Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Stargazing live 2014

northwalesparry

By northwalesparry
in The Astro Lounge

Recommended Posts

mr jambon

mr jambon

Posted
Posted

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit it is not the slickest in terms of delivery but it is live and I think that its deficiencies add to its charm. Regardless it is great to see a programme about astronomy on the beeb at peak time and I hope it enthuses more people to get into science, whatever field.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 258
  • Created
  • Last Reply
tenbyfifty

tenbyfifty

Posted
Posted

Yes I agree it is let down by the presenters. I cannot stand Dara he is the most annoying person they could have picked to present the show-continuously interrupting people when they speak. However they all do it though, it ends up just being an incoherent mess.

i find  dara hard to understand, he is not a natural broadcaster. its not his accent, its his mumbling way of speaking -

 why don't they use cox and lintott as the main anchors - the show would have so much more clout.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bart

Bart

Posted
Posted

Have to agree on this.  That woman really knew her stuff.  Would happlily watch her explain things for hours!  Very smart and confident. 

Agree.

Thought there should be more basic stuff for the uninitiated. What it costs to get into this ( i believe people think it costs a lot, whereas it doesn't to get into it, its when you decide you like it, THAT'S when it costs :shocked: ), what you can realistically see, when to look etc. Ok this might be boring for us 'experts' - ahem - but if the goal is to encourage, it aimed a bit high. Saying that, I enjoyed it for what it was.

Barry

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RikM

RikM

Posted
Posted

I really enjoyed last night's show. Much better than last year's effort :D I thought the live aurora images were fab and the mix of content was good as well. I liked that they allowed the science to be the star of the show rather than 'celebrities'.

Well done to Stewart for his aurora image and I think they used one of Luke's solar images as well. Sorry if I missed anyone else :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scott

Scott

Posted
Posted

Only just got the chance to watch it. over all I think it was entertaining and easy to watch (just what you need to draw in new comers). My only gripe (and it's a small one) is that they didn't seem to capitalise on the clear skies. I guess there is a format to stick to. I just hope that it draws in many more people to experience this wonderful hobby/lifestyle/obsession (you choose ;) ).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
happy-kat

happy-kat

Posted
Posted

My only gripe (and it's a small one) is that they didn't seem to capitalise on the clear skies.

Exactly, and it is called 'star gazing live' but the only live they did was the Aurora. The format is in the title they need more of that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SnakeyJ

SnakeyJ

Posted
Posted

Dr Porco, fantastic, if NASA ever sack her she could take over S@N .

Dave

That get's my vote -  sadly she's got a plum job until the end of the Cassini mission in Sept 2017, though perhaps she could be persuaded to walk next time the Federal Government shut's down?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PhotoGav

PhotoGav

Posted
Posted

Just in their defence... With regards to the looking at the skies bit... They have tried in previous years to actually look at the stars, but it is invariably cloudy! So, the producers have obviously filled the time with 'stories' so there is something to do rather than just have to say 'oh well, how typical, it's cloudy. Look at my lovely telescope, I promise it can see stuff normally'.

Really enjoyed the show though. Fascinating. Look forward to tonight's show. How do you get a picture on their wall?!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
starman1969

starman1969

Posted
Posted

Glad someone else spotted that ...  :p

The rings have opened up now so that the edge of the planet pretty well touches the top of the rings , that footage was from last years apparition ....  :rolleyes:

What a swizz.

I could tell straight away because I was only looking at Saturn that very morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
andyman

andyman

Posted
Posted

Not bad overall....dr porco made the show for me what a wealth of knowledge... she certainly knows her stuff

just one gripe they had clear skies which is a rarety... astronomers on site who didnt get a look in. a few questions and a quick look at the equipment they were using wouldnt have gone amiss.opportunity missed there i think

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mallorcasaint

mallorcasaint

Posted
Posted

I think a lot of folks are missing the point here. BBC Stargazing Live is not just about the TV programme and what is televised. There are hundreds of events taking place and the few specific events hosted by members of the team are briefly televised although there is actually a lot going on. To show people looking through scopes would not be very visual and the shows would be hours long if they went to every event. As for info on beginners scopes etc, this information is available on the supporting websites and demonstrates the integration of different media used in this series. The idea is to create a sense of wonder and if it is ineffectual in encouraging beginners why do the sales of scopes rocket after every series? The presenters are all knowledgeable people ( Dara has a degree in theoretical physics ) and I think they explain subjects very well. The aurora section of last nights episode managed to educate people about various aspects of our Solar system in a clear manner and to see the aurora live was brilliant. Nothing is ever going to satisfy everyone but given the actual lack of science programmes on TV I think it does a great job. Then again, It's just my opinion :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

Posted
Posted

I have to say that Dr. Porco didnt quite sit well with me. I thought she came across as a bit grumpy. This could have been down to 2 reasons:

1/ She was jet-lagged

2/ She was talking about her passion/lifes's work to people (Cox and O'Brian) who really didnt grasp it except on the most basic level and it frustrated her.

Her information etc on the Cassini mission was outstanding. I just thought she was a wee bit grumpy...............due to one or both of the reasons above.

Just my 2 cents.

I do love the after show bit. It is just chaotic and talking mostly nonsense while trying to talk sense.

I must admit, i learned a good few things from the show. As i said before, in my opinion..............best show since it began.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
x6gas

x6gas

Posted
Posted

I must say that I enjoyed both shows.  It can't be easy putting on a live show when the subject matter for any outside broadcast is so weather dependent.

Not bad overall....dr porco made the show for me what a wealth of knowledge... she certainly knows her stuff

just one gripe they had clear skies which is a rarety... astronomers on site who didnt get a look in. a few questions and a quick look at the equipment they were using wouldnt have gone amiss.opportunity missed there i think

I have to say that - while it was great to have someone of Dr Carolyn Porco's stature on the show I found her a bit annoying.  She seemed oblivious when Dara was trying to wrap up the main show wanting to make some comment on the artists impression of an astronaut standing on Titan (or whichever moon it was) and I was annoyed at the tetchy way she pedantically correct Chris Lintott about the colour of methane rain... Still each to their own.

I can not understand why they don't keep there options open and have a few observation points dotted at, say 5 or 6 different locations about the UK. That way they have more than one chance of a clear sky.

They could either have a "guest" presenter at each location or have an agreed programme to follow and they could do an overlay commentary from the main studio

The obvious answer is cost.  Outside broadcasts are expensive and to be honest they didn't make the absolute most of the outside broadcast location that they did have!

I was a bit perplexed why they bothered with the astro group out in the field, all they did is go to them have a quick chat and then back to the studio, what was the reason to have a presenter out in the field when you do not give them time to talk to the AAs out there and maybe give us live views through the scopes and talk about setups and what they were doing.  The only conclusion I can come to is, they expected bad weather and arranged the program on that basis and did not know how to play it with good skies.

That's the conclusion I drew too!  It must be tough, as I say above, trying to do a live show that is so dependent on the weather so I quite understand the need for interviews and pre-recorded pieces to use in case it's cloudy but they didn't really seem to know what to do outside when it was clear!

As I say, though, I enjoyed it.  Thought the aurora stuff was good; enjoyed the solar observing piece, enjoyed the discussion on Back to Earth... so it still gets a 9 out of 10 from me.

Congrats BBC!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
x6gas

x6gas

Posted
Posted

I don't know about you guys but I loved those tough screen holographic globes that the presenters used  - I'm going to look around the web so see if they are available to buy for plebs like us!

I might be wrong, but I think they're about £100,000!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.