Radio Times

Review by:

Laurence Joyce

Transits of Venus, when that planet passes in front of the sun as viewed from the Earth, happen roughly every hundred years. This year’s event, which begins on 5 June, will be the last until 2117, so scientists are making the most of the opportunity to measure such things as the tiny dimming of light when Venus moves across the sun’s disc, information that can help in the detection of planets outside our own solar system.

Marek Kukula talks to some of the scientists involved, including Thomas Widemann of the Observatoire de Paris and Matt Mountain, director of the Hubble Space Telescope.

About this programme

New series. Astronomer Marek Kukula from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich explores the scientific implications of the transit of Venus across the face of the sun, an event that will not happen again this century. It is hoped the occurrence will help planet hunters searching for other worlds throughout the galaxy.

Cast and crew

Cast

Presenter

Marek Kukula

Crew

Producer

Rami Tzabar

Share this episode