In search of stardust
A jazz musician becomes a cosmic dust hunter.
Norwegian jazz musician Jon Larsen was having breakfast one clear spring morning when he noticed a tiny black speck land on his clean, white table. With no wind, birds or planes in sight, he wondered if it fell from space.
Dust from space is not as fanciful as it sounds. Billions of microscopic meteorites, dating back to the birth of our solar system, fall onto Earth every year. But they are so tiny, hidden among the copious dust of everyday life, that scientists believe they are impossible to find outside ultra clean environments like Antarctica.
But this doesn’t deter Jon, who, against the advice of all experts, decides he is going to be the first person to find an urban micrometeorite.
He takes presenter Caroline Steel and planetary scientist Dr Matthew Genge up onto some roofs, in search of the elusive particles. Can we find stardust on the top of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ?
Featuring Jon Larsen, Dr Matthew Genge and Svein Aarbostad.
Presenter: Caroline Steel
(Image: Cygnus Nebulosity and Starclouds Credit: VW Pics / Contributor | Getty Images)
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- Mon 24 Jul 2023 19:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa & Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Afghan Radio
- Tue 25 Jul 2023 04:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
- Tue 25 Jul 2023 12:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East Asia & South Asia
- Tue 25 Jul 2023 19:32GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
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