Emma Bunce on the gas giants

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2020

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Emma Bunce, Professor of Planetary Plasma Physics at the University of Leicester, was inspired to study the solar system as a child by a TV programme that featured Voyager 2’s flyby of Neptune. She has spent the last 20 years focusing on the magnetic fields around the outer planets, in particular that of Jupiter. The Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the solar wind to create aurorae, the spectacular Northern lights. Emma’s discovered how aurorae are also produced at Jupiter's poles. Emma Bunce talks to Jim al-Khalili about her fascination with the gas giants, why she has to be patient to check out her theories as missions to the planets are few and far between and how she'd love to work on a spacecraft to Neptune. And in the year when the Royal Astronomical Society marks its 200th anniversary, Emma explains why she's taken on the role of its President.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and trust me you'll get there in a moment but if you're a comedy fan
0:05.2	I'd really like to tell you a bit about what we do. I'm Julie Mackenzie and I commission comedy
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0:18.0	making people's days a bit better, helping them process, all manner of things.
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0:24.4	subjective and everyone has different tastes so we've got a huge range of comedy on offer
0:29.6	from satire to silly shocking to soothing profound to just general pratting about. So if you
0:36.2	fancy a laugh, find your next comedy at BBC Sounds.
0:40.3	Welcome to the podcast of the Life Scientific.
0:43.0	Today we're going on a tour of the solar system.
0:46.0	We hear so much about missions to Mars and a return to the moon
0:50.0	that probes to the outer planets are often forgotten.
0:53.0	My guest today is a leading researcher and world expert on the gas giants,
0:58.0	Jupiter and Saturn and beyond.
1:00.0	Emma Bunce, Professor of Planetary Plasma Physics at the University of Leicester, was inspired to study
1:06.1	the solar system as a child by a TV programme that featured The Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune. Emma's research is into the magnetic fields of the planets.
1:16.0	You may be aware of the effects of the Earth's magnetic field if you've ever seen the spectacular
1:20.4	northern lights.
1:21.4	These aurori are the result of interactions
1:24.2	between particles from the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field. Emers discovered how
1:28.9	Aurora are also produced around Jupiter and Saturn and in the year when the Royal Astronomical
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