Australia Wide

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #1 12-04-2006, 11:38 PM

Did anyone watch Australia Wide this week?
This weeks astronomy segment was on the Magellanic Clouds.
Talk about bad research and dumb presenters. Fancy telling the viewers that the Clouds are found in the East, where the moon rises.

There are so many talented amateur Astronomers out there who would love to present such a segment each week, they at least know what they are talking about.
I think I'll let the ABC know about this.
Jeanette.

astroron (Ron) · #2 12-04-2006, 11:49 PM

Jeanette, this is the same ABC that a few years ago showed Polar Bears running across the Antartic??? ice floes when doing a story on the hole in Ozone layer
Are we heading in the same direction as the USA? with about 50% not knowing where Australia is, talk about dumbing down.

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #3 13-04-2006, 12:56 AM

I wrote to the ABC about it.
I said that my 9yr old knows more about the subject.
It'll be interesting to hear what they have to say about it.

#4 13-04-2006, 01:21 PM

As viewed from 30,000 klms above the north pole this would be correct. hee hee.

johnno · #5 14-04-2006, 03:58 AM

Hi All,

It REALLY irritates me when tv programs get it WRONG.

How many times have you seen a movie,etc,when there is a Diabetic lost in the Bush,or wherever,and "They NEED,an Insulin Shot".

What a load of Rubbish,
If you find ME (I am an insulin dependant Diabetic for 25 YEARS),stumbling around in the Bush,dazed,confused,etc,for gods sake DONT give me INSULIN,
I have already had it,and need some SUGAR,as I have probably gone LOW.
due to LACK of food.

IF you give me insulin,you will possibly Kill me,Thanks very much.

My Sugar levels can be HIGH,for quite some time,before any serious damage occurs to me.

But if LOW,for TOO long a time,I can go into a Diabetic Coma,and Expire.

Been there,Nearly did that.

Has any other Diabetic Members seen Similar Stupidity??

Regards.
John

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #6 01-06-2006, 12:11 PM

I recieved a reply from the ABC today.
It seems that once I heard the Presenter mentioned looking to the east where the moon rises, I just turned off my brain and didn't listen anymore.
Sorry.

Here is an excerpt from the email.

Your comments regarding the position of the Magellanic Clouds, as
described during the Sky Watch segment on 12 April by presenter Glen Nagle
are noted. While I note your concerns, Mr Nagle instructed viewers to
look at the rising moon in the east, in order to obtain an easy reference
point. He then went on to say that the Magellanic Clouds could be found
off to the right of the moon, which places them towards the south. This
was supported by an on-screen graphic, which moved from the position of
the moon to the location of the Magellanic Clouds.

ving (David) · #7 01-06-2006, 01:03 PM

oopsie!

never mind jeanette, i swich off when it comes to the TV too. they say one thing wrong and i go off at them blotting out what they are saying and miss what they say next

it just TV

janoskiss (Steve H) · #8 01-06-2006, 02:13 PM

I'm impressed they have anything related to backyard astronomy at all! I've gotta get me a set top box to be able to watch abc2.

JimmyH155 · #9 01-06-2006, 02:57 PM

One diabolical misleading picture that I HATE is when they are talking about the environment and get to the subject of pollution, every time without fail, up comes footage of a power station cooling tower giving out lots of lovely pure water ---UGH

janoskiss (Steve H) · #10 01-06-2006, 03:15 PM

Well, coal fired power stations are big polluters. They produce plenty of pollutants, not just pure water. Actually, in a large part it is the high water content of brown coal that makes it such an inefficient and high pollution per kilowatt energy source. And water vapour is also a powerful greenhouse gas; something pro-hydrogen-fuel lobbyists don't seem to have woken up to.

I just watched today's Sky Watch segment by resident suit-n-tie "astronomer" Glen Nagle (almost a Nagler!), who referred to the Beehive M44 as a globular cluster.

ving (David) · #11 01-06-2006, 03:22 PM

maybe a very loose glob steve?

JimmyH155 · #12 01-06-2006, 03:25 PM

Since when has water vapour been a polluter? I've never heard that before. What pollutes from coal fired power stations is the stuff that comes out of the chimney - thats the tall one - ie sulphur dioxide, nitrous compounds, tar etc. What comes out of cooling towers which are short and fat and beautifully hyperbolic is the steam from the cooling water which has been used to condense the returning steam- nothing else. If water vapour is a polluter, then we are in big trouble every cloudy night.

ving (David) · #13 01-06-2006, 03:30 PM

water, the great polluter!!
I say we get rid of all water!

janoskiss (Steve H) · #14 01-06-2006, 03:56 PM

Quote:

If water vapour is a polluter, then we are in big trouble every cloudy night.

Yep, water is the main greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Notice how cloudy nights do tend to be much warmer than clear ones? More water in the atmosphere is bad enough for global warming, but even worse for astronomy!!

I say we freeze all the water and bury it underground where it cannot cause any harm.

ving (David) · #15 01-06-2006, 04:09 PM

@ steve... you just made me crack up in the middle of the library!@!!!

Adrian-H · #16 01-06-2006, 08:25 PM

people still have faith in tv? what the hell! you should have gave up on tv in the 80's when the information age and psychological warfare and culture jamming over the tv screen started!

GrampianStars (Rob) · #17 01-06-2006, 08:30 PM

TV is reality
the day to day HumDrum is just an Illusion
those who disagree are lost in a virtual re-run

astroron (Ron) · #18 01-06-2006, 10:17 PM

Ken Nagle used to work for SkyandSpace magazine.

johnno · #19 02-06-2006, 01:45 AM

It seems,its common practice for Media to get it wrong,quite often.

(refer,to my post re Diabetics,above)

Even Totally Wild,this afternoon,showed the guy looking at a Leopard,in a tree, through a Binocular,with the Classic,"Gull Wing"effect, at the top,in the middle of the Fov.

RUBBISH.

Binocular IPD,should be adjusted to give a perfectly ROUND,circle of light,

Try it the way the media,or movies,show it,sometime,and you will quickly become aware,of what you CANT see.

Regards.
John

Roger Davis · #20 02-06-2006, 07:50 AM

Ahhh! I see that binocular effect has the same affect on you as me! Enough to make you cringe ...
You ought to try reading books, they aren't much better. Just reading "The Forest" by Edward Rutherford where he talks about the full moon rising whilst the sun is still high in the sky! Go figure!