Cosmic Quest

In this 30-part BBC Radio 4 series, astronomer Heather Couper charts the history of our understanding of the universe. Her journey begins at the beginning as people first gaze in wonder at the life-giving Sun, the wandering planets and the changing phases of the Moon. Along the way we meet the ancient astronomers, as well as many pioneering scientific giants like Galileo, Newton, Halley and Herschel. With the invention of the telescope and the birth of astrophysics the skies were revealed as never before. These and other advances in technology enabled us to land on the Moon, discover distant galaxies, quasars and black holes - and to search for worlds beyond our own. Narrated by Heather Couper with additional readings by Timothy West, Annette Badland, Robin Sebastian, Julian Rhind-Tutt and John Palmer.