Celestial Mechanics podcasts

This Nature Podcast episode reports on a high-speed star whose orbit could enable measurement of the spin of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The programme also examines how exoskeletons influence human movement and covers other current science stories.

Hal Levison explains how Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids could help distinguish competing accounts of Solar System evolution. The discussion compares scenarios in which giant planets formed near their present orbits with models involving substantial migration from a more compact configuration. It considers why the Lucy spacecraft’s observations can test these ideas and how discoveries of other planetary systems sharpen the questions.