The Moon has always sparked human curiosity. It governs the tides and biological rhythms. It’s inspired myths and stories. It’s inspired us to reach out and explore it. And it's certainly inspired CrowdScience listeners, who have sent us a host of questions about it. And in a special lunar-themed episode we’ve brought together a panel of astronomers and planetary scientists to help answer them. What would life be like if there was no Moon? Would there even be life? Or what if we had two moons? Are the Moon and Earth equally battered by meteors? What would happen if an asteroid collided with the Moon? And could the Moon ever escape Earth’s gravity? Anand Jagatia is joined by Prof Sara Russell, Head of the Planetary Materials Group at the Natural History Museum in London; Prof Neil Comins from the University of Maine, author of the book What if the Moon didn’t Exist?; and Prof Katarina Miljkovic from Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Jeremy Grange Editor: Cathy Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt (Photo: Landscape with the rising of the full moon during the golden hour Credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete via Getty Images)
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk, but we not fighting for us, just for the people back home.
Purple Heart warriors listen now by searching for dramas wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Hello, and welcome to Crowd Science from the BBC World Service.
I'm Anand Jagatia, and in this episode, we're once again looking up to the skies to do some moon gazing.
The moon has always sparked human curiosity.
It governs the tides, it governs our biological rhythms.
It's inspired countless myths and stories, and it's compelled us to reach out and explore it and space beyond.
And it's also inspired many of you crowdscience listeners.
A few weeks back, we explored how the moon might have affected the dinosaurs.
And after that episode, lots of you emailed us with your own questions about the moon, from what life would be like if we had no moon at all, to why the surface of the moon is riddled with craters when Earth appears to be relatively unscathed.
So that's what we're going to look at in this episode.
And joining me to help contemplate these mysteries of the Moon are a panel of experts in astronomy and planetary science.
With me here in the studio.
Sarah.
Sarah, do you want to introduce yourself?
Hi, I'm Sarah Russell.
I'm a planetary scientist from the Natural History Museum in London.
And down the line from the US is Neil.
Hi, I'm Neil Cummins.
I'm an astronomer and astrophysicist working at the University of Maine.