News: This Autumn, BBC2 will screen a major new series about the world’s watery bits. Called, simply, ‘Oceans’ the eight-part series sends divers, naturalists and scientists to some of the most inaccessible parts of the planet. Why am I telling you now? Well, the show’s website launches today, with daily snippets from the team’s Arctic expedition, all ‘unpolished, raw and as it happens’. Because polishing a polar bear is never a good idea. Nature reporter Quirin Schiermeier is also in the high Arctic, sailing with a team of climate researchers. His diary can be found on the In the Field blog.

Now, on with the listings. As always, wildlife/nature programmes are highlighted in green, whereas science shows are in black.

Monday
3.45 HIGHLIGHT Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Heather cooper moves the series onto Galileo.
8.00 Springwatch, BBC2. %
8.00 The Gadget Show, FIVE. %{color:green}8.00 The Life of Mammals, BBC4. Carnivores.
9.00 Frontiers, Radio 4. The worldwide decline in amphibians.

Tuesday
3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Newton’s turn under the microscope.
7.30 Extraordinary Animals, FIVE. A cat that plays the piano. Yes, I know, it’s not science. But a cat! That plays the piano! Come on.
%{color:green}8.00 Springwatch, BBC2. %

Wednesday
3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Edmund Halley’s star rises.
6.30 Springwatch, BBC2. %
6.30 Double Science, Radio 4. Comedy about two science teaches trapped in a college that specialises in drama.
7.30 Massive Speed, FIVE. Chris Barrie reveals his favourite trains. Gets a listing here as today marks the 200th anniversary of Richard Trevithick’s ‘Catch Me Who Can’ passenger steam train, which ran in a loop where UCL now stands. More on that on Wednesday.
8.00 The Moral Maze, Radio 4. A special edition from the Cheltenham Science Festival.
%{color:green}9.00 World on the Move, Radio 4.

Thursday
3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. William Herschel uncovers Uranus.
4.30 Material World, Radio 4. Iodine in seaweed.
%{color:green}8.00 Springwatch, BBC2. %
9.00 Leading Edge, Radio 4.

Friday
3.00 Shared Earth, Radio 4.
3.45 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. The discovery of the asteroid belt.
9.00 Cosmic Quest, Radio 4. Omnibus edition.

Saturday
5.30 Wild China, BBC2. Chinese wildlife.

Sunday
9.00 Wild China, BBC2.