Inside The Sky at Night
The Sky at Night’s schedule is usually only moved for major space missions, but a possibility of life on Venus proved an important exception. Chris Lintott recalls how the show reacted to the news
Have you imagined where you’d be when you hear that aliens have turned up? I heard about the amazing discovery featured in this month’s programme while sitting in my kitchen, speaking to an old friend of the programme, Chris North, on the phone.
Chris was calling to tell me that a team led by his colleague Jane Greaves in Cardiff had found what they thought was a biosignature – a sign of life – in the atmosphere of Venus. What he actually said to me was, “Can you speak Venusian?” It’s the title of one of Patrick Moore’s books covering ‘independent thought’ – UFOs, a vicar who thinks the Sun is cold, that sort of thing.
It quickly became clear that, unlike the man who in one archive episode explained to Patrick that Jesus came from Venus, this story was credible. But it was due to be released the day after The Sky at Night was to be broadcast. Because of the importance of the discovery, we quickly moved the show, something we normally only do for major space missions. And so producer Toby, assistant producer Angel and I found ourselves wandering the corridors of a nearly deserted Cardiff physics department, chatting about life on Venus and the wonders of phospine.
Persistence pays off
I’ve known Jane a long time and it was so exciting to see her pride in her team and their discovery, and I marvel at the perseverance she showed in pursuing a project through numerous rejections by observatories and referees. But it was still bizarre to be sitting in someone’s office and asking – on camera, in a matter of fact tone – “Have you found life?” Jane’s answer was that she was worried about the sulphuric acid content of the clouds, but it was clear that the idea that this might be life was the thing which had pushed her through the years of hard work.
Clockwise from top left: Chris Lintott meets Jane Greaves from Cardiff University to discuss her findings about traces of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus; chemist William Bains gives a musical slant to Venusian life; Emily DrabekMaunder, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, discusses the project’s origins; Jane Greaves shares the data she used to trace the presence of phosphine
Beyond Venus
Following the news about possible signs of microbial life in the clouds of Venus, the team report on the discovery from the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Chris and Maggie find out about further research and look into the wider search for life in the Solar System, focusing on Mars, Titan, Enceladus and Europa, as well as biological signatures on planets orbiting distant stars.
8 November, 10pm (first repeat Four, 12 November, 7:30pm) Check www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight for more up-to-date information
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