Julia Zemiro to co-host Stargazing Live with Brian Cox

[KISSMAD]

Julia Zemiro to co-host Stargazing Live with Brian Cox
March 7th, 2017 By David Knox Filed under: Programming,

Julia Zemiro is joining Professor Brian Cox for ABC’s Stargazing Live event, broadcasting live from the Siding Spring Observatory.

Over three consecutive nights, across ABC, ABC2 and ABC iview Professor Brian Cox and Julia Zemiro will be joined by Australia’s leading scientists and some familiar faces to inspire the nation to ‘look up.’

Episode 1 will look at the Milky Way, Episode 2 focuses on Planets while Episode 3 tackles Aliens. Throughout the series, the audience will be invited to join an online experiment to discover a brand new planet, far outside the confines of our solar system.

Professor Cox and Julia will be joined by experts including astrophysicist Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith from the CSIRO; astronomer Greg Quicke; Indigenous Australian Michael Anderson who, as a senior Lawman and a knowledge holder, shares some of the ancient wisdoms of his Peoples’ connection to the universe; and ‘Citizen Science’ advocate Dr Chris Lintott. Joining the experts will be familiar faces including actor comedian Josh Thomas and Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis as they take part in exploring space. ABC News Presenter Kumi Taguchi will also help anchor the series and take part in regular live crosses.

In their own unique style, the pair will tackle some of the most intriguing questions in astronomy, such as what happens if you were sucked into a Black Hole, and do aliens exist? Closer to home, there will also be hints and tips for getting started in stargazing and advice on navigating your way around the skies.

Following each night’s Stargazing Live broadcast on ABC will be Stargazing Live: Back To Earth, a 30-minute special on ABC2 in which viewers can use social media to put questions directly to Professor Cox and Julia and take part in astronomy related discussions and debates live on air. Audiences will be encouraged to send questions to #CoxQuestions.

In the lead up to Stargazing Live, a comprehensive suite of astronomy-themed content will be showcased across ABC Radio, TV, iview and online.

Australians have the opportunity to have their night sky pictures and video featured on the show – by adding the hashtag #StargazingABC to Instagram, or uploading at abc.net.au/stargazing

Both programs will also be streamed live on both ABC TV Facebook and Youtube channels.

Stargazing Live is based on a format devised by the BBC, licensed by BBC Worldwide and produced by FremantleMedia Australia for the ABC.

Stargazing Live 4,5,6 April 2017 8.30pm AEST & ABC iview, 8pm SA + NT, 8.30pm AWST
Stargazing Live: Back To Earth 9.30pm AEST on ABC2 & ABC iview, 9pm SA + NT, 9.30pm AWST

Source
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2017/03/julia-zemiro-to-co-host-stargazing-live-with-brian-cox.html

[JA]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks. It looks like something not to miss.

Best
JA

[casstony]

Marked on the calendar - sounds great.

[julianh72]

I hope Julia Zemiro opens with the obligatory RocKwiz questions "What was the first album you bought with your own money?" and "What was the first concert you went to?"

Don't forget - Brian Cox used to play keyboards for D:Ream and Dare. ("Things can only get better ... They can only get better ... Now I found you")

(Although Brian Cox has himself commented on the song, calling it "one of the most misleading and scientifically inaccurate pop songs that's ever been written". :rofl: )

[BeanerSA]

Did anybody catch the most recent Stargazing Live from Australia? Aired on the 28th, 29th and 30th in the UK. I'm watching it on BBC iPlayer now.

[Weird1]

Just finished watching the first episode and trying to decide if I watch the next two or save the for tomorrow and sunday. By the the way no sign of Julia in the fist show.

Cheers Keith :astron:

[BeanerSA]

That's a different show. JZ doesn't appear in these at all.

[Weird1]

On the ABC news site there is an advertisement for Stargazing Live with Brian Cox co-hosted with Julia Zemiro. Tonight I watched Stargazing Live from Siding Springs Australia with Brian Cox. These shows went to air in England on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week and will be broadcast in Australia next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, if you think it is a different show which show is the one to which you are referring.

Cheers Keith

[sn1987a]

Pity, I would totally watch Julia Zemiro in a fist show :D

[SimmoW]

Should be fun. Would rather Kumi be the leading lady, a great presenting style, gorgeous and smart.

[BeanerSA]

I would say it's a show with mostly Australian content, for an Australian audience, and produced by the ABC. Quite a few IIS'ers have submitted content, which we didn't see on the UK ones. I could be totally wrong of course!

[leon]

Sorry but Brian Cox is just plain boring, now for Julia!!!.

Leon

[SimmoW]

Them's fightin' words! You leave my man-crush alone!

Though I do admit, I have fallen asleep to his calming voice.

