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Author
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Topic: BBC Two: STARGAZING Live with Brian Cox
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Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 12-25-2010 07:56 AM
   
In order to start the New Year 2011, three live events with Professor Brian Cox.Looking at the partial Solar Eclipse. Live feeds with Mauna Kea, Jodrell Banks, talking to the crew onboard the ISS and more... |
ASCAN1984
Member Posts: 1049
From: County Down, Nothern Ireland
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-03-2011 04:26 AM
Looks good. Will try to tune in if I remember.  |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-03-2011 09:26 AM
If I try to see the partial eclipse, my wife is going to say: "Keep your eyes on the road!" My dark eclipse glasses might not be a good solution. |
issman1
Member Posts: 1042
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 01-04-2011 05:30 AM
Very impressive, but it should really have been on BBC1. Prof. Brian Cox is the new Sir Patrick Moore. |
David Bryant
Member Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-04-2011 05:33 AM
Here's the eclipse peeping through the clouds in Norfolk, UK. I managed to see a few Quadrantids around 2-3 a.m.I'm afraid Prof Cox will never be another Sir Pat: far too show biz... Why on Earth did that female presenter need to be sent to Hawaii? And why did Mark LT from the Norwich AS keep showing us a horribly over-exposed live-cam view of Jupiter? I'm afraid this was a further example of how Science is being dumbed down in the UK.... |
issman1
Member Posts: 1042
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 01-04-2011 06:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by David Bryant:
I'm afraid Prof Cox will never be another Sir Pat: far too show biz....
I'd argue that Cox is far more telegenic, young enough and has the personality to appeal to a broader and lay audience. I'm afraid that Sir Patrick's style is outdated with most viewers. 'The Sky At Night' is shown well after midnight plus he's now assisted by several younger astronomers. |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-04-2011 07:43 AM
I'm afraid I switched off after 25 mins. This should have been screened at 5pm as it was certainly not aimed at anyone with a modicum of prior knowledge about star -gazing. It got off to a great start with Dara "you-can't-keep-me-off-TV" O'Briain uttering the classic "now we're not going to be using THAT (the Jodrell Bank radio-telescope) to be VIEWING Jupiter tonight are we? Then we drifted into more inanity with a trip to Jonathan Woss's backyard (the second "comedian" in the show, for those who don't know him). Turns out he has 3 expensive telescopes but hasn't a clue how to use them (surprise)! And what was the point of the trip to Hawaii??I agree that Cox is a good contemporary presenter, but the subject matter, the script and above all, his co-presenters, did nothing to bring any gravitas to the subject matter. To think that this 8pm slot used to be occupied by more intellectually demanding programmes like Horizon and Chronicle. |
Steve Procter
Member Posts: 1031
From: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Oct 2000
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posted 01-04-2011 07:56 AM
'Chronicle' Paul? You're taking me back a few years now...As for the woman in Hawaii - what was she for...?? |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-04-2011 09:27 AM
Don't knock it Steve. I "starred" (no pun intended) in a Chronicle marine archaeology programme in 1984 (I know: I look too young)!  |
Tykeanaut
Member Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 01-04-2011 09:43 AM
I basically agree. It was all a bit 'laddish' but if it encourages folk to get outside and off their 'pea-pods' and other music and games devices so be it.I thought the girl in Hawaii was quite a pleasant distraction! (Don't think the wife agreed though). |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2454
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 01-04-2011 09:50 AM
Oh how I miss Carl Sagan at times like these. |
Steve Procter
Member Posts: 1031
From: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Oct 2000
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posted 01-04-2011 09:58 AM
Paul, are you up for my new TV concept then?Full-contact, competitive archaeology - thought I'd call it 'Trench Warfare' |
nasamad
Member Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 01-04-2011 10:17 AM
Closely followed by Pro-celebrity boxing please. Christopher Biggins versus David Haye anyone!Anyway, back to the prog, I enjoyed it personally, and agree it was dumbed down, but then we here are a more knowledgable audience than the general public when it comes to this subject. If it gets people out looking at the sky then it cant be a bad thing, then when they learn more about the subject, hopefully they will search out "Sky at Night" and watch that as well. |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-04-2011 10:51 AM
quote:
Originally posted by moorouge:
Oh how I miss Carl Sagan at times like these.
Absolutely!Coming soon: Richard Hammond presents "The Ascent of Man" (without any BIG words or confusing theory). |
David Bryant
Member Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-04-2011 11:14 AM
OK: as you've seen, I watched the eclipse and got up at 2.00 am to look for the (disappointing) Quadrantids. I checked out Jupiter, Uranus and Venus with my 5" refractor. I'd bet the vast majority of the TV audience (including some of you guys!) did none of those things!The number of inaccuracies/over-simplifications in the prog was appalling! |
AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 01-04-2011 11:39 AM
quote:
Originally posted by David Bryant:
The number of inaccuracies/over-simplifications in the prog was appalling!
