From late October into December, a five-part Nova documentary series called “Universe Revealed” is airing on the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS; link below). With ground-breaking graphics and visuals, the series explores modern themes in astrophysics, like the fate of our Galaxy, and the origin of life on planets around other stars.

David Rosario, a senior lecturer in our Astronomy group, is one of the featured scientists on the series, as well as a contributor to its scientific storyline.

“Universe Revealed” is a joint production of the BBC Science Unit and PBS/Nova. Most of David’s work for the series was done with the BBC over late 2020 and early 2021, after he was contacted by a BBC producer who had came across his short film for the Newcastle Centre for Life on YouTube (https://youtu.be/D0eY356N2zo). While the global pandemic placed major restrictions on travel, David managed to film sequences on the Isle of Skye in Western Scotland (Episode 2 on the Milky Way), and at High Force waterfall in the North-East of England (Episode 4 on Black Holes), as well as a studio interview in London.

A parallel series, called “Universe”, is also airing on BBC Two, presented by Prof Brian Cox. David features in a vignette on the GAIA mission towards the end of Episode 3.

David will continue his relationship with the BBC Science Unit as an expert on science with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). You are encouraged to get in touch with him to collaborate on science outreach and engagement ideas.

PBS/Nova: Universe revealed: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/nova-universe-revealed/
David’s webpage: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/maths-physics/people/profile/davidrosario.html