[leon]

Opp,s sorry, but he just doesn't appeal to me, I will say no more, :)

Leon :thumbsup:

[Nightshift]

Boring and contradicts himself constantly, peddles theory as fact and is just plain old wrong too often for me, Julia might save the show though, she's credible in more ways than one.

[astroron]

I have to agree with you there "Nightshift" ;)
His last three part series on the universe was so full of conjecture,repeating things constantly,speaking too fast on pertinent points,and generally was a mishmash of his thought and not facts.
It was ok for the general public,the best part was the Australian scenery.:P
Cheers:thumbsup:
PS nice to see you popping up here now and again.:)

[LewisM]

Like Brian or not, at least he is promoting astronomy to the greater populace. And kudos to him for that because not many others are!

[casstony]

I have heard Brian referred to as "the thinking girl's crumpet" and I suspect there's a few of our female members who would agree :) .

I think he's a great presenter and he deserves our full support in his fight against the anti-science politicians who seem to be multiplying.

[sn1987a]

Hey! a strong case can be made for crumpeting Julia too.

:P

[leon]

Hey Ron, what about me :lol:

Leon :thumbsup:

[Nightshift]

Hi Ron,
I do pop in from time to time, rarely post, think of you and the great nights out in Cambroon, I just don't get time to use the gear much but its one of those hobbies you can just come back to after 5 or 10 years. Do you ever see Paul these days? Is he still in the same place?

Take care until next time. Den.

[astroron]

Hi Denis, re Paul yes now and then and also by phone.
He is of soon over to Africa for a while:)
He will be calling round here in the coming days.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[blindman]

Are we retarded bunch of children in colony's kindergarten?
After watching first episode, i would say, unfortunately: yes :-(

[casstony]

Have you considered that the show was aimed at the general public, not people already involved in astronomy?

[croweater]

I agree Tony. Watched it with a couple of workmates who are just generally interested and they enjoyed it and it promoted a lot of discussion/questions. So I would say that's exactly what the aim was. Good stuff. Saw Peter Ward's Eta Carinae in there too :) . Cheers Richard

[el_draco]

Interesting to see Tassie well represented. It may be cloudy a lot of the time, but when its clear, Yowszer! :thumbsup:

[speach]

very disappointing with the show, only bright part for me was the inclusion of a bit of Aboriginal sky lore. It was after all directed towards the complete layman as such it may have done the job. For me I won't waste another clear night watching it.

[LewisM]

5 minutes in, it was obvious it was aimed at the astronomy-unaware. Which is GOOD! How else are we expected people to get interested - throw them straight into deep cosmology and particle physics? I mean, come now people, think outside YOUR square.

After those 5 minutes, I went outside and used my telescope, just as I do most clear nights. I hope it elicited the same response in the astro-neophytes - at least to look UP instead of looking at the idiot box all night watching something useless (like De Grasse's "Cosmos" - an insult to Carl Sagan's memory!).

If you want cosmology and particle physics and quantum mechanics, I suggest you don't look on the television - try reading a book, a scientific article or even do the online free course.

[Tinderboxsky]

Spot on. Well said.

Steve

[casstony]

At one point two of the professors started going deeper in a discussion and Julia quickly redirected the show to avoid Joe Public's eyes glazing over.

They obviously went to a lot of effort to produce a show that might get more people interested in astronomy or science in general. With the rise of anti-science politicians we need as many voters as possible to support scientific endeavor and introductory, entertaining shows may help achieve that.

Now we need a modern version of Julius Sumner-Miller to help get kids more interested. I have fond memories of watching his show. As a kid I found him a little crazy, a little scary but very entertaining.

[Kunama]

Couldn't agree more Tony, some of the comments here surprise me. Did anyone seriously think that this would be aimed at those with a moderate to advanced interest in the subject.

It is outreach intended to spark an interest in the field by people with little knowledge or prior interest and hopefully it succeeds in getting more to look up at the night sky....

[iborg]

Hi

I found it entertaining and hopefully engaging for the general public.

I also did a letter drop in my street pointing out that the show was on and invited people over after it finished to look through the scope tonight and tomorrow night.

It will be interesting to see if anyone turns up!

Philip

[glend]

IMHO it was cringe-worthy in general. I was dismayed by the 'expert' waving a laser around the sky while right behind him someone was observing ( or acting as though they were). I am sure there are people rushing out to buy lasers online today. If you have ever had some well- meaning idiot move one over the open end of your scope you will know what they can do. Imagers hate them as they can ruin a long sub in an instant.
Lasers can have instruction value when no one is at a scope or imaging, but last night no one cautioned their use, and he should have known better.
I appreciate that ABC made an effort to promote astronomy, but there are plenty of folks on IIS, that do public outreach sessions everytime they set up out at places like Bretti and the kids and their parents wander over to have a look. Guys like Allan L always make time for these folks. We all have a potential role in promoting our hobby, passion, or obsession.

