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Science In Action: A Milky Way Merger

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A Milky Way Merger

01/11/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, A Milky Way Merger

An impact with another galaxy 10 billion years ago filled the Milky Way with stars

A Milky Way merger. Also sniffing the atmosphere for ozone-depleting gases and AutoNauts in Antarctica

A Milky Way Merger
An impact with galaxy Enceladus, around 10 billion years ago filled, our home galaxy, the Milky Way’s inner surrounding halo with stars and made the galactic disk much thicker, and starrier than it ought to be.

Sniffing the Atmosphere for Ozone-Depleting Gases 
Carbon tetrachloride is one of several man-made gases that contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer high in the atmosphere. Because of this, restrictions were introduced on the use of this gas under the Montreal Protocol.  Concentrations of the gas in the atmosphere should be going down at a rapid rate. But it’s not, and a team of atmospheric scientists have been sniffing around to work out where the new sources of carbon tetrachloride are coming from and it’s China. 

Universal Influenza Vaccine 
Every year, the influenza viruses spreading around the world are monitored to work out which strains are most prevalent and potent and it’s these that flu vaccines are created to combat. But what if there was a universal flu vaccine that worked against all influenza strains? Well, this is what’s being worked on right now and it involves llama antibodies.

AutoNauts in Antarctica 
Reporter Hannah Fisher goes to see an unmanned automated vessel, called the AutoNaut being tested in icy conditions. The remotely-operated vessel will be used to explore uncharted waters around Antarctic ice sheets to collect data on ice-melt and sea-level rise. But first it needs to have a coating that won’t ice up.

Picture, Illustration shows a stage in the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy  Credit: Nasa

Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Fiona Roberts

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