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Professor Emma Bunce

Emma Bunce tells Jim Al-Khalili why she is intrigued by the gas giants Jupiter and Neptune

Emma Bunce, Professor of Planetary Plasma Physics at the University of Leicester, was inspired to study the solar system as a child by a TV programme that featured Voyager 2’s flyby of Neptune. She has spent the last 20 years focusing on the magnetic fields around the outer planets, in particular that of Jupiter. The Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the solar wind to create aurorae, the spectacular Northern lights. Emma’s discovered how aurorae are also produced at Jupiter's poles.

Emma Bunce talks to Jim al-Khalili about her fascination with the gas giants, why she has to be patient to check out her theories as missions to the planets are few and far between and how she'd love to work on a spacecraft to Neptune. And in the year when the Royal Astronomical Society marks its 200th anniversary, Emma explains why she's taken on the role of its President.

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 30 Aug 2020 23:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 24 Aug 2020 19:32GMT
  • Tue 25 Aug 2020 03:32GMT
  • Tue 25 Aug 2020 08:32GMT
  • Tue 25 Aug 2020 12:32GMT
  • Sun 30 Aug 2020 23:32GMT

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