Hiranya Peiris featured in BBC “Sky at Night”

This episode shone a different light on the world of astrophysics. It explored ideas and theories that may seem like science fiction today, but that could be tomorrow’s science facts – things like dark matter, white holes, the possibility of interstellar travel, and designing a language that aliens can understand.  

Hiranya Peiris was featured talking to astrophysicist Emma Chapman. They discussed dark matter over dinner, with astronomer Pete Lawrence as a maître d’. Peiris and Chapman conversed about the current experiments happening around the world, notably the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. They shared their thoughts on the current state of research in this field, and explained the importance of pursuing such research and experiments. Hiranya said: “It was great to discuss dark matter over lunch with Emma Chapman. It was nice to participate in a format that went beyond communicating dry facts about science. This segment showcased that scientists like to discuss ideas with each other and that it is fun! That sometimes does not come across in outreach."

The programme is available on demand until September 2023 on the BBC iPlayer.