The 2009 Summer Science Exhibition

Each day, a researcher from a different exhibit gave a short lunchtime talk about their research.

On Wednesday 1 July 2009, Chris North, Cardiff University spoke on the Herschel and Planck Missions.  

The Herschel and Planck missions are the largest space-science missions to be launched by the European Space Agency for some years. They were launched earlier this year to analyse the history of the Universe and to discover how, from the first few atoms produced after the Big Bang, the Universe we see today was formed. Chris North will talk about his work on the space missions and how the findings will affect the way we view the world today.

You can listen to this talk using the Flash controls below, or download the talk as an MP3 file for your computer or music player (length: 23 minutes).

Chris North has provided the images referred to in the podcast on the Planck mission website.

Explore further

• Explore the From the oldest light to the youngest stars: the Herschel and Planck Missions exhibit on our website
• See other Summer Science Exhibition talks available online
• Visit royalsociety.tv for all the Royal Society's recordings available online