Audio Guide to the Galaxy – Details, episodes & analysis

July is peak galaxy appreciation month, and the Milky Way is putting on a show. This episode, we’re grabbing our stargazing snacks and heading outside to soak in that big, hazy river of light across the sky.

Whether you're deep in the bush or just squinting past your neighbour’s porch light, we’ll help you spot it. We'll also help you find the Southern Cross and introduce you to the dark emu hiding in plain sight. Spoiler: it’s not made of stars but the dark bits between them.

Also, on this week’s tour of the cosmos:

• July 4th is when Earth is furthest from the Sun. No, that’s not why it’s cold
• Venus and Jupiter are up early and looking gorgeous
• Sagittarius is pointing straight at the centre of the galaxy. We call it the big messy spaghetti
• The Vera Rubin Observatory has a camera the size of a small car and a mission to map the entire night sky. Every three days. For ten years. It cost a billion bucks and it’s going to change astronomy forever
• Vera Rubin helped prove dark matter exists. She deserved a Nobel Prize and didn’t get one. We’re still salty about it
• There are over 130 million bits of space junk out there bigger than a centimetre. Who’s watching all that? We are. Kind of

Need more sky stuff?

• scitech.org.au
• theskytonight

Snuggle up and look up, Leon and Beth are back with your June night sky guide from Scitech, recorded on Whadjuk Noongar land. This month, we chase the Milky Way as it stretches across the southeastern sky on cold, clear winter nights. They share top tips for stargazing in light polluted Perth (yes, your hand is a valid telescope substitute) and highlight Venus beaming brightly in the pre-dawn east.

We also dive into the Winter Solstice on June 21 aka the longest night of the year and explain how to track the Sun’s movement using nothing but your driveway and some chalk. And finally, we meet this month’s celestial underdog: Lupus the Wolf. It’s faint, it’s mysterious, and it used to be part of a drunken centaur’s wine sack.

Grab a coat, find the southeast, and come howl at the stars with us.

Leon and Beth take you through what you’ll find in the night sky in the month of September, 2024.

They discuss how to spot Saturn in opposition, identify Venus as the evening star, and locate the Southern Birds constellations. They also explain the significance of the equinox and the upcoming supermoon.

Leon shares his tips on using apps to find faint constellations and sneaks in a fun fact about the moon’s orbit.

To find out more about the WA night sky, search for “the sky tonight” on scitech.org.au.

Leon and Amanda discuss the night sky in August 2024, highlighting the Milky Way and the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius. They share tips for spotting the teapot asterism and the potential appearance of a new star in Corona Borealis. The hosts also talk about Venus shining brightly in the evening sky and the close approach of Mars and Jupiter.

Beth Maskall & Leon Smith discuss what on in the sky in July

Included in this episode: Planets: Mercury & Saturn, Constellations: Corvus, Stars: The Even Star.

Produced by: Michael Gatt

Beth Maskall & Leon Smith Discuss what on in the sky in June.

Included in this episode: Planets: Saturn, Mars & Jupiter, Constellations: Scorpius & Hydra, Stars: Antares, Alphard, The Winter Solstice.

Audio editing: Alyshia Gatani.

Leon and Beth discuss what happening in the night sky in Boorloo in May, What's a blue last-quarter moon, and how this months meteor shower was actually remnants Haley's comet.

Hosts: Leon Smith, Beth Maskall

Leon and Beth talk about what's in the night sky in the month of April, 2024.

We hear how the planets are a little lacklustre this month, except for one cool event that neither of our hosts will be waking up early to see.

They swap tips for locating constellations, and chat about an upcoming solar eclipse.

Beth points out that a total solar eclipse is an experience unique to earth in our solar system, thanks to a coincidence about our sun and moon.

To find out more about the WA night sky, search for "the sky tonight" on scitech.org.au.

Credits:

Hosts: Leon Smith and Beth Maskall

Producers: Michelle Aitken and Zaya Altangerel

Leon and Beth take you through what you'll find in the night sky in the month of March, 2024.

They discuss how to tell the difference between planets and stars, and explain how constellations are used to divide up regions of the sky.

Leon gets to show off how many digits of pi he knows, and sneaks in a reference to Dune the movie.

To find out more about the WA night sky, search for "the sky tonight" on scitech.org.au.

Credits

Hosts: Leon Smith and Beth Maskall

Producers: Michelle Aitken, Zaya Altangerel

Leon is joined by Amanda, a Scitech Planetarium Presenter, to highlight all the different planets and constellations you'll be able to spot throughout December.

The duo also update us on how the second Space X Starship launch unfolded.

To find our more about the WA night sky, visit: www.scitech.org.au/explore/the-sky-tonight/

Credits

Host: Leon Smith

Guest: Amanda Hunter

Producer: Zaya Altangerel, Michelle Aitken, Alyshia Gatani