Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
In 2017, astronomers identified the first known interstellar object to have entered our solar system, now commonly known as ʻOumuamua. A relatively small body, estimated to be roughly the size of a skyscraper, ʻOumuamua transfixed scientists with its peculiar properties and inspired endless ‘it must be aliens’ takes from a fascinated public – and at least one Harvard astrophysicist. In this entertaining lecture from January 2024, Chris Lintott, professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford and professor of astronomy at Gresham College in London, makes the case that, while this object’s fleeting presence in our solar system wasn’t coordinated by extraterrestrial life, it still has much to teach us about the nature of the Universe.
Video by Gresham College
video
Oceans and water
A stunning visualisation explores the intricate circulatory system of our oceans
5 minutes
video
History of science
Ideas ‘of pure genius’ – how astronomers have measured the Universe across history
29 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
A future in which ‘artificial scientists’ make discoveries may not be far away
9 minutes
video
Biology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
video
Metaphysics
What do past, present and future mean to a philosopher of time?
55 minutes
video
Engineering
From simple motors to levitating trains – how design shapes innovation
24 minutes
video
Film and visual culture
Our world has very different contours when a millimetre is blown up to a full screen
8 minutes
video
Astronomy
The remarkable innovations inspired by our need to know the night sky
5 minutes
video
Physics
Groundbreaking visualisations show how the world of the nucleus gives rise to our own
10 minutes