Episode 24
Ultima Thule (Episode 9) - To The Ends Of The Earth (Parts 3 & 4)
In this episode we continue to explore the global scientific effort of working together across boundaries in order to better understand our place in the Universe. While the 1760s Transit of Venus (explored in the last episode) did bring scientists together regardless of nationality that level of global collaboration didn't occur again for over 100 years. As explorers from across Europe attempted to understand the Arctic isolated missions brought home precious little data, and that was if they were lucky. Many never came home. These polar expeditions were known to have their ships stuck in the ice for years leaving the crew stranded on the ocean ice. It took the leader of one such expedition to nearly lose his entire crew in order to bring the international scientific community together again for the benefit of humanity. In this episode we explore Carl Weyprecht's vision for the world and how it came true with the International Polar Years and the International Geophysical Year. (9/29)