[issdaol]

Some people have to get "real" and remember this is a show aimed at the general population and hopefully inspiring them.

Many people have no idea that some of those points of light are actually planets in our solar system and even more surprising some have no idea what a Star is :question:

Also the Laser Pointer used in the show is purely instructional ....how else can he convey to the Audience where he is pointing to??? in a live realtime setting like that ??

Im not sure the Nanny State disclaimers would help apart from wasting air time :rolleyes:

But I do agree in general that people do need to be aware and responsible with handling such devices :thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Phil, I was about to point that out about LIVE TV - it's not like they can instantaneously superimpose a graphic over the Crux to show people what he is referring to. And public disclaimers and warnings - really, have we reached the complete Nanny State?

Star parties are GREAT for outreach, but how many societies actually bother to print flyers, purchase radio air time, or TV to advertise they are hosting a star party? Never ONCE saw it where I lived most of my life. The community won't know about it unless you tell them, and the first step in telling them is putting an educational piece on TV. All day yesterday on ABC on the kid's shows was ALL about stars, episodes with telescopes in them and so on. KUDOS ABC!!! Mum and Dad's interest in something is often sparked by a 2 year old nagging to do or see something.

Some of the respondants in this thread sound like the stereotyped grumpy old man that keeps all the balls from kids that come over the fence. Take the self-imposed tunnel vision glasses off and see through the eyes of others. You looked up once, LET THEM BE GUIDED IF NEED BE.

[Andy01]

You crack me up Lewis, :rofl: and you're absolutely right too.
I thought it was a marvellous outreach, even my kids watched most of it. :)

[theodog]

I strongly agree.

But, a lot tend to just pick fault with, or whine about those that do :screwy:.
We may not agree with what is presented or how it is presented. If you criticise, then state a better way of doing it. I think the laser was a good way of demonstrating and I'm sure it was used responsibly. Didn't actually see anybody imaging in my pictures.

Jump on the band-wagon and use peoples interest in the series to promote your interest and expertise (or crawl back under your rock). I'm sure Brian Cox and your ABC won't mind either way.

I, for one, look forward to the many other ways some people come up for promoting EVERYONES interest in this healthy hobby.:thumbsup:

[sn1987a]

Extreme Dobsonianing - "Where others fear to tread"!:P

is a sport!:D

[LewisM]

Ladders are dangerous - please be sure to include a safety caveat with your images from now on Barry. We wouldn't want someone falling off one after rushing out to buy a ladder after seeing it in your images .

Ladders, if placed in front of an astrophotgraphers scope, also ruin long subs :P

[sn1987a]

No caveats!, Extreme Dobsonianing isn't for pussies :P

[dylan_odonnell]

I thought it was great to see ABC paying some attention to space related stuff for a change instead of the endless navel-gazing newscycle and tiresome sports reporting. ABC were one of the only networks globally that reported on the highly attended World Science Festival in Brisbane as well. Meanwhile 100+ articles hit the global news about the first test match in India (yawn). The stadium was mostly empty.

Lasers? Bring it on. Everything is better with lasers. I thought it was commendable they were using cameras capable of showing the stars and the presenters in the same frame without exposure issues - that's no easy feat.

In case anyone missed it, tune into the chat they have after the main broadcast. It's a little less of the pop-sci stuff we all know here and a bit more casual with just some amazing scientists drinking a beer and having a chat. It's on the livestream on facebook or ABC2 I believe.

The Keyhole Nebula pic was great too. The photographer at AAO actually took the time to post the details for us super nerds : https://angelrls.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/eta-carinae-and-the-keyhole-nebula/

"Data taken on 3rd April 2017 using the CACTI camera in 2dF at the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope. Color image using B (12 x 60s, blue) + [O III] (12 x 60 s, green) + Hα (12 x 60 s, red) filters."

d

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Boy, they looked cold!
I think the guy in the background in every shot was actually dead and frozen in place.
That's commitment!

[AstralTraveller]

I commented on that here. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1304242&postcount=17

[xelasnave]

Why waste time on astronomy shows, we need more cooking shows, married at first sight, weight loss stories and similar...
Well done ABC. Great effort good show excellent presentation I give them full marks.
I hope they can keep it up.
Alex

[julianh72]

They should have included a warning about the dangers of drinking alcohol, and it was completely inappropriate to broadcast scenes showing the consumption of alcohol in a show which was clearly aimed in part at children and teenagers. ;)

Seriously, though, I thought the show (and the follow-up on ABC2) was great - for its intended audience.

