Climate Change and Himalayan Stargazing

Available for over a year

A Whole New Climate When we talk of global warming, we tend to think of things as they are now, but a bit hotter. However, new research suggests that the world’s current climates may disappear if global warming trends continue, while weather unlike any seen today would be created. Professor Jack Williams of the University of Wisconsin explains. A Mammal Family Tree Kate Jones of the Zoological Society of London describes a new super-tree of mammalian evolution. This family tree throws doubt on the theory that the demise of the dinosaurs paved the way for the rise of mammals, suggesting that they evolved some 15 million years later. Himalayan Stargazing The Hanle Observatory is the world’s highest altitude telescope, four and a half thousand metres above sea level, in the Himalayan desert. Geoff reports from the observatory's control centre, miles away in Bangalore. New Ideas for New Stars Professor Gerry Gilmore of the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge ponders the frustratingly slow development of our grasp of galactic evolution, while new galaxies are being discovered all the time. A History of Plate Tectonics Professor Minik Rosing from the University of Copenhagen explains why he and his colleagues think they can answer the question of when the movement of plate tectonics, which has shaped our continents, began. It's a question which has been fascinating geologists for years.