BEWARE:
BLACK HOLES
It must be the bruises. You can always tell fellow sky-watchers
because they trip over paving slabs and fall down holes
in the road, eyes fixed to the night skies above! In my
case this affliction started as a teenager when a neighbour
showed me the view through his telescope. Right there
in the eyepiece was Jupiter with four little moons circling
around it, the craters on the Moon and the glow of a distant
star system. From that moment I was hooked and it led
to a lifetime of passion for space and astronomy, not
to mention the bruises!
The aim of All Night Star Party is for viewers
to share the sense of wonderment I experienced when
I first peered through a telescope. For one night only
(to celebrate the close approach of Mars and the beginning
of National Astronomy Week) the professional astronomers
have agreed to stand back from their telescopes to make
way for BBC viewers. With the famous Isaac Newton Telescope
on La Palma and the giant radio telescope at Jodrell
Bank, we'll be searching for galaxies, beautiful gas
clouds and the remnants of long-lost stars. We will
take a close look at the mysterious red planet and we
even hope to make some new discoveries live on the programme.
All Night Star Party is on the air and on
the web and it promises to be the biggest mass sky watching
event ever mounted.
Just beware of the potholes afterwards.
Peter Brown
Producer, All Night Star Party
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