The show is clearly aimed at a lay audience, and it would be unrealistic to expert cutting-edge content that would "wow" an experienced amateur observer. Instead, the emphasis was on what a complete "newbie" can see if you step outside, and a few references to stories that have been in the news recently (such as the Trappist-1 system, the search for Planet 9, etc).

Star Parties and Outreach Nights are all very well - but you've got to get people interested enough to actually attend one. Using the "star power" (pun intended!) of Julia Zemiro and Brain Cox will surely have got a lot of people watching who would otherwise not. The show entreats people to get out and actually look at the night sky - and surely, some people will, perhaps for the first time. From there, we can all play our part in carrying on the education process.

[dylan_odonnell]

Hehe. Oh yeh, lasers AND beer. Everything is better with lasers and beer is what I meant to say.

(Disclaimer: this message is sponsored by Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, as is most of my astrophotography).

d

[LewisM]

I knew there was still a sense of humour in the greater Australian Astronomical community. For a while lately, I thought it had died a horrid death.

[LewisM]

Lasers and beer...almost as good as something in a song by Rodney Carrington... (Frank Zappa sung one like it too) :P

[blindman]

It was Titties & Beer

[LewisM]

Errr, yes, I know that

[theodog]

Just got back from a meeting in which our students formally thanked the AAO for assistance in constructing a competition robot. During the meeting we were interrupted by Brian Cox, Julia Zemiro and "Space Gambon".
All were respectful, courteous and friendly to the students.

It made all of the students days. BC, JZ and SG have gained a new bunch of fans. Well done and Thankyou to all of them.

[dylan_odonnell]

That's so great! I had a chance to meet some of the team recently in Brisbane, and they were all impossibly lovely people. I'm looking forward to seeing some of them again in Byron Bay for Star Stuff in June where we hope to dive a little bit deeper into some of their topic areas.

Looking forward to tonight's broadcast re: Planets. I assume they'll image Jupiter with it's recent opposition!

d

[alpal]

Yes - I watched the first show & the only good thing was that pic of the Keyhole.
I wish they would have told us a bit more.
e.g. were they using real adaptive optics?
- a flexible secondary mirror?

[alocky]

I was tickled pink last night when they put up my Rho Ophiucus and Antares picture, although someone at the ABC decided to wind the saturation up even more than I dared to! I got the distinct impression from the email exchange with the producer that half the fun was Prof. Cox having the excuse to say 'Flying Spaghetti Monster" with a straight face!
Here's to all the pastafarians out there!
Cheers
Andrew.

[DJT]

Spotted that, Andrew, well done you and well done ABC for getting people thinking

I have had a couple of people at work talking about the show and it's going down well. Phrases like "mind blowing stuff" keep coming up

Looking forward to tonight's show.

[LewisM]

...which would mean what to the lay general public?

[alan meehan]

I think its been a great show so far and congrats to the guys that got some photos on board well done its good to see people looking up at the night sky and these are the guys that can help teach people to do just that
AL

[LewisM]

:thumbsup: Exactly Alan

[deanm]

I can't bear Brian Cox: he's just a media tart!
(Standing by for incoming flaming..!)
Dean

[LewisM]

Someone has to be unless astronomy wants to remain in relative obscurity. We need spokes people.

Sagan was the best, but I think Brian does a pretty good job for the modern less intellectual crowd.

[casstony]

It's fair enough to say you don't like someone, but the 'just a media tart' comment seems unjustified. Why be mean when there's no need, especially to someone promoting astronomy and science?

[graham.hobart]

I have missed it all so far due to work shifts. I sent a pic in though. Will catch up later on ABC iview.
Hey Dylan if that's you in the pic - where did you get the Celestron T-:D shirt? me want one !!!
cheers
Graham

[Kunama]

A little more seriously now .....

Before Carl Sagan, Patrick Moore and more recently Brian Cox, astronomy was a fringe activity practiced by greying men and women creeping about in the dark, doing something that to most people was a total waste of money.......

In those days hobby astronomers had to be much more dedicated than today, equipment for the hobby had to be made by the DIY method unless one was well heeled, for the cost of scopes and eyepieces of old was akin to buying a house.

Then along came Carl Sagan, Patrick Moore et al... as a result of these "Media Tarts" we can now go out and buy very high quality equipment at very affordable prices and are now longer thought of as weirdos lurking about in the dark.....

[LewisM]

...except that time yourself, myself, my wife and Phil were rounded up by the AFP... :)

[The_bluester]

The only thing I thought a little off was I reckon they over egged it a bit with the asteroid danger stuff. I reckon more than a few kids likely got a fright from that. A change in how my 8 year old started behaving tells me it worried him.

Aside from that, I think personally that they have set the tone just about right. We can all moan on here that they do not go into enough detail but as I have said before, we are not the target market. There is no point trying to popularise science by glazing the eyes of 99% of the watchers with in depth stuff that only the people who are already really invested in it are going to understand. Even if they did, I bet we would just be arguing on here about what bits people reckon they had wrong.

