Audio Guide to the Galaxy

When we look up at night, we see a sky filled with stars. Over time, humans have ‘connected the dots’ to cover the sky in pictures, and the stories behind them. This week, we’re looking at some of the mightiest constellations in our night sky.

Join Mel to explore the constellation of Taurus it in the northwestern sky, and learn about the Hyades star cluster.

Join Leah for a chance to (re)discover how to find your way around the southern night sky as we get ready for a stellar summer of stargazing.

Join Leon to find out all you need to know about the James Webb Space Telescope as it launches into space.

Join Brandi to learn about the Milky Way, our galaxy stretching overhead, and our place within it. It’s a perfect episode for anyone heading out of town for the summer break, as you also move away from the light pollution of the city, revealing the majestic night sky in all its splendour.

The International Space Station is passing overhead this week. Join Leah to learn where to look, at what time, to see this massive orbital laboratory from your backyard. It’s been a busy year for the ISS. Hear about the crew changeovers, the additions to the station and the latest science being carried out on this truly international spaceship.

Special guest presenter Rocky from Curtin University’s Space Science & Technology Centre joins us for a look at WA’s first homegrown satellite, Binar-1. You can listen to this one any time you like, just make sure you have a little bit of space around you.

The Moon is out and looking glorious as usual. Join Steph to learn about our closest celestial neighbour and how scientists are putting together the pieces of the puzzle of the close relationship between the Earth and the Moon.

This episode is timed to be listened to at any time after 8pm on Saturday 15 January. You can still listen to this at later days, but be aware that the time to see some things will change.

This week, we look at Venus, the brightest planet in our sky – so bright, it’s often the first object we see as the sun sets, and the last one we see as the sun rises. We’ll be hearing a bit about Venus’ sky as well.

You can listen to this episode after sunset on any clear evening this fortnight (2 October – 14 October). We take a look at Jupiter and Saturn in our night sky and learning about the upcoming journey of Lucy, a NASA spacecraft that will be visiting asteroids near Jupiter to learn about the origins of our solar system.

You can listen to this episode after sunset on any clear evening this week (9 October – 15 October). This week, we take a closer look at our nearest celestial neighbour, the Moon! We will also learn about Artemis 1 and the Space Launch System and what they mean for the future of human spaceflight to the Moon.

This week on the Audio Guide to the Galaxy, we get a little refresher on our stargazing skills and the Southern Cross, then spiral out to meet some of the other constellations in our southern sky.

This week on the Audio Guide to the Galaxy, we’re taking a look at some of the deepest, most distant parts of our sky. We can only see these from outside the city, so this episode is a little bonus for anyone’s who has headed out of town for the long weekend.

This week on the Audio Guide to the Galaxy, we’ll be exploring a great pattern in our night sky – Argo Navis. We’ll talk about how to find this mighty ship and some of the remarkable stars that it features.

This week on the Audio Guide to the Galaxy, we spot the International Space Station as it passes over Perth – not just once, but a several times over the next few days. This orbiting lab is the only place humans can live beyond Earth, and you can see it from your backyard! Head outside at 7.25pm on Thursday, 6.39pm or 8.14pm on Friday, 7.27pm on Saturday or 6.40pm on Sunday to spot the station. If you miss them, NASA will help you figure out when to look up for another pass – head to https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

This week on the Audio Guide to the Galaxy, we’re getting an early start to watch our planet plunge through a stream of meteors. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is at its best and brightest over the next few days – but to see it, you’ll need to be awake before sunrise. Ready for a challenge?

This week, we’re using the night sky to tell a story – not about the lives of ancient heroes, but about the lives of the stars themselves.

This week, we’re getting serious about the brightest star in the sky. Discover why Sirius shines so bright and where it sits in the canine constellation.

This week, the hunter becomes the hunted as we track down the constellation of Orion. The Orion Nebula is a huge cloud of gas and dust, stretching about 24 light years across from one side to the other. Being so big is one of the reasons why we are able to see it with the naked eye.

This week, we’re hunting down the red planet, Mars. It’s bright and easy to spot in the night sky, so we’re going to take a look – and see what’s got scientists so excited.

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the surface of the Moon, and what it can teach us about how our universe works. You can listen to this episode any night there’s a full moon.

This week, we’ll talk about how to find your way around and measure distances, and we’ll show you how to spot a once in a lifetime event!

In the final episode for season 2, we’re taking a look at the two largest planets in our solar system. Jupiter and Saturn just happen to be rising in the east just after sunset for the next few weeks – and that gives us the chance to take explore just how much they’ve shaped our solar system’s story. You can listen to this episode at 7:30pm, any night for the 17 July – 31 July.

And we’re back for part 2 of A walking tour of the Solar System. Give episode 1 a listen below first if you missed last week’s episode.

This week we have a special school holiday edition of the Audio Guide to the Galaxy called ‘Walking Guide to the Solar System’. This episode is intended to be listened to while you go for a walk or get out and about outside. We’re going to start at the Sun and walk all the way to Mars – and beyond – into the asteroid belt. Yes really! Each step you take will be the equivalent of travelling at 175,000 km per second. See how far you can go!

It’s breakfast time! This week we’re looking out through a cosmic pancake, and finding a teapot with a black hole on its spout.

You can listen to this episode at 7pm, on any day over the next week or so. The objects we’re looking at this week are especially impressive if you’re outside the city – so if you’re headed out camping soon, make sure you’ve got this episode downloaded and ready to go.

In this week’s Audio Guide to the Galaxy, we’re looking at the Sun. Not directly at it though!

Join Leon to learn about a syzygy, the winter solstice and why we see eclipses. We’ll also have a go at spotting the International Space Station as it flies overhead – visit the Scitech Facebook Page for a sky map showing where to look. You’ll need to head outside at 5pm on Sunday June 21 to spot the sunset and the station.

This week, we’re heading out a little earlier to catch the planet Mercury as the Sun sets in the West, then sticking around to watch the constellation Scorpius rise in the East. We’ll also hear some stories about each – despite being on opposite sides of the sky right now, these two phenomena have more in common than you might think…

This week we explore the relationship between Earth and the Moon to understand the causes of tides and eclipses and ponder our relationship with this magnificent neighbour. We also ponder the most profound question in human existence: How do you pronounce syzygy? Oh, and ‘How did we get here?’

In this episode, we’ll be taking a look at how you can find your way around the night sky. Then, we’re putting those skills to the test to find Chiron the Centaur. If you’re new to the Audio Guide, this is a great place to start!

You can listen to this episode on any date. We suggest heading outside at 7:30pm. Bring a jumper.