Summary
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins, science and mythology of the moon. Humans have been fascinated by our only known satellite since prehistory. In some cultures the Moon has been worshipped as a deity; in recent centuries there has been lively debate about its origins and physical characteristics. Although other planets in our solar system have moons ours is, relatively speaking, the largest, and is perhaps more accurately described as a 'twin planet'; the past, present and future of the Earth and the Moon are locked together. Only very recently has water been found on the Moon - a discovery which could prove to be invaluable if human colonisation of the Moon were ever to occur. Mankind first walked on the Moon in 1969, but it is debatable how important this huge political event was in developing our scientific knowledge. The advances of space science, including data from satellites and the moon landings, have given us some startling insights into the history of our own planet, but many intriguing questions remain unanswered. With:Paul MurdinVisiting Professor of Astronomy at Liverpool John Moores UniversityCarolin CrawfordGresham Professor of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge Ian CrawfordReader in Planetary Science and Astrobiology at Birkbeck College, London.Producer: Natalia Fernandez.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Thanks for downloading the In Our Time Podcast. |
| 0:39.0 | For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co. UK forward slash radio for. I hope you enjoy |
| 0:46.5 | the program. Hello on November the 30th 1609 Galileo pointed his telescope at the moon. He was astonished by what he saw. |
| 0:55.0 | I found the surface of the moon, he wrote, not to be smooth, even and perfectly spherical, but uneven, rough, and crowded with depressions and bulges. |
| 1:04.0 | And it's like the face of the earth itself, which is marked here and there with chains of mountains and depths of valleys. |
| 1:10.0 | Galileo was the first human being to report these features in such detail, but the moon with its power over time and tides has fascinated mankind for millennia. |
| 1:19.0 | Locked in an orbit a quarter of a million miles away, our closest neighbor in the solar system, and our only natural |
| 1:24.7 | satellite, the moon exists a powerful influence on life on Earth. |
| 1:28.6 | More than 70 spacecraft have been sent to the moon, and although we've now walked on its surface there are still many |
| 1:33.4 | things about this four and a half billion year old hunk of rock that remain a |
| 1:37.0 | mystery. With me to discuss the moon are Paul Murdoch visiting professor of |
| 1:40.9 | astronomy at Liverpool John Moors University, |
| 1:43.5 | Caroline Crawford, Greshing Professor of Astronomy and Outreach Officer at the |
| 1:47.1 | Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, |
| 1:49.7 | and Ian Crawford, |
| 1:50.8 | reader in planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck University of London. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.