Australia

Season 7 · 2017 · 3 episodes

Episodes

1Episode 1Stargazing Live is back for its seventh year - this time promising to blow your mind with a totally new view of the night sky - live, from the bottom of the world! Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain have packed their sunscreen and headed to Australia to gaze up at a sky that will be completely unfamiliar to viewers in the UK - packed full of the most astonishing features from constellations like the Southern Cross, famously featured on Australia's flag, to jewel-like clusters of stars and perfectly positioned planets. But capping it all is the most remarkable view of the Milky Way, arching overhead like a river of stars. Join them live as they finish a long night under the stars, and as dawn approaches in Australia. Brian and Dara are joined by Liz Bonnin and Aussie outback-astronomer Greg Quicke as their guide to the southern sky. Surrounded by kangaroos, snakes and spiders, the team reveal the wonderful star-tales told by indigenous people, embark on a mission to catch a shooting star and celebrate Australia's role in rescuing the stricken Apollo 13 moon mission. Plus, we ask viewers' help in a challenge to find the missing ninth planet in the solar system.
2Episode 2Stargazing Live is back for a second night of spectacular night-sky views from Australia. Join Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain live as they complete another long night under the stars down under, and watch the glorious stars of the southern sky gradually twinkle away to reveal the coming dawn. Tonight, unprecedented views of Saturn are the big prize. Aussie astronomer Greg Quicke reveals more ancient tales from the indigenous astronomers of Australia, explaining why the moon looks upside down in Australia and showing us the remarkable link between the moon and the Great Barrier Reef. We hear more about life on top of this remote mountain amongst the kangaroos and spiders of the Aussie outback - none of which stops the astronomers here making some amazing discoveries, including the oldest known star in the universe.
3Episode 3Join Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain live from Australia, as they complete their three-night mission to bring you the most glorious sights of the southern night sky. From their remote mountain top beside the vast Warrumbungle National Park, Brian and Dara share another night of beautiful views, wandering kangaroos and spectacular landscapes. In the company of Liz Bonnin and with Aussie outback-astronomer Greg Quicke as their guide to the southern sky, they reveal how the apparently monochrome sky at night is in fact a riot of glorious colour. Brian and Dara also reveal how Australia, which faces directly into the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, is in the front line when it comes to protecting our planet - whether it be from the threat of a giant asteroid impact or from contact with alien life. And we hear how the Aussie outback contains secrets that Nasa hope will lead them to alien life on Mars. And will viewers have managed to find the elusive missing ninth planet in our solar system?