Beyond the Rainbow
Helen Czerski looks at the colours invisible to our eyes. To see the universe in a new light, she takes to the skies in a jet equipped with an infrared telescope.
We live in a world ablaze with colour. Rainbows and rainforests, oceans and humanity, earth is the most colourful place we know of. But the colours we see are far more complex and fascinating than they appear. In this series, Dr Helen Czerski uncovers what colour is, how it works and how it has written the story of our planet.
The colours that we see are only a fraction of what's out there. Beyond the rainbow there are colours invisible to our eyes. In this episode, Helen tells the story of scientific discovery. To see the universe in a whole new light, she takes to the skies in a Nasa jumbo jet equipped with a 17-tonne infrared telescope.
We can't see in ultraviolet, but many animals can. Helen explores what the world looks like to the birds and the bees. With the discovery of x-rays, we could look inside ourselves in ways that previously had only been possible after death. Today, those same x-rays allow us to examine life at the atomic level, helping to develop new drugs and better materials. Ultimately, by harnessing all the colours there are, researchers are beginning to image the human body as never before, revealing new ways to treat disease.
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Why do we see colours differently?
iWonder guide looking at how people can perceive the colours differently.
Q&A with Helen Czerski
The programme's presenter answers your questions on Twitter
Making the programme
How I explored the hidden stories of our planet’s colours
Why are there no blue roses?
...and five other fascinating questions about colour
Clips
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A tour of NASA’s 17-tonne flying infrared telescope
Duration: 04:02
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The illusion of colour
Duration: 01:03
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:43
Teufelskicker
50 - Ballzauber! (Teil 26)
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Helen Czerski |
Executive Producer | Jacqueline Smith |
Series Producer | Graeme Thomson |
Director | Toby Macdonald |
Producer | Toby Macdonald |