Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Why is my house getting sunnier?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Why is my house getting sunnier?
CrowdScience listeners David and Tatiana have long been captivated by an unusual dinner table discussion: the peculiar change they’ve noticed over the past 16 years in the sunlight streaming through their bedroom window in Ostend, Belgium. They’re convinced that the room has not only become sunnier but that the actual angle of sunlight has shifted.
Intrigued by their observations, we head to Ostend. Our mission: to investigate three of their theories, enlisting expert help along the way.
Theory 1 – A celestial anomaly?
René Oudmaijer at the Royal Observatory of Belgium considers whether our shifting position in the solar system might explain the change.
Theory 2 – Movement in the Earth’s crust?
Alejandra Tovar from the Geological Survey of Belgium examines tectonic data to see if the Earth’s crust is moving enough to alter the angle of sunlight.
Theory 3 – Subsidence?
Structural engineer Kath Hannigan helps us inspect the building for signs that it may be sinking or twisting.
And we explore one final theory of our own, enlisting memory expert Julia Shaw to examine whether it could all be a trick of the mind.
Will the team crack the case?
Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Harrison Lewis
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Sarah Hockley
(Photo: CrowdScience listeners David and Tatiana standing in front of a window in their house)
View all episodes
By BBC World Service
4.7
423423 ratings
CrowdScience listeners David and Tatiana have long been captivated by an unusual dinner table discussion: the peculiar change they’ve noticed over the past 16 years in the sunlight streaming through their bedroom window in Ostend, Belgium. They’re convinced that the room has not only become sunnier but that the actual angle of sunlight has shifted.
Intrigued by their observations, we head to Ostend. Our mission: to investigate three of their theories, enlisting expert help along the way.
Theory 1 – A celestial anomaly?
René Oudmaijer at the Royal Observatory of Belgium considers whether our shifting position in the solar system might explain the change.
Theory 2 – Movement in the Earth’s crust?
Alejandra Tovar from the Geological Survey of Belgium examines tectonic data to see if the Earth’s crust is moving enough to alter the angle of sunlight.
Theory 3 – Subsidence?
Structural engineer Kath Hannigan helps us inspect the building for signs that it may be sinking or twisting.
And we explore one final theory of our own, enlisting memory expert Julia Shaw to examine whether it could all be a trick of the mind.
Will the team crack the case?
Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producer: Harrison Lewis
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Studio Manager: Sarah Hockley
(Photo: CrowdScience listeners David and Tatiana standing in front of a window in their house)
More shows like CrowdScience
View all
In Our Time
5,408 Listeners
The Documentary Podcast
1,833 Listeners
The Naked Scientists Podcast
600 Listeners
Global News Podcast
7,715 Listeners
Science Weekly
410 Listeners
5 Live Science Podcast
108 Listeners
Health Check
84 Listeners
6 Minute English
1,824 Listeners
Learning English Conversations
1,072 Listeners
Science In Action
342 Listeners
Inside Health
90 Listeners
More or Less: Behind the Stats
893 Listeners
Discovery
955 Listeners
The Infinite Monkey Cage
1,927 Listeners
Newshour
1,069 Listeners
The Life Scientific
246 Listeners
Unexpected Elements
355 Listeners
BBC Inside Science
406 Listeners
The Inquiry
755 Listeners
Curious Cases
821 Listeners
People Fixing the World
244 Listeners
Americast
741 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
2,968 Listeners