BBCs The Sky at Night filmed on campus

A BBC film crew visited the University last week to film monthly television documentary programme on astronomy, The Sky at Night, which was broadcast on Sunday 9 August on BBC4 at 10pm and will be repeated at 7:30pm on Thursday 13 August (also BBC4).

In this episode, called 'Cosmic Lights', The Sky at Night team will look at cosmic explosions and explore the beautiful but potentially deadly outbursts of our very own star - the sun - and the most violent and energetic events in the universe, gamma ray bursts.

Professor Richard Willingale and Dr Kim Page from our Department of Physics and Astronomy will feature in the 30 minute programme.

Dr Gabrielle Provan will also demonstrate the University's Planeterrella - a polar light simulator which consists of a small vacuum chamber within which auroral lights are created around magnetic spheres, and visualise cosmic phenomena.

The Sky at Night covers a wide range of general astronomical and space-related topics. Topics include stellar life cycles, radio astronomy, artificial satellites, black holes, neutron stars and many others. The programme also covers what is happening in the night sky at the time it is being broadcast, especially when something less common, such as a comet or a meteor shower, is present.

You can catch 'Cosmic Blasts' on the BBC iPlayer