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Stargaizing live 2

Keithp

By Keithp
in The Astro Lounge

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Quatermass

Quatermass

Posted
Posted

Not a great deal of star gazing going on but it was reasonable for the first show and I liked Marks tips on astrophotography. Grief must be nice to have telescopes laying around that you haven't used Mr Ross spoiled or what if your not going to use them give them to me!

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george7378

george7378

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For anyone who thinks it was not serious enough - we have the Sky at Night every month for serious astronomy. I think that any programme in which Brian Cox and other popular celebrities say "Go outside and look up" is very valuable, no matter who's in it or what kind of content it has. I also think that being so biased against Jonatnan Ross is a bit unfair when he has a genuine interest and was willing to put his fame to good use advertising stargazing. He was only on for 5 minutes, anyway!

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starstalker

starstalker

Posted
Posted
For anyone who thinks it was not serious enough - we have the Sky at Night every month for serious astronomy. I think that any programme in which Brian Cox and other popular celebrities say "Go outside and look up" is very valuable, no matter who's in it or what kind of content it has. I also think that being so biased against Jonatnan Ross is a bit unfair when he has a genuine interest and was willing to put his fame to good use advertising stargazing. He was only on for 5 minutes, anyway!

totally agree with u there,people should stop focusing on the negative and be happy that the beeb has actually made an effort to do this, and anyway JONATHON ROSS IS COOL!!!!:eek:

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NGC 1502

NGC 1502

Posted
Posted

The program could have been better, but it could have been a great

deal worse too ! Overall it was ok I think. I'm not a fan of J Ross,

but I think he wasn't too bad in the beginner role he did.

Looking forward to the remaining programs, if it promotes astronomy

to the public, it's all good.

Cheers, Ed.

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nebogipfel

nebogipfel

Posted
Posted
Ok everyone, as Helen says, play nice.

This thread is beginning to attract far too much unwanted attention as it is. Any more and it'll be locked.

Keith - sorry you feel that way. It's a little hard to understand where you're coming from by your brief posts, or what has upset you so much. Leave it for now, sleep on it and it'll be clearer in the morning. Don't make any hasty decisions in the heat of the moment and try to stay away from this thread FTB.

I might be a bit thick, but I can't see anything wrong with this thread?

It's just a range of opinions on a TV programme :eek:

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Rob

Rob

Posted
Posted

I think what everyone needs to remember is that this is not mean to be 'The Sky at Night'.. its not really going to reach into massive detail. Its going to have to appeal to the masses, and the aim (hope) is that it will spark some interest from non Astronomers to 'give it a try'.

To me it did that well, the balance was there without putting people off with the geeky science bit!.

I hope they make more to cover all the sky seasons to be honest. So lets not get hung up on personal agendas as to what it should have delivered content wise...

Regards

Rob

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JamesM

JamesM

Posted
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What a lost opportunity! Don't get me wrong, it was great to see astronomy in the schedules but the light weight magazine format was inappropriate and typifies what is so wrong with television at the moment. In particular, the following was very irritating:

- The imaging section started off great with simple explanations using simple equipment but then they couldn't leave it there, they then continued on to show deep sky photography without explaining that this requires a lot more technical knowledge and quite different equipment. Talk about sexing it up and is so misleading. Sky@Night magazine also misleads beginners in their observation section by consistently illustrating chosen objects with processed images (uncredited) which in no way represent what the beginner will ACTUALLY see. How many of us have had to explain to someone that the images you see on the manufacturer's box, in the magazine and now on the BBC are NOT the same as what you will see in real observing.

- Having outlined that looking at the sun was not a good idea, the programme then referred people to their website for further information. The Government last week released research that showed up to 1 million children do not have direct access to a computer at home (let alone one that is connected to the Internet) and given the time of the eclipse, given that schools are closed and Libraries don't open till 10:00am, where and when exactly are these children going to access this vital information? Someone in the BBC thought that they didn't want to clog up the programme with some simple instructions as this seriousness might take something away from the false enthusiasm that had been so carefully 'crafted' up to that point - I'm sorry but the BBC showed themselves as complete muppets!

