stargazers live.... thoughts?

[meteoriot]

You know something. We had a thread on here last year for suggestions for the new series and many agreed no more Jonathan Ross lol but many suggested Brian May (including myself must admit).

Mark Thomson the co presenter joins the thread also although I can't get find it from my mobile.

I wonder if its just a coincidence or not but there's no pleasing us!! Lol

[Black Knight]

You know something. We had a thread on here last year for suggestions for the new series and many agreed no more Jonathan Ross lol but many suggested Brian May (including myself must admit).

Mark Thomson the co presenter joins the thread also although I can't get find it from my mobile.

I wonder if its just a coincidence or not but there's no pleasing us!! Lol

For such a friendly and affable bunch of people, it seems strange to me that Stargazing Live can turn SGLers into such an apparently grumpy lot!

[E621Keith]

I was really impressed with the resolution of the radio telescope in episode 3. I never thought radio telescopes can be used for high resolution work. 4m resolution on an asteroid is ridiculous, we can't even get that kind of resolution on the moon with optical telescopes.

[Twiggles]

Late to the party but hey ho! I enjoyed the series and felt they tried to cover as much as they could in what time they had available. It is a shame the BBC don't devote more time to astronomy, but they probably feel that they cover it in depth enough through various one off documentaries. Unless you like antiques or home improvement I don't think they deal with any interest to much sort of level anyway do they?

If they were going to do something like this during the summer months they would no doubt have a much lower audience, the show would have to be on later to get dark skies etc etc..it would just be a pointless excercise, as it stands it at least attracts a new interest from the public.

Did we really need the NASA bits? Not really is my opinion, they didn't add all that much and seemed to waste time that could have been better spent focusing on the subject of actually looking at objects from your garden. It is after all Stargazing Live, not "NASA, current and future missions". All of that stuff could have been left to a seperate documentary if the Beeb thought it was worth covering. Maybe it was just one big ploy to get everyone looking at Mars rather than leaving the 'pro's' to it.

From an amateurs point of view, there wasn't much to the shows that really gave you much of a clue on how to make any headway in to the hobby, or what is achieveable in your garden with a limited budget. Thats a shame because it leaves people thinking ok, the universe is great and all, but I can't see any of it.

Maybe next time they can focus on the title and actually look at some stars or if its foggy make sure they've got recorded links to getting involved in the hobby. We still watch the clips on how to take your own pictures, why not more of that kind of thing in depth?

[Hobbes]

For such a friendly and affable bunch of people, it seems strange to me that Stargazing Live can turn SGLers into such an apparently grumpy lot!

I've got to agree with you there Black Knight. I thought it was fine with a good spread of subjects.

I enjoyed our local event on Wednesday and had a good queue of young and old at my scope - all interested and full of questions.

I did get a bit distracted at one point and there are now a bunch of people in Surrey who think the Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 Billion light years away rather than 2.5 Million!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Im all for anything that gets new people involved in this lifestyle or hobby. in the past sgl the tv show has been great for this. Honestly though i thought this years show was very weak and lacking even the most basic stuff. If i was just starting out in astronomy i have to say the show wouldn't have convinced me.

I did enjoy bits of it like all the live links to NASA with Liz Bonin, about Mars and that stuff. Wrong time of the year to focus a whole episode on Mars though.

Other bits i did like that were new this year is when they showed images of whatever...............they mentioned what size scope the image was taken with. That is good for people thinking of getting into imaging. Im previous yrs they showed an image and implied that to get the same result just point your scope or casmera upwards and you will get the same result. So well done to the team for this.

It wasn't ALL bad. I just though compared to previous yrs it was lacking substance to attract beginners to astronomy.

Too much astrophysics again this yr for my liking. Thats too much for a lot of people to even begin to understand (myself included) and certainly way too much for beginners.

p.s.~~~why was Phil Jupitus there?. I dont think he said more than 2 words and they were not even astro-related. Maybe he was there because his surname sounds like the word Jupiter.

?????

I think next year if the show is broadcast that it should be aired in March/April........................least then there might be half a chance of some actual stargazing being done live.

[LukeSkywatcher]

see above.

[Beulah]

Perhaps I am a saddo but I actually enjoyed the series this year.

As I have many interests and am master-at-none it was good to take the time at the end of a very tiring day at work to catch up with what is the latest in physics and space technologies despite having access to magazines such as the Sky at Night.

I can't bear to read the Sky at Night magazine although a kind relative gifted the subscription to my household as it seems to be insubstantial and too focussed on gear.

