Journeys in Time and Space

Kathy Sykes meets the designer of the world's largest telescopes. Chris Riley visits New York to see a two-mile long machine that re-creates the Big Bang. Plus a look at asteroids, the earliest relics of our Solar System. They could easily obliterate all life on our planet, but what can we, here on Earth, do about it? Also, we meet the first British astronomer in over two hundred years to find a new planet.

Despite fantastic advances in technology, over 90% of our Universe appears to be missing. In this second programme of the series Chris Riley goes in search of this elusive so-called 'dark matter', a trail which leads him to an unlikely location - Europe's deepest mine, 1000m beneath the earth's surface. Also we meet Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, the legendary astronomer who discovered a very strange body in the late 1960s - the 'pulsar', a star so dense that a single teaspoon could weigh a hundred million tons. And we explore our nearest neighbour, the Moon, and find out why its surface could be more precious than gold dust. And we explore our nearest neighbour, the moon, and find out why its surface could be more precious than gold-dust.

Chris Riley investigates black holes, the most mysterious and menacing phenomenon in the universe. A super-massive black hole lies at the heart of our own galaxy. But Chris discovers that, rather than being a hazard, these bottomless pits of gravity may be an essential part of our universe. Meanwhile, Kathy Sykes meets Francisco Diego, who designs prisms for the world's largest telescopes - and chases eclipses in his spare time. Plus we learn how comets are made, and discover the possible connection between these icy rocks and how life may have come to Earth.

Chris Riley meets the team who have discovered most of the known planets outside our Solar System, and finds out why recent events have forced astronomers to reconsider what a planet actually is. PhD student Debbie Pearson talks about spotting stars using the world's most powerful group of telescopes - the COAST project in Cambridge. And, investigating claims that global warming may not be entirely a man-made problem, the team examine our nearest star - the Sun.

Chris Riley travels to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to find out about the extraordinary propulsion systems of the future - how ion engines and solar sails will soon be propelling us past the edge of our Solar System and on into interstellar space. Kathy Sykes talks to Paul Murdin, director of the British National Space Centre, whose discovery of a 'dark star' in 1971 finally confirmed the existence of the black hole. Plus a look at how tonnes of debris make journeys in space incredibly perilous.

Chris Riley investigates the science behind the newest SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) project, which aims to spot laser flashes from distant civilisations. Is alien life inevitable or unlikely? Sir Patrick Moore talks about his lifetime of astronomy. And there's a flight through the unknown atmosphere of Titan, one of Saturn's moons. Might the infant Earth have looked like this?