Overall there was simply too much bouncing around and trying to create a false enthusiasm without giving people just that little bit more information that would help them have better understanding. They once mentioned 'inner' and 'outer' planets without explain what this meant. The image they showed of jupiter and the position of its moons as seen by Jonathan Ross was not correct at the time he was looking at it and in fact he could only just see the planet above his very tall hedge when standing but would have never seen it when it bent down to look through the eyepiece in a scope that was effectively sat on the grass - complete fiction.

Good opportunity missed in my view and will certainly not be watching the rest of it. The whole thing looks rushed with astro societies around my area given very short notice that this 'event' was going to take place which in itself has created a lot resentment as these organisations feel they haven't been given sufficient time to prepare in order to help recruit new members and sustain a wider participation.

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lynnm

lynnm

Posted
Posted

well for all the pro's and cons of the show - my two boys where engaged and enjoyed it.. and they are 6 and 9... and to add to this, i'll be taking them for a trip to cressing at the weekend for some hands on... good show.. shame about the weather...

Mike

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Mogster

Mogster

Posted
Posted

I'd have liked more practical astronomy and less VTs. Better live video images through the scopes. Although by the looks of the forecast for the next 2 nights they wont be doing much live astronomy anyway.

I wonder how much planning went into these shows? I'm guessing not much?

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DarkerSky

DarkerSky

Posted
Posted
For anyone who thinks it was not serious enough - we have the Sky at Night every month for serious astronomy. I think that any programme in which Brian Cox and other popular celebrities say "Go outside and look up" is very valuable, no matter who's in it or what kind of content it has. I also think that being so biased against Jonatnan Ross is a bit unfair when he has a genuine interest and was willing to put his fame to good use advertising stargazing. He was only on for 5 minutes, anyway!

Well said :eek:

I for one am really impressed with the show and how it is going. Lots of visual stuff, and excellent presentation from Brian and Dara especially. Live TV is always so very tricky to get right! It is making astronomy accessible to a huge and diverse audience, which I 100% back and applaud.

It's fantastic that the BBC have put together a show like this - and from the people I've spoken to it's really striking the right notes by raising awareness and interest in astronomy.

I have an interest in archaeology, and having watched Time Team for umpteen years, I have always wished that mainstream TV would latch onto a formula that would work for astronomy. There were a few progs some years ago with Adam Hart I think (Stardate??) - that started off well, but obviously never really took off.

The current format I'm seeing I think is much better, and more beginner-friendly.

I hope that they can make this formula stick with perhaps a battery of shows something like 3 times a year for various stragazing events.

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saturn5

saturn5

Posted
Posted
I might be a bit thick, but I can't see anything wrong with this thread?

It's just a range of opinions on a TV programme :eek:

Cant see much wrong with it either,an explanation would maybe help has to why a threat of closing the thread was needed.

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bcfcciderhead

bcfcciderhead

Posted
Posted

Well i came into work today and everyone watched it (maybe because i keep going on about my scopes and hobby) and they all said it was great and will watch all 3, this from people who have never looked at the stars so it done something, i for one is still learning an awful lot so even the very basic stuff was good if just to confirm what i have learnt (from this forum..thanks guys) that little tip for photography i thought was great, i have a "bridge" camera, i believe the next step down from a DSLR, this camera has all the options he said, so guess what i will try the next clear night.......Keep it up BBC!!

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astroimpulse

astroimpulse

Posted
Posted
Cant see much wrong with it either,an explanation would maybe help has to why a threat of closing the thread was needed.

One member (the OP) got upset and called for his account to be closed. Nobody can see why but it seems the differing opinions and interpretations of the show were taken personally.

It was no big deal. Just a misunderstanding I think.

T'was late at night so I'm sure a good sleep will have sorted it all out :eek:

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andyr

andyr

Posted
Posted
Astronomy on TV and everyones a critic. I say lighten up and enjoy. Those of us who are already doing it might not learn much but if it inspires more of the public to take up stargazing that can't be a bad thing.

Well said, I liked the show, being still a relative newbie I thought it was well balanced and designed to appeal to all. Thumbs up from me :eek::D:D

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