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Tag: Fred watson

Space

A ringed planet Earth?

Ask almost anyone which planet has rings around it, and you’ll get the answer “Saturn”, especially if they’ve ever viewed it through a telescope. But not many people know that the other gas giants in our Solar System – Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune – also have rings, although they’re much fainter than those of Saturn.

History & Culture

A telescope for a Golden Age

After a stellar 50 years as one of the country’s major scientific assets, the Anglo-Australian Telescope continues to play a major role in keeping Australian astronomy on the world stage.

Space

Where did the Geminid meteors come from?

Every year, I receive a celestial birthday present. No, it’s not because of any secret insider connection with the universe, but a simple coincidence that on the day in question – 14 December – Earth ploughs through a swarm of dusty particles, which results in a shower of bright meteors.

Why light pollution is bad for us and the night skies: Fred Watson (Rebroadcast)

Talking Australia
Why light pollution is bad for us and the night skies: Fred Watson (Rebroadcast)
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Fred Watson is a professor of astronomy, a popular author, musician, and beloved TV and radio personality and has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson). He is also Australia’s first Astronomer-at-large which is not only a pretty impressive work title but more so a testament to all of his accomplishments over the years in the field of astronomy. It also means Fred knows better than most of us what’s at stake when talking about the issue of light pollution. In some urban areas our night sky environment has shrunk to just a “hand full of stars” due to the amount of bad light that is radiating into the atmosphere. But light pollution also has negative effects on wild life and our own health. On this episode Fred is talking about his involvement with dark sky tourism and the efforts for urban dark sky parks to show people the beauty of an untouched night sky environment. He also shares what can be done to stop light pollution. Here you can find out more about Fred: http://www.fredwatson.com.au This is a link to the Australian Dark Sky Alliance: https://www.australasiandarkskyalliance.org This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Angela Heathcote (Digital Producer at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com). You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic

Why light pollution is bad for us and the night skies: Fred Watson

Talking Australia
Why light pollution is bad for us and the night skies: Fred Watson
Loading
/
Fred Watson is a professor of astronomy, a popular author, musician, and beloved TV and radio personality and has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson). He is also Australia’s first Astronomer-at-large which is not only a pretty impressive work title but more so a testament to all of his accomplishments over the years in the field of astronomy. It also means Fred knows better than most of us what’s at stake when talking about the issue of light pollution. In some urban areas our night sky environment has shrunk to just “a hand full of stars” due to the amount of bad light that is radiating into the atmosphere. But light pollution also has negative effects on wild life and our own health. On this episode Fred is talking about his own involvement with dark sky tourism and the efforts for urban dark sky parks to show people the beauty of an untouched night sky environment. He also shares what can be done to stop light pollution. Here you can find out more about Fred: http://www.fredwatson.com.au https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au This is a link to the Australian Dark Sky Alliance: https://www.australasiandarkskyalliance.org This Episode of Talking Australia is hosted by Angela Heathcote (Digital Producer at Australian Geographic) and produced by Ben Kanthak (www.beachshackpodcasts.com). You can also follow us on Instagram @australiangeographic