PostHole
Compose
Login
Astrophysicist Andy Fabian
Professor Andrew Fabian from Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy has spent his career trying to unravel the mystery of how some of the most dramatic events in the universe can profoundly influence its evolution. For over 50 years he’s been examining our universe using X-ray satellites orbiting way above earth’s atmosphere . He’s built up compelling evidence that supermassive black holes at the heart of galaxies are the engines that drive the movement of energy through the universe and provide the building blocks for the formation of new galaxies. They're extraordinary insights, for which he’s now been awarded the 2020 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, one of the world's most prestigious science prizes.
Jim Al-Khalili hears how Andy gets to capture epic galactic events in motion to build up a picture of this vast ecosystem - and also how he earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for discovering the deepest note in the universe – a B flat , 57 octaves below middle C.
Producer Adrian Washbourne
Accessibility links
BBC World Service
Discovery
- Discovery Home
- Episodes
- Galleries
- Podcast
- Join us on Facebook
Main content
Listen now
Astrophysicist Andy Fabian
Discovery
Astrophysicist and astronomer Andrew Fabian discusses his pioneering research and persistence in pursuing the mystery of how black holes influence their surrounding galaxies
Professor Andrew Fabian from Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy has spent his career trying to unravel the mystery of how some of the most dramatic events in the universe can profoundly influence its evolution. For over 50 years he’s been examining our universe using X-ray satellites orbiting way above earth’s atmosphere . He’s built up compelling evidence that supermassive black holes at the heart of galaxies are the engines that drive the movement of energy through the universe and provide the building blocks for the formation of new galaxies. They're extraordinary insights, for which he’s now been awarded the 2020 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, one of the world's most prestigious science prizes.
Jim Al-Khalili hears how Andy gets to capture epic galactic events in motion to build up a picture of this vast ecosystem - and also how he earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for discovering the deepest note in the universe – a B flat , 57 octaves below middle C.
Producer Adrian Washbourne
###
####
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now
28 minutes
Last on
Tue 12 Jan 2021
18:32GMT
BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
More episodes
Previous
Marine conservationist Heather Koldewey
Next
See all episodes from Discovery
Broadcasts
Mon 11 Jan 2021
20:32GMT
BBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
Mon 11 Jan 2021
21:32GMT
BBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
Tue 12 Jan 2021
04:32GMT
BBC World Service
Space
The eclipses, spacecraft and astronauts changing our view of the Universe
The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry
[The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry]
A pair of scientific sleuths answer your perplexing questions. Ask them anything!
Podcast
Discovery
Explorations in the world of science.
Similar programmes
By genre:
- Factual > Science & Nature
By format:
Magazines & Reviews
[BBC World Service homepage]
News in more than 40 languages