Please Look Up
Please Look Up
Particle WA
Tune in each month for a guided tour of the night sky as seen from Perth, Western Australia. Each episode highlights all of the fascinating constellations, planets, and asteroids that you should be keeping an eye out for in the night sky. And don't worry, we'll also be highlighting the latest in space news so you'll always be in the know when it comes to the extra-terrestrial. Please Look Up is brought to you by https://particle.scitech.org.au/ (Particle) and powered by http://scitech.org.au/ (Scitech).
What’s Up In The Sky? February's Stellar Stargazing Guide
We're going to the MOON!This episode Alyshia and Leon discuss the exciting Artemis II launch returning humans to the moon. Space fails include the Cancellation of Mars Sample Return, an Indian Polar Satelite Rocket Explodes taking 14 satellites with it - oops! Alyshia's brain breaks and Leon received yet ANOTHER spam call during recording.Night sky - Jupiter, Canis Minor.Space PicsArtemis II Movie Posterhttps://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/webb/science/2026/01/STScI-01KCMATAPPC5QXWSD5BM6VRT9M.pngSpace picturesAlyshia - James Webb Helix Nebulahttps://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/webb/science/2026/01/STScI-01KCMATAPPC5QXWSD5BM6VRT9M.pngComparison Video - https://youtu.be/F3nm9oUggrE?si=kz2KmS17NrSGO72wLeon - Crawler Preps for Artemis II Rollout.https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-crawler-preps-for-artemis-ii-rollout/Mars Sample Return Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9G36CDLzIg&t=1sAustralian of the Yearhttps://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/25/astronaut-katherine-bennell-pegg-named-australian-of-the-year-for-2026
Feb 1
53 min
What's Up In The Sky? January 2026's Stellar Stargazing Guide
Happy New Year!This month, join the Please Look Up team for this special episode of reflection - looking back on our favourite moments from the year of 2025. Leon and Alyshia will be back in February well rested and ready to return to regular space news programming.But fear not! We wouldn't leave you without your monthly dose of space news. If you want to read about what's happening in the night sky in January, check out the latest 'The Sky Tonight,' on the Particle website.Just click this link: WA science. Done different. | Particle
Dec 31, 2025
30 min
What’s Up In The Sky? December’s Stellar Stargazing Guide
Join Leon and Alyshia in a look through the December night sky.Enjoy the last faint glimpses of the milky way for the year and cast your eyes instead on Jupiter which is shining brightly this month. If you whip out a telescope you may even be able to see Saturn and Neptune to add to your planet tally! And Pisces gives you your monthly dose of mythological family shenanigans.As for space news, the New Glenn rocket investigates Mars’ “absolutely spaghetti mess piss-weak magnetic field.”Important dates this month!December 5th - Super Full MoonDecember 14th - Geminids Meteor ShowerDecember 21 - Summer SolsticeTo see the space pictures of the month:Alyshia'sImage-1.jpg (640×800)Image-2.jpg (650×366)Leon'sExplosion-du-Booster-18-SpaceX-devra-repousser-le-vol-12-de-Starship-v3.jpg (800×533)
Dec 3, 2025
51 min
What's Up In The Sky? November's Stellar Stargazing Guide
Join Leon and guest host Alyshia as they rocket into the November night sky and explore all the latest space news including:Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No... it's a supermoon!Grab a mirror because