On Friday (20th of January) I was called by the BBC in Cardiff to ask me if I would talk about the success of the 2nd series of Stargazing Live (this is a link to the interview, I’m on about 25 minutes into it), and also to summarise the events going on in the Wales National Museum in Cardiff on the Saturday. Yesterday I became aware, through Nick Howes (@NickAstronomer on Twitter), of a twitter “storm” going on between fans of Stargazing Live and the Daily Mirror TV critic Kevin O’Sullivan (@TVKev on Twitter) due to this article, in which he criticised Stargazing Live. Then, this morning I got another call from the BBC, this time asking me to talk tomorrow about an article by Jim Shelley in yesterday’s (Monday 23rd January) Daily Mirror. In this article Jim Shelley lists the Top 25 things he learned from the series. The BBC asked me to choose 10 to talk about tomorrow, and to talk in more detail about 4 of them.
I am delighted that the BBC Stargazing Live series has been such a success. Although Brian Cox comes in for quite a bit of criticism these days, I think one should interpret that as a mark of his impact and success. I have never been a fan of Patrick Moore, even when I was a teenager I found him irritating, and now I find him more so. Brian Cox has an easy, down to earth, unpretentious way of explaining things. Some of his basic astronomy mistakes frustrate me, but then again he’s never done a course in astronomy or astrophysics, so considering this he does a very good job.
One shouldn’t underestimate the impact a good TV programme or series can make. My own lifelong passion with astronomy and cosmology was ignited by a BBC Horizon programme I saw in January 1977 called “The key to the Universe”.
The Horizon programme that got me hooked on astronomy
I vividly remember, as I watched this 50 or 60 minutes of TV, a realisation that I wanted to study this fascinating subject. 32 years on, the subject still keeps me awake at night with wonder and excitement, and I feel very lucky to be paid to do something I’d gladly do for free.
So why did Kevin O’Sullivan have such a go at BBC Stargazing live? My own interpretation of his article, which his subsequent comments on Twitter seem to confirm, is that he was being deliberately provocative. I am in no position to comment on whether this is good or bad journalism, but it is certainly something I do on occasion – make deliberately provocative or outrageous statements to elicit reactions. Judging by the flood of traffic on Twitter about his article, @TVKev certainly did provoke considerable reaction.
In an age of multi-channel TV, there should be room for both the most highbrow and lowbrow TV. I enjoy, from time to time, watching the most mindless TV like Celebrity Big Brother or Snog, Marry, Avoid (that one with my daughters), I don’t spend all my time solving the equations of General Relativity or watching science documentaries.
That the BBC Stargazing Live series got 4-5 million people tuning in on BBC2 is a remarkable achievement. The fact that some of them may have been teenage girls with a crush on Brian Cox is irrelevant, but yet another reason he’s preferable to Patrick Moore. Many academics make fun of those of us who try and engage the public in our subject. I do it because (a) I enjoy sharing something I find interesting with as wide an audience as possible and (b) I haven’t forgotten the TV programme that first got me interested in understanding the Universe.
The 4 “facts” from Jim Shelley’s list that I have chosen to go into more detail on are
- The age of the Universe and the age of the Earth
- That the Sun will swell up and become a red giant
- That we may one day return to the Moon to mine Helium-3 from its surface
- That we have been sending radio and TV signals out into space, announcing our presence to any intelligent civilisations out there
Which 4 would you have chosen?
Interesting comments Dr Rhodri,
Whilst Kevin o sulliavan may have been trying to be provocatve to get a response, the program itself seemed to have generated its own reaction. I saw today that telescope sales are up 6 fold. So whilst kevin o sullivan may have lost his connection to the night sky, there were millions who may have rediscovered a fascination for what may be found in the darkness
Perhaps o sullivan needs to be taken to a dark site for himself to experience for himself the awesome sight of a sky filled with diamonds of delight and discover a little about the mystery of what lies beyond our little world.
No doubt astronomical societies will see an increase in membership, some of it temporary but without societies and universities doing something to help nurture this new found enthusiasm it will just be a flash in the pan
If I was to choose something from the show, I would say Gene Cernan, someone who has walked on another heavenly body. living proof of what people can do when inspired by a vision to achieve great things.
Diolch
Stephen Webber
Yes, there’s no doubt the programme was a great success. The BBC asked me to choose from the list Jim Sheridan gave, but talking to the last person to walk on the Moon (to date) would be quite a thrill.
Oops, I mean Jim Shelley…
Was The Key to the Universe the one with Nigel Calder? If so, I saw it as well, and a couple of other films by him, and read the books. Interesting stuff when I was that age.
Philip,
It could have been. Certainly he wrote a lot of books back in the 70s/80s, many of which I read. It was a Horizon programme, but I cannot remember who was the narrator. When I tracked down the image of the Radio Times cover a few years ago it was like seeing an old friend. I would *love* to see the episode itself again, but I have no idea if I ever will 🙂
[…] present age, and due to a Horizon programme about cosmology and particle physics (that I mention in this blog), I had already decided I wanted to study astronomy and physics. It therefore came as a bit of a […]