[E621Keith]

Did we really need the NASA bits? Not really is my opinion, they didn't add all that much and seemed to waste time that could have been better spent focusing on the subject of actually looking at objects from your garden. It is after all Stargazing Live, not "NASA, current and future missions". All of that stuff could have been left to a seperate documentary if the Beeb thought it was worth covering. Maybe it was just one big ploy to get everyone looking at Mars rather than leaving the 'pro's' to it.

They can't stargaze when it's cloudy and it's not like they can cancel the program, so they need something to fill those time.

I think the NASA bit appeal to the general public, since NASA do all the headline grabbing space missions. ESA and ESO would be nice too, but the average Stargazing Live viewer probably know nothing about them and can't care less.

I suppose they can send the S@N team to Canary Island, or Chile, but that would be like taunting the rest of us in the UK.

[earth titan]

Well the end of the series. Verdict?

Considering its on at the entertainment slot time and us astronomers are still a 'minority' interest group, it was fantastic.

The BBC was established to educate, inform and entertain - which this program did. It was also something only the BBC could do, as this would not have been dreamt up by a commercial station with an eye on selling advertising space.

Good job.

Typed by me on my fone, using fumms... Excuse eny speling errurs.

[Uranium235]

Have to agree with the above, we should not expect so much when there is a broad audience to cover. It was enough to get my colleagues talking about the subject and asking questions, so that can only be good.

If it were spread over a week, say mon, wed and fri there might be a better chance of catching a clear sky. Im sure if were clear there would have been a lot more scope action rather than being stuck indoors cos its orrible outside (which it was).

[Azure]

I'm surprised by the general reaction of people on this forum to be honest, I think some people expect the wrong thing from the series.

I thought it was (as ever) a great series, well presented with lots of stuff I found new and interesting. I think the fact that it wasn't solely focused on the actual hobby itself is a good thing - if it had been a series completely focused on the hobby, than it would have a been a bit tedious and narrow, not to mention boring for those of us who already know the basics.

In my opinion they had a good balance; A good, varied look at astronomy, from mars to meteorites, as well as continuous reminding of how the common man can observe for himself the night sky, with the whole sky chart and website plugging (which wasn't a bad thing, the website is very useful). I loved the light they shone on some of the NASA missions, as well as the public teamwork on the zooniverse Mars surface explorer project, and just the banter that Dara and Brian shared. Was very pleased with the series, something me and my friends will keep chatting about for a few days yet!

I think it's a great way to highlight astronomy as a varied, exciting area of science, and let viewers decide on their own whether they want to pursue it or not.

[pete_l]

I'm surprised by the general reaction of people on this forum to be honest, I think some people expect the wrong thing from the series.

I have the impression that most amateur astronomers are fairly practical "does what it says on the tin" sort of individuals. Hence the name of the programme is misleading and causes annoyance.

While it gives a nice, warm feeling that the Beeb consider our hobby to be significant enough to devote TV time to, they really only gave the sorts of activities we spend our leisure time pursuing a brief nod. I reckon if they'd called the serieses "Spacewatch Live" (or even: dump the "live", it didn't really make any difference in the end) there would have been far fewer people (me included) who would have been irritated by the failure of the implied promise.

[chrisshillito]

Maybe next time they can focus on the title and actually look at some stars or if its foggy make sure they've got recorded links to getting involved in the hobby. We still watch the clips on how to take your own pictures, why not more of that kind of thing in depth?

Much as many folks here might prefer it the programme title isn't "live practical amateur astronomy". The use of the term stargazing relects a much more general interest (and not just in stars) that applies to anyone who glances upwards in wonder. The "live" bit simply reflects the live nature of the broadcast - rather than some promise that we're going to spend extended periods looking live at the sky.

I hate to say it but the reality of practical astronomy, imaging and all the rest is that it can make for rather dull television particularly if broadcast live. I think the limited broadcast time is far better spent educating folks in the significance of what they are looking at that explaining how to take pretty images.

Folks don't need any specialist kit or knowledge to engage in this subject, or indeed to participate in it via the various Citizen Science projects.

Chris.

[Doshy]

p.s.~~~why was Phil Jupitus there?. I dont think he said more than 2 words and they were not even astro-related. Maybe he was there because his surname sounds like the word Jupiter.

?????

I think you'll find they put someone in that chair to add some light relief if it all get's a bit geeky, which at times it was in danger of doing. I think it was in depth enough, perhaps a bit too much at times considering it's a wide audience that they are after. The last thing I want is it all dumbed down but I think they got it about right.

Phil.

