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In Our Time

Venus

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.69.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 December 2018

⏱️ 50 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the planet Venus which is both the morning star and the evening star, rotates backwards at walking speed and has a day which is longer than its year. It has long been called Earth’s twin, yet the differences are more striking than the similarities. Once imagined covered with steaming jungles and oceans, we now know the surface of Venus is 450 degrees celsius, and the pressure there is 90 times greater than on Earth, enough to crush an astronaut. The more we learn of it, though, the more we learn of our own planet, such as whether Earth could become more like Venus in some ways, over time.

With

Carolin Crawford Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

Colin Wilson Senior Research Fellow in Planetary Science at the University of Oxford

And

Andrew Coates Professor of Physics at Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London

Produced by: Simon Tillotson and Julia Johnson

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts

0:04.7

Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.

0:07.3

There's a reading list to go with it on our website and you can get news about our

0:10.7

programs if you follow us on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.

0:14.7

I hope you enjoyed the programs.

0:16.8

Hello, the Planet Venus is both the Morningstar and the Eveningstar.

0:20.8

It rotates backwards at walking speed and is day is longer than each year, yet it's

0:25.5

long been called Earth's Twin.

0:28.0

The differences are more striking than the similarities.

0:31.0

Once imagined to be covered with steaming jungles and oceans, we now know the surface of Venus

0:35.4

is 450 degrees Celsius and the pressure there is 90 times greater than on Earth enough

0:40.5

to crush any astronaut.

0:42.7

The more we learn of it though, the more we learn about our own planet, such as whether

0:45.8

Earth could become more like Venus in some ways over time.

0:49.5

We need to discuss the Planet Venus, Carl and Crawford, Public Astronomer at the Institute

0:54.0

of Astronomy and fellow Bimmanuel College University of Cambridge.

0:57.7

Carl and Wilson, Senior Research Fellow in Planetary Science at the University of Oxford

1:01.9

and under a coach, Professor of Physics at Mallard Space, Science, Laboratory, University

1:06.2

College London.

1:07.2

Carl and Crawford, how did the Earth and Venus get started 4.5 billion years ago?

1:13.0

Well they got started in very much the same ways each other and alongside all the rest

1:17.3

of the planets and this is from a nebula of gas and dust that surrounds the just form

...

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