listeners