Looking Up

The Blue Danube in space! Take a look at https://space.vienna.info/en-US. The European Space Agency is blasting Strauss into the Universe.

What is an AGN? What is an inactive black hole? UCT Phd student Tombo Fitahiana Rarivoarinoro explains.

What's up now that winter's here? There's a nova in Corona Borealis which could go nova soon!

Kechil talks to Nic Erasmus about what to do if asteroids get too close.

In anticipation of the IAA Planetary Defence conference in Stellenbosch 5-9 May, Kechil talks some more about NEOs and how the public can enjoy related events.

Kechil talks to Nic Erasmus about what to do if asteroids get too close.

Would you like to hear the sound of star clusters? They sing a song about the history of our galaxy.

Kechil talks to Sam Wilson, author of The First Murder on Mars about some of the practicalities of living on Mars

Kechil talks to Sam Wilson, author of The First Murder on Mars about how societies and humans may evolve on Mars

Saturn's rings have disappeared! Also - what's a star party?

What are the differences between the northern and southern hemispheres? Barry Linton from the south of England and a member of our local astronomy society, explains.

"The Moon belongs to everyone, the best things in life are free" says the song, but what about Saturn's 128 newly discovered moons? Do we name them all?

Something about attention-grabbing planetary alignments and Blue Ghost

Dr Rosalind Skelton is the new Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory, here in Observatory. She talks to Kechil about her plans for the next few years.

How does an astronomer become an ambassador? Prof Paul Groot describes his task ahead in Chile.

Samples returned from the asteroid Bennu have revealed astonishing news about the potential origins of life of Earth.

Who would've thought that the Graeco-Roman Goddess of Hinges would be revived: she's back now, squeaking away on a quasi-moon. Hear about this, and many other naming conventions.

How do you look at black holes? Kechil talks about the latest plans to launch a cluster of radio telescopes into space to study these monster-gobblers.

Roundup of currently visible planets and the comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) still visible with the naked eye to the right of the Sun as it sets. Also the latest of what's happening with Mars.

New Year on Mars: what might it look like? Plus a roundup of what you can see in the night sky.

Kechil talks to Shamin Doman about one of the exhibits at the new Visitor Centre, which you too can see by booking at www.saao.ac.za

What is time? We only know how to measure it. Kechil canters through the technologies used to do this, including the most accurate clocks associated with local radio telescopes MeerKAT and the SKA.

Five minutes at the end of each week explores the big and the small questions in astronomy, cosmology, and space science. Hosted by Kechil Kirkham, no subject is too big or too small, and experts are regularly brought on board to illuminate and excite. Cape Town is the place to be for astronomy, with some of the largest telescopes in the world housed or being built not too far away. Looking Up takes advantage of the shoals of scientists and engineers working on the planet's most advanced astronomy projects, who live and work right here in the Mother City. Kechil has recently acquired an MPhil in Space Studies at the University of Cape Town, and works in South Africa's space industry on the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.

What was the Star of Bethlehem? Any idea?

Visit the Observatory for a tour! Pran Govender tells us about the new Visitor Centre and tours at the Observatory. See www.saao.ac.za

In August this year Kechil caught up with Prof Phil Charles at the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly. Here he talks about his passion for White Dwarf stars.

When Kechil was in Perth in October she talked to Ramesh Bhat about Australian indigenous astronomy.

Kechil reports on the latest plans by the European Space Agency to launch a gravitational wave detector into space, LISA.

Kechil talks to Ramesh Bhat in Australia about the SKA LOW and his pulsar research.

The 2025 Sky Guide Southern Africa is out now. Gayle Andrews, the librarian of the Cape Centre tells us about it. If you're interested in joining us: https://assa.saao.ac.za/centres/cape-centre/ and the Sky Guide can be obtained from: https://struiknature.co.za/product/sky-guide-2025/

Distinguished radio astronomer Ron Ekers talks to Kechil in Perth about his career highlight

Spookiness in space! What goes on around the dark side of the Moon?

Kechil is back in South Africa after visiting astronomers in Perth, Australia and gives a roundup of local celestial news. If you'd like to look at some stunning images of the recent comet visit https://www.facebook.com/Astrosocsa/

Kechil interviews Dr Rajan Chhetri in Perth, Australia about inter-planetary scintillation and twinkling black holes.

These days, for every astronomer, there are a bunch of computer scientists, software developers and engineers behind them, creating the telescopes and software that allow them to process their data. Jordan Collier is such a person who facilitates astronomers producing science. He works in Perth, Australia which is where Kechil caught up with him.

Dr Knicole Colon of the James Webb Space Telescope tells us about the mysterious rogue planets following recent research in the Orion Nebula.

Dr Knicole Colon of the James Webb Space Telescope tells us about the mysterious rogue planets following recent research in the Orion Nebula.

There was a partial lunar eclipse early this morning but not worth staying up for. Kechil gives a round-up of upcoming eclipses, and gives the latest space news.

A candy floss planet! The universe is weirder than we thought. A telescope in Sutherland has found something odd.

Ranpal Gil works on the engineering side of a new massive survey telescope, the Vera C Rubin, in Chile. She talked to Kechil about this extraordinary telescope when she was here at the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly in Cape Town, early August.

Liquid water has been found on Mars, but not where we'd want it. It's 10-20kms underground, at least at the place where the Mars Insight lander was testing. Interesting though, and baby steps in terms of any colonisation programme.

Professor Phil Charles was the director of the Southern African Astronomical Observatory here in Cape Town and retired many years ago. What has he been up to since? Kechil catches up with him at the IAU's General Assembly on August 13th.

What is dark matter and what is dark energy? Do they exist? Well, we've sent up a spacecraft which has left a space telescope, Euclid, to map billions of galaxies and detect their movement. To tell us more about this mysterious and fascinating endeavor is Sandor Kruk of the European Space Agency, here at the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly in Cape Town.

It's the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly happening now in Cape Town from 6-15th August. This is great news for Africa, as it's the first time the annual General Assembly has taken place in this continent. More information about public events and booking can be found here: https://astronomy2024.org/public/ The number of the Observatory if you'd like to book a daytime tour or listen to an evening talk: 021 447 0025 Waterfront website: www.waterfront.co.za/events/celebrating astronomy

More about asteroids, other threats in space and how the Chinese are dealing with them, plus advance notice of the International Astronomical Union's General Assembly taking place in Cape Town 6-15 August.

Last Sunday was International Asteroid Day. This was celebrated mainly on Monday when people were back at work, when Kechil attended a talk given by Marco Micheli of the European Space Agency's Space Situational Awareness Planetary Defence Office. Here he is talking to Kechil about why it is important to devote attention to asteroids. Here in South Africa, we have a telescope which is part of the international ATLAS consortium which surveys the sky tracking and looking for asteroids.