If it is not fun and light, the very people we most need to be reaching (Kids just old enough to be getting curious) are going to go to bed.

[leon]

Alex surly you are joking, that crap is so ridiculous you would wonder why any intelligent person would be there.

Leon

[deanm]

My apologies if I offended anyone, but really, Brian Cox strikes me as more interested in self-aggrandisement than in popularising astronomy.
Gawd: the bloke used to be a keyboard-playing pop star (how much attention does someone need in life?!).
Now, Brian May (ex-'Queen') is a different kettle of fish - he never needed to 'self-promote'.
Dean

[casstony]

Alex never jokes ;)

[dylan_odonnell]

Hehe yeh that's me .. Celestron printed me a custom one for the festival thingy. It's got a CGX ad on the back.. so it should date well!

For the others who were interested in more detail about the Keyhole Nebula pic on Tuesdays broadcast, AAO answered some q's on twitter today so I asked them about more details and AO :

"The focal length of the @AAOastro AAT is 12.7 m. Its primary mirror has a size of 3.9m. This gives F3.2 at primary focus #AskAAO "

and

"We don't have AO (adaptive optics) at the @AAOastro AAT (but working on it). CACTI provides a field of view of 7.85' x 7.85' #AskAAO"

:)

[dylan_odonnell]

Heheh amen brother! Well done on getting a feature, it's a great pic. Even when I look at my shots at home on my TV the saturation increases to ludicrous levels.. which is ironic after how long we carefully obsess over the balance in our images :)

d

[alpal]

Hi Dylan,
OK so no adaptive optics - thanks.

cheers
Allan

[xelasnave]

I wanted to draw attention to the crap that is presented on TV in an effort to have folk think before they nit picked the wonderful effort of the ABC (both production crew and presenters).

Cooking shows really annoy me, ...how do I know their content...I channel surf ... And I will watch stuff just to see what is being presented.

I make a point of showing astronomy photos to everyone I meet, and tell them they can visit iceinspace to see and learn more.
It is surprising how few people know what is out there...today I spent 20 minutes showing my dad a large selection of photos from our deep sky selection here trying to show him the wonderful efforts of our members..he was impressed.
He will forget so I show him stuff about every two weeks.

It is my belief astronomy should be taught in schools especially Sunday school.

Again well done ABC and thanks for uplifting the image of an old man with a beard and long hair.
Alex

[xelasnave]

I would like to see a series produced that takes the viewer on the journey from binos to astrophotography.
Each week a little more.. Starting with observing the Moon, the Sun planets easy deep sky stuff..how telescopes work, a week by week scope build, how to cook foods that go with astronomy, astronomy related dating, naked astronomy, astro photography where each week a contestant is sent home and a segment for astronomy humour.
And a beard growing contest of course.
Alex

[xelasnave]

Not to forget the best astronomy tattoo.
Alex

[LewisM]

:thumbsup:You crack me up Alex

[glend]

I see Dylan's lurid Rosetta made this last episode. Congratulation Dylan. Whoever was responsible for those screen images should turn down the saturation. Did they explain narrowband false colour images to the audience?

And Alex, can we see your astronomy tattoo? I don't know if i will live long enough to get my hair that Gandalf long. The world needs more ecentrics.

[xelasnave]

[/QUOTE]

And Alex, can we see your astronomy tattoo? I don't know if i will live long enough to get my hair that Gandalf long. The world needs more ecentrics.[/QUOTE]

I dont have one.. yet.
My hair is down to my nipples and my beard is longer but I am not rich enough to be called ecentric.. yet.
I was thinking a tat of Orion would be great but I bet everyone has one of those.
Maybe a gallaxy.. I dont know.. Any suggestions.
Alex

[Osirisra]

Congrats Andrew and Dylan and everyone else in getting their images featured on the show.

I have been watching the BBC version of the show each year and to finally have our own version was a awesome. Having the best result of all the shows for the citizen science project is a big win for us!

I was certainly chuffed to have one of my pictures featured on the show and yes it certainly was over saturated and bright but I would guess that would be due to the screen and camera they use.

Lets hope that we have more ABC Stargazing live!

[Lognic04]

if you ask me, im sick of all astronomy programs always coming down to aliens. astronomy, not space! they could have at least walked through some constellations or astronomical events happening recently, not reverting to the boring old same question, "are aliens real?" i get people want to know whats out there, but at least talk about 'stargazing', as intended.

[vaztr]

What we need is a 'Southern' The Sky At Night, surely that's doable with all the digital channels showing repeats all the time!!!

