Running Rings Around Matter

Published: June 9, 2022, 3:30 p.m.

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Astronomers have captured the first image of Sagittarius A*, the gargantuan black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Dr Ziri Younsi, University College London, shares what it took to capture a picture of a supermassive black hole that is 26,000 light-years away and from which (almost) nothing, not even light, can escape.

The world\\u2019s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, is restarting after three years of upgrades. Roland Pease visits the European Particle Physics Laboratory, CERN, to see how things are going, and looks back on some of the team's past successes.

Also, how do you investigate the mysterious deaths of the world\\u2019s biggest fish when their bodies sink without trace? That\\u2019s the quandary facing marine scientists who\\u2019ve been trying to figure out what exactly is killing whale sharks. Freya Womersley, UK Marine Biological Association, shares how satellite tracking technology is helping us solve the mystery.

And finally, what\\u2019s in a name? As our inventory of Earth\\u2019s biodiversity progresses, the number of species given a Latin name is also growing. So, where do scientists find their naming inspiration? In Royal Society Proceedings B this week, an analysis of nearly 3,000 parasitic worm species uncovered some intriguing patterns and worrying biases. Samara Linton reports.

Presenter Victoria Gill

Produced by Alex Mansfield and Samara Linton

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