Star Diary

Could life exist elsewhere in the Solar System? Astronomers have announced the presence of phosphine in the clouds of Venus, which could be evidence of microbial life around the hellish planet. This episode Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, one of the astronomers behind the discovery, reveals how they did it, and why we need a new mission to explore Venus.

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We talk to Libby Jackson – one of the UK's leading experts in human spaceflight and author of Space Explorers: 25 stories of space exploration and adventure – about the history and future of human spaceflight.

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We reveal how stars are born, evolve and die, and discover that a star's mass determines its ultimate fate. Plus, we speak to astronomer Emily Cannon about her research into the dimming of Betelgeuse, a red giant star that forms part of the Orion constellation. Could it be about to go supernova?

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Neptune's icy moon Triton may host an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface. We spoke to planetary scientist Louise Prockter to find out about Trident, a proposed mission she's leading to send a spacecraft to explore the frozen satellite.

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Have you ever wondered how the Universe will end? We spoke to Dr Katie Mack to find out what it means to contemplate the final days of the cosmos.

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How far away is the edge of the Solar System? What even is 'the edge'? How do we know it's there? In this month's episode we take a look at the outer limits of our planetary neighbourhood. Plus: we talk to Keith Hayward of the Royal Aeronautical Society about the Chinese space programme and reveal how to make the most of August's Perseid meteor shower.

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16th July 2020 marks 20 years since the launch of the European Space Agency's Cluster mission. For two decades, Cluster has been examining how the solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetosphere and its effect on life on our planet. This episode we spoke to space weather expert and Cluster mission scientist Dr Mike Hapgood.

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Ahead of Asteroid Day on 30 June, we take a look at NASA's DART and ESA's Hera mission. Starting in 2022, these two missions will work together to test how we might one day deflect a potential deadly asteroid.

Later on, we interview Andrea Riley, the DART's programme executive and give you our stargazing tip of the month.

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The European Space Agency's CHEOPS mission is currently studying planets orbiting distant stars, known as exoplanets. We spoke to CHEOPS Project Scientist Kate Isaak to find out how the spacecraft operates and what it might discover.

The links Kate refers to in the interview can be found here:

https://esa.int/cheops

https://sci.esa.int/cheops

https://cosmos.esa.int/cheops

https://cheops.unibe.ch/

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We bid Venus farewell as the planet begins to disappear from our evening sky, and take a look at the planetary geometry that has made it such a glorious sight over the past few months. Plus, we explore the science of Venus and take a look at the history and future of the planet's exploration.

Also this month, The Sky at Night's Chris Lintott talks satellite megaconstellations, and how they may prove a threat to our view of the night sky.

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