What Is Out There?

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Episode 1 of 6

Duration: 1 hour

Michael Mosley embarks on an informative and ambitious journey exploring how the evolution of scientific understanding is intimately interwoven with society's historical path.

Michael begins with the story of one of the great upheavals in human history - how we came to understand that our planet was not at the centre of everything in the cosmos, but just one of billions of bodies in a vast and expanding universe.

He reveals the critical role of medieval astrologers in changing our view of the heavens, and the surprising connections to the upheavals of the Renaissance, the growth of coffee shops and Californian oil and railway barons.

Michael shows how important the practical skills of craftsmen have been to this story and finds out how Galileo made his telescope to peer at the heavens and by doing so helped change our view of the universe forever.

  • Michael Mosley under Newton's apple tree

    Michael Mosley under Newton's apple tree

  • Preview Clip From this Episode

    Preview Clip From this Episode

    Michael Mosley follows in Galileo’s footsteps as he learns how to make a telescope lens. He takes a flat piece of glass and an artillery ball to a Venetian lens maker to find out how Galileo turned these raw materials into a lens fit for his telescope.

    Michael Mosley finds out how to use an artillery ball to make a telescope lens

Credits

Presenter
Michael Mosley
Director
Jeremy Turner
Producer
Aidan Laverty
Executive Producer
John Lynch

Broadcasts

See all broadcasts of What Is Out There? (6)

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