I have to agree David, they really did over-simplify a lot of things in the programme!An example was when Prof. Cox was describing the difference between how the Inner and Outer planets of our Solar System were formed and he talked with regard to the Inner planets how lots of 'stuff' just came together in a ball to form these planets into a spherical shape. Surely a knowledgeable man like him can give us a few examples of just what 'stuff' came together instead of dumbing it down for the common primetime viewer? The Jonathan Ross bits were pointless, and while the bits from Hawaii (with Irishwoman Liz Bonnin) were vaguely interesting they weren't going to capture the imagination of anyone without a passing interest in the subject. One decent bit was the part where Dara O'Briain looked at some sci-fi films and with the help of an expert picked out those things from the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek and Independence Day which are actually impossible (like warp speed and fighting like fighter-planes in the vacuum of space.) My verdict - not the best show in the world by a country mile but let's see what tonight's show is like. Fingers crossed they show some good pics of the partial solar eclipse because we inevitably had clouds here in Ireland! |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2454
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 01-04-2011 01:25 PM
quote:
Originally posted by AstroAutos:
...like warp speed and fighting like fighter-planes in the vacuum of space
Shane - don't go to sleep in the back row and do pay attention to 'Sir'! Warp speed is possible. Google Roger Highfield Warp Speed.
Now write out 100 times... |
paulushumungus
Member Posts: 466
From: Burton, Derbyshire, England
Registered: Oct 2005
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posted 01-04-2011 01:30 PM
I like Prof Brian Cox. He is exactly what the subject needs. I suppose it was aimed at young people and the un initiated masses in an attempt to generate a flicker of interest and plant that seed that the Sky at Night did for us all those years ago. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-04-2011 03:55 PM
Patrick Moore is an institution; a class act. I've grown up watching the man over the last 40 yearr plus.Maybe it is a generational thing but Brian Cox is a breath of fresh air; if his youthful exuberance generates interest in astronomy in youngsters inparticular then I am all for it. As for dumming down.....in my line of work I see examples on a daily basis that prove the country is doing that quite nicely by itself without any intervention from Dara or Brian thank you very much!!!! And don't get me started on Big Brother, X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, I'm a Celebrity and the likes. When I hear youngsters stating they want to be famous (not for anything inparticular) just famous..... it makes my blood boil. |
AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 01-04-2011 04:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by moorouge:
Warp speed is possible. Google Roger Highfield Warp Speed.
Ahh yes, I actually remember Prof. Cox last night when the sci-fi clip was over correcting the point that Warp Speed was not possible - I stand corrected, I'll have the 100 lines for you Monday morning, Sir! By the way can I just add I think Prof. Cox is fantastic and very easy to listen to - he puts his thoughts across extremely well! |
David Bryant
Member Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-04-2011 05:15 PM
Hmmmmm...There are a good number of experimental physicists who reckon they've managed to get both light pulses and radio waves to travel faster than light. Still: tonight was a lot better, largely because the delightful Lucie Green (name-drop time!) with whom I once took part in a beeb meteorite prog  injected some much-needed mainstream Astronomy. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-04-2011 05:39 PM
I hate to admit this, but I find "meteor showers" the biggest damp squibs in all of astronomy, and I say that as someone with a lifelong interest in astronomy. The media have a lot to answer for: every news report on an impending "meteor shower" invariably leaves the lay-observer with the impression that the sky is going to be ablaze with shooting stars everywhere. The reality is a lot of disappointed people, probably turned off astronomy for life. A chance sighting of a bright meteor is a wonderful, albeit fleeting experience, but hanging around in your back garden in the cold to see two or three meteors in a twenty minute viewing is, quite literally, a pain in the neck.And don't get me started on the partial eclipse! Typical eclipse weather (i.e. cloud). |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-04-2011 05:59 PM
Check out this website. It includes some superb partial eclipse images including a particularly fine atmospheric shot by our own Stardome (Andy Green). |
Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 01-05-2011 09:45 AM
We have to applaud the BBC for arranging such programs!Professor Brian Cox is splendid and we're looking forward to future (Live) events on Astrophysics, spaceflight, etc... Tonight is the most interesting part. |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-05-2011 09:49 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Philip:
We have to applaud the BBC for arranging such programs!
You're obviously not paying the license fee! |
David Bryant
Member Posts: 986
From: Norfolk UK
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 01-05-2011 10:29 AM
Funnily enough, 'The Sky at Night' immediately preceeded 'Stargazing Live' on a Freeview channel: the comparison could not have been more stark! Prof Cox seems a great bloke: but I doubt if even he is that much enamoured of the 'Springwatch UK' format he's been saddled with! |
Tykeanaut
Member Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 01-06-2011 02:57 AM
Well, I thought last night's final programme was the best of the lot. Tim Peake did himself no harm - very presentable and interesting. The chat with the ISS was also good.I believe Prof. Cox is to present a new Astronomy programme on BBC2 in March. Although not perfect, these few programmes may have raised the interest levels? |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 01-06-2011 06:01 AM
I wonder if the BBC is grooming Brian Cox to eventually take over "The Sky at Night"? |
issman1
Member Posts: 1042
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 01-06-2011 06:40 AM
I only wish I could see the ISS as clearly as the BBC cameras captured it!I don't know what the viewing figures were, but anything that promotes astronomy and spaceflight on primetime TV should be applauded. Having British astronaut Timothy Peake live in the observatory was a highlight. But then hearing him say that it won't be until the end of this decade that he'll fly put the woeful state of human spaceflight into context.  |
paulushumungus
Member Posts: 466
From: Burton, Derbyshire, England
Registered: Oct 2005
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posted 01-06-2011 01:28 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Tykeanaut:
I believe Prof. Cox is to present a new Astronomy programme on BBC2 in March.
The new series in March is the follow up to "Wonders of the Solar System" and will be called "Wonders of the Universe." |
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