Inside God's Observatory
Episode 4 · 2017-06-11
- Documentary
- News
Episode overview
This edition comes from the heart of one of the most influential - and surprising - organisations in the history of astronomy. Maggie and Chris have been granted rare access to the Vatican and its little-known observatory, the Specola Vaticana, perched on a hilltop 30km outside Rome. -- There they explore its rich history and contemporary cutting-edge science, going inside the Vatican walls to visit the Tower of the Winds, a secret antique sundial that revolutionised the length of the year; the remains of a nest of telescopes atop an old medieval church where the science of spectroscopy was born; and the modern labs, manned by priest scientists who study a range of contemporary astronomical problems, from meteorites to binary stars to the birth of the universe itself.
Season 61 episodes
1. Guide to the Galaxy2017-01-08
2. Telescope Takeover2017-02-12
3. 60th Anniversary Special2017-04-23
4. Inside God's Observatory2017-06-11
5. Into the Dark Zone2017-07-09
6. It Came From Outer Space2017-08-13
7. Cassini - The Gamechanger2017-09-10
8. Return to the Moon?2017-10-08
9. In the Blink of an Eye2017-11-12
10. Wonders of the Night Sky2017-12-10
