Paul Murdin on the first ever identification of a black hole

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Astronomer Paul Murdin believes a good imagination is vital for scientists, since they're so often dealing with subjects outside the visible realm. Indeed, over a long and successful career his imagination has taken him on a journey through space, discovering various new and unusual celestial occurrences - notably the first successful identification of a black hole, Cygnus X-1. Paul tells Jim Al-Khalili how he spent much of his career at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, working with astronomers around the world on some of the most advanced telescopes ever built. He headed up the Astronomy section of the UK’s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, was Director of Science for the British National Space Centre and even has an asteroid named after him. This list of achievements is testament to the fact that Paul has never let his disability hold him back; a leg brace and walking sticks have been part of his life since contracting polio in childhood. But he maintains that as long as you have curiosity and a vibrant imagination, nothing should stand in your way. Produced by Lucy Taylor.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a Load of Sport Podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sport stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'
0:18.5	mouths.
0:19.5	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport in world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.8	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.2	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:40.3	Hello and welcome to the podcast edition of The Life Scientific.
0:43.6	I'm Jemal Khalili and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's
0:47.3	leading scientists and you get to find out what drives them.
0:50.9	So sit back, get comfortable and enjoy the episode.
0:54.4	Hello, let us imagine for a moment our home galaxy, the Milky Way.
0:59.5	You might be picturing that classic image of a dramatic spiraling swirl of shimmering fragments
1:05.2	and blazing across the inky backdrop of space.
1:08.5	Our galaxy is one among billions in the universe, clumped together in clusters and superclusters.
1:14.8	But even our humble local cluster contains up to a trillion stars.
1:19.5	That's a mammoth task for astronomers trying to map the heavens to learn what's out there.
1:24.0	And it puts into perspective the achievements of my guests today.
1:27.6	The man responsible for first identifying a black hole called Signus X1.
	...

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