[Peter Drew]

Count yourself lucky it wasn't Ricky Gervais!

[Azure]

I have the impression that most amateur astronomers are fairly practical "does what it says on the tin" sort of individuals. Hence the name of the programme is misleading and causes annoyance.

While it gives a nice, warm feeling that the Beeb consider our hobby to be significant enough to devote TV time to, they really only gave the sorts of activities we spend our leisure time pursuing a brief nod. I reckon if they'd called the serieses "Spacewatch Live" (or even: dump the "live", it didn't really make any difference in the end) there would have been far fewer people (me included) who would have been irritated by the failure of the implied promise.

I don't see how anyone could take the name of the show that literally. I can't imagine it being called 'General live show about astronomy and space exploration that does not focus solely on the hobby of astronomy!'

[Williams]

It was a good show and will hopefully get more people into it. I wasn't blown away with the content, but there were some really funny moments! I enjoyed back to earth, although Brian talked alot I think it was because some of the guests were nervous.

[David Smith]

Well for what it's worth I thoroughly enjoyed the series. There will always be differing opinions as to what the shows should cover and at what level of detail. There will always be opinions both positive and negative about the selected hosts and guests, inevitably not all will find it to their taste.

But, given the time it aired and the intended audience I thought it struck a good balance between catering for both those with a passing interest in the subject and the amateur community.

Personally I like the combination of Brian and Dara as I think they work well together and the guests generally all had something interesting to contribute.

My only criticism - it only airs once a year! Can't wait for next years.

[Space Dragon]

I think the programme struck a good balance and contained information and ideas for the novice, intermediate and experienced. One of it's main objectives must be to inspire future generations of Astronomers from an early age and I believe it is succeeding in this regard.

Kudos to the BBC for producing this and also for the many great Documentaries covering Quantum Physics/Natural World/Astronomy I've caught on BB2 and BBC4 this year.

[knobby]

I noticed the lack of actual 'stargazing live' in the shows... As have a lot of others in this thread, I know there is nothing you can do about the weather... But honestly they've had a year to plan this show, and they knew from last time that our country is cloud tastic... Why didn't they film some 'live stargazing' last year on one of the decent nights we had?

Or even have some outside broadcast units dotted around the world ready? It must have been clear somewhere

I'm sure people would have loved to see any sort of viewing, I know when friends see my stuff they are almost as interested in the scopes as they are in the views !

Just my 2p worth

still better than nothing

[Adrian lord]

If they don't get a night of clear skies this year I can see the beeb pulling the plug on it.

Indeed, this is the fatal flaw with such shows. Totally at the mercy of the weather. It also means they have to have 2 show plans and scripts to run in parallel, and being live this tests the skills of even the most seasoned broadcasters. While I admire the idea of the show I think it is rather naive to think it would be a great success in

Uk.

[Black Knight]

A lot of astronomical societies and facilities seem to be getting involved in outreach projects around the country in connection with Stargazing Live. I suppose it might be possible next year to field outside broadcast units and a presenter at a few of these events. The show could then do a "round robin" of these events (similar to what the BBC do with Children in Need), for a few minutes to show what attendees at these events may be looking at. It might help mitigate the weather somewhat, although in the UK of course there is no guarantee!

[studdedsole]

A lot of astronomical societies and facilities seem to be getting involved in outreach projects around the country in connection with Stargazing Live. I suppose it might be possible next year to field outside broadcast units and a presenter at a few of these events. The show could then do a "round robin" of these events (similar to what the BBC do with Children in Need), for a few minutes to show what attendees at these events may be looking at. It might help mitigate the weather somewhat, although in the UK of course there is no guarantee!

Like this idea alot, if they cover an appropriate length and breadth of the UK then there is a greater chance of one or more of the o.b.'s being clear and they could perhaps focus on stargazing a bit more in the clear spots, I guess cost would be the determining factor.

[x6gas]

Well for what it's worth I thoroughly enjoyed the series. There will always be differing opinions as to what the shows should cover and at what level of detail. There will always be opinions both positive and negative about the selected hosts and guests, inevitably not all will find it to their taste.

But, given the time it aired and the intended audience I thought it struck a good balance between catering for both those with a passing interest in the subject and the amateur community.

Personally I like the combination of Brian and Dara as I think they work well together and the guests generally all had something interesting to contribute.

My only criticism - it only airs once a year! Can't wait for next years.

Whilst I thought the balance of the first two series was better, it's just great that the BBC have some astronomy on prime time TV. Love or hate Brian Cox, he's box office and at least Dara has a degree in astronomy and isn't soley there to make gags...