[dylan_odonnell]

Thanks guys was a trip to see Cox in front of my photo! They probably could have explained the narrowband thing huh? Oh well.. if people will believe there is an alien hotspot at a trailer park in the northern territory maybe they can believe in green stars too. :rofl:

[The_bluester]

No, they did not explain NB imaging, IMO that was the right call. The young girl featured from fed square who explained a solar image and the wavelength of HA light was great, but imagine trying to explain firstly about the concept of integration of data (There is most of the audience with glazed eyes, except perhaps some math students) and then explain that we use a selective filters to pick out multiple images of each wavelength, and that this wavelength of light that we are imaging is emitted by "X" element (Red, call it HA) and call that red for the image, then this wavelength (Also visually perceived as red, just a different one) and call it blue, and then this wavelength of light (Perceived again as a slightly different red) and call it green. Then process these three integrated stacks of variants of red to make a multi coloured image!

I reckon the suggestion also on this page of a series to explain and teach this stuff would be the better go, but I suspect it would never get off the ground except as a podcast with a very niche audience. Particularly once the cost of the gear to do it was laid out.

[AussieTrooper]

I was about to post that after reading the first couple of lines of Alex's post.
Not sure of the likelihood though, after what happened to Starstuff.
The best bet might be for something on C31.

[dylan_odonnell]

I've been thinking about this a lot this year as I've been organising the Byron Bay event (not related to the podcast star stuff). Astronomy at a slightly more involved level is a niche, but it's not tiny. Several active vendors in this country are testament to that.

But looking at USA, I reckon their interest per-capita is huge compared to AU. Their star parties are like music festivals. And look at NEAF.

I think their intrinsic relationship with space via their space program bouys their level of interest and participation and while we have a thirsty audience here for general astro / science content it would be good to see it bumped to USA levels .. hopefully these sorts of shows and podcasts and events are the pathway to this.

d

[graham.hobart]

Will catch up with this this weekend I hope.
Cannot comment on the quality yet but I have had a succession of people come up to me these last few weeks and ask me about it- (I have astro pics all over my office) so the public awareness has been heightened by it at least. Had 3 people already this am talk about it!
Anything that gets science into the public eye and not another moronic reality show is great in my opinion. I am reading the Demon haunted world by Sagan currently and there is a chapter or two about the public's perception of scientists and how it can come across as elitist and arrogant.
It was written in the mid 90's I think but still very pertinent now- maybe more so with a couple of more decades of dumbing down since!, especially on the TV.:ship1:

[julianh72]

Well, whatever people here on IIS might think about the level at which the show was "pitched", and the lack of "deep" content for experienced amateur observers, I reckon the results of the "citizen science" part of the show make it an absolute winner!

90 planets discovered by ABC viewers in just a couple of days, including a new 4-planet system!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-06/stargazing-live-four-planets-discovered-in-new-solar-system/8423142

[Peter Ward]

Agreed, then some. Cox is doing a great job in getting Science to the Hoi Poli

As a society, Australia has lost the plot, obsessed with sport and trivia.

People that make real differences to our quality of life (medical researchers, engineers, scientists) have few opportunities are are often paid poorly, yet we
pay someone who can barely construct a sentence $ millions to run with a ball across a field. :shrug:

If Cox is a media tart..(frankly that's just rude).....they what does that make the likes of Eddie McGuire?

[glend]

And Alex, can we see your astronomy tattoo? I don't know if i will live long enough to get my hair that Gandalf long. The world needs more ecentrics.[/QUOTE]

I dont have one.. yet.
My hair is down to my nipples and my beard is longer but I am not rich enough to be called ecentric.. yet.
I was thinking a tat of Orion would be great but I bet everyone has one of those.
Maybe a gallaxy.. I dont know.. Any suggestions.
Alex[/QUOTE]

The Helix nebula, nice and colourful, maybe in the middle of your forehead.:rofl:

[Orionskies]

I think overall this show was positive experience for television and a step in the right direction.

Hopefully the stupid commercial channels noticed less cooking, sports and reality TV garbage.

Well done ABC.

Julian

[alocky]

Unfortunately the sad reality is that sports 'stars' create the pool of cash they are paid from, because people willingly hand over their hard earned cash for a glimpse of them, or to buy merchandise.
On the other hand a PhD candidate in medical research needs to convince the grant committee that even if they don't find a cure for cancer, the department will at least get three peer reviewed publications out of their research. Then they will get their 30K per year stipend to get started on their career.
Alternatively, if an engineer or scientist can find an industrial application to create shareholder value - no problem, there is much money to be made, although more for the executives.
Until we can make science a spectator sport, we will not be able to tap the public purse like sportspeople, since we do not generate retail sales like they do. But at the end of the day, we, the consumer, define our culture through our own spending habits. Professor Cox is at least bringing some of that awareness back to the mainstream, and hopefully influences people to think a bit deeper.
Personally I thought initially that the show was a bit light on, cringed at Space Gandalf and declared that their selection of images was purely random. Until they showed mine. Then I decided it towered over the original Cosmos series...

[dylan_odonnell]

Actually laughed out loud!

[Osirisra]

Ditto, I had a good chuckle.:D

[sjastro]

I think the problem goes far deeper than a preference for sports or trivia over Science.
There is a general blacklash against Science which is not only manifested in the usual subjects such a climate change denial or anti vaccination, but on a more personal level where one is subject to a torrent of abuse in Internet forums simply for disclosing one's occupation as being a scientist or mathematician.

What I found particularly endearing about the series was that Brain Cox and co came across as normal individuals (maybe this Space Gandalf character being the exception) without being overly intellectual.

Sure the target audience was heavily slanted towards beginners and some of the subject matter was more personal opinion than actual Science such as intelligent extra terrestrial life but it served its purpose as a valuable PR exercise for Science.

Steven

[bojan]

Backlash agaist science is nothing new..... I remember I was sometimes subject to jokes in school (>50 years ago) and even in my own family because of my interests in astronomy and science in general (it didn't last long, and I was not an easy target).
These days the problem is only more visible due to exposure via social media.

That is why programs like this one are important and very welcome - they present the scientists as normal people, "one of us"..

[xelasnave]

I recall being laughed at when only 10 because I had a chemistry set and purchased a microscope.
The mob can not handle different, even just a little different, probably has roots in our distant tribal past.
Apart from pleasing my daughter I am happy to sport a beard and long hair just to remind the mob I reject tribalism. I blame religion and the us and them mentality demanded by same. Certainly religion leads the anti science brigade.
The slavish following of fashion gets to me again reflects mob demand to conform.

[Sconesbie]

This is coming from some one (me) who used to work for a television network in a sales role and looking from the outside in.

Commercial TV networks are belting out absolute rubbish. There are no real drama or other shows worth watching now. Reality TV has taken over. It's becoming more and more prevalent and not easing up soon. We will see more of it before we see less. It's cheap to produce and scripted to suit the station and audience (yes, they are scripted as well as heavily produced to get a desired effect). They are getting very tiresome and need some serious reinventing. It's all about ratings. Seriously, how many wedding, cooking, marriage, dating, housewife, game show type things can we have? Anyway, I digress. Sorry.

That said, my take on the three part series:

I have only been into Astronomy for the last few years. Started out a novice, knowing nothing. Not even what the names of stars are.

So for me, three years later, that show was great for me to sit and watch. I personally found Brian Cox spoke and explained things in plain English and was very engaging in his descriptions and thoughts. So were the others (and I enjoyed the bloke with the beard and laser pointer).

The explanations of the gadgets in the observatory were very interesting as were the half hour discussions on ABC 2.

There seemed to be people on the panel from all sources of experience. All appeared to be very smart and knowledgeable and they would have some interesting dinner table conversations but still good to listen to. I didn't think anyone tried to dazzle us with brilliance or baffle us with bull**** (Oops).

My dad called me through the first one and asked if I was watching it. I told him I was and that I would call him back after it had finished. Rude bugger. He also enjoyed it.

The fact that we now have four other planets in another solar system found within just 24 hours is also pretty cool. I can't wait to read and hear more about that as time goes on.

All said, for me, I enjoyed all three episodes. Enjoyed the presentations, the examples and props used, the presenters and the overall themes over the three nights.

[sjastro]

When I was growing up one had to hide in the closet for fear of being exposed as a Science Nerd.
These days the connotation isn't as bad, at least things have improved from that perspective.
Where things have dramatically changed over the years is that historically anti and pro science was equally a province of the left, centre, and right of politics.
These days there is a distinct polarization according to one's political persuasion. Its not just on climate change but science in general as exemplified when Tony "Climate Change is Crap" Abbott decided in not including a Science Minister in his cabinet.
Since anti science is now part of political ideology, it's not surprising that the conservative press will spread misinformation about science that reaches out to a large percentage of the population.

No wonder science has an uphill battle these days............

Steven

[el_draco]

Well said. The basic truth here is that this was a public broadcast about astronomy and that was really an excellent outcome. The fact that the Kepler data came up trumps was another win. Get peoples attention on the subject and you raise its profile and that can form a feedback loop really fast.

As for the political guff, well, it seems the populous is starting to acknowledge that our so call "leaders" are a bunch of incompetent, self absorbed twats and they are being by-passed more an more.

Social media is a powerful tool in this regard. This is being pointedly demonstrated in Tasmania at the moment. The dogma driven box-heads in power here are about to pass legislation to open up 300,000+ hectares of reserved forest but no company will touch it because of the threat of public backlash.

One logging company stuck up its hand a few weeks back; they supply Bummings with hardwood. Yesterday, Bummings went public declaring they will not accept timber from that source. Social media pressure I would suspect.

There may be hope for us yet :thumbsup: The pollies can shove their heads in the sand and say, "It just isn't so", but they can't fool everybody, or deny the Science.

[alpal]

Hi Julian,
I like science documentaries so I mostly watch YouTube videos.
To be honest the ABC show was not technical enough for me
& I suspect most viewers thought the same.
At least if it can take the general public away from watching
the usual mindless trash on TV then it was worth it.

cheers
Allan

[DJT]

Hi Allan, without reaching for the sofa smilie..define "most viewers"..

[alpal]

Most viewers would be people with a technical mind as
it's the type of program they would be attracted to.

[astroron]

The program was not made for technophiles,it was made to encourage people
of all interests to get out under the night sky and look up.
It did show there is a range of thing that one can gain enjoyment and
skills with equipment for their intellectual strengths.
It wasn't meant for the converted,so we shouldn't be so critical in saying it wasn't technical enough.
Enjoy it for what it was a program to raise awareness of what can be seen and done under the beautiful night sky.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[alpal]

I understand but I strongly doubt that any sort of person
who watches Home & Away or the footy
would have tuned in.

[LewisM]

Apparently, thousands did. I expect the ratings very high for the series.

My neighbour - an LAME did (we were discussing it last night when he came over for a look through), and so did most of his QANTAS workmates.

[LewisM]

You have to remember Allan that the greater community is actually quite diverse and curious, unlike the specific and pedantic closed-mindedness of a lot of the astronomy community.

(there, I said it. Flame retardant dispensed)

[astroron]

How do you Know?:question:
Stereotyping people is just the wrong way to go.
The proof of it's success or failure will be seen in the future.
BTW I read in another thread on this subject that Federation Square
had over 10,000 people in attendance.
Way too much negativity shown toward this program
that was made to enhance the viewing of the night sky
by people who really should be applauding it, for attempting to
bring the populace into astronomy.
I am sure the citizen science project that found those planets
would be appreciated by the more scientific types who watched the program
Just sayin. ;)
Cheers:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

We need thread-like buttons here like on Cloudy Nights. Well said Ron.

[alpal]

The Romans used to say -

give people bread and circuses.

It's just as true today.
This is what most people still enjoy now hence the love of football
rather than staring through a telescope or looking at still photos
or pondering fundamental questions on the nature of the universe.

Give the average Aussie a pizza & the remote control to the TV
& they'll turn on the footy.

[Orionskies]

This is true Allan.

But that doesn't me we should stop trying. The young generation are curious and willing.

I also liked the interactive aspect of the show it got the viewers involved in a meaningful and positive way . Not like voting for the best dish or betting on the next goal.

I think this formula could be applied to other subjects too not just astronomy.

Cheers Julian

[gaseous]

Well expressed Ron. Any show that, even for an evening (or 3) drags people away from MKR, The Footy Show, or the alleged "real" housewives of whogivesacrapsville and encourages them to look beyond their normal horizons is a good thing. Perhaps the next young Sagan or Hawking got their inspiration from the show.

[sn1987a]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJrY2sKfFQ

:thumbsup:


"We are approaching a darkness in the land. Boys and girls are emerging from every level of school with certificates and degrees, but they can't read, write or calculate. We don't have academic honesty or intellectual rigor. Schools have abandoned integrity and rigor."[3] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Sumner_Miller#cite_note-Big_Julie-3)

[xelasnave]

There is a new show coming "Dance Moms".
The clips so far tell me it will reach new heights of stupidity.
Look for it.
I thought of starting a new thread to have members put forward dumb shows but I realised the list would be near infinite...well a long list..put it that way.
Alex

[alpal]

Yes - we need more shows like this.

[astroron]

Just give us some evidence of your statement:question:
As I was leaving to go to town my neighbor, stopped me and asked if next time I get the scope could I give him a call and he will come and have a look.
He had watched all three nights and thoroughly enjoyed the programs.
After shopping I went visiting some friends and they also enjoyed the programs.
As I said I just think you are too negative in your thinking
Take your blinkers off.
People aint all that you think they are.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

How about "Dancing Astronomers", hosted by Zemiro.

Guaranteed to have 2 left feet and sidereal rhythm.

[KISSMAD]

Physicist Professor Brian Cox and Julia Zemiro will return with another Stargazing Live in May, broadcasting Live over three nights from Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in NSW.

They will air at 8pm AEST in all states on Tuesday May 22 – Thursday May 24.

There is also a post-show panel on ABC Comedy and a kid’s introduction on ABC ME.

https://tvtonight.com.au/2018/04/returning-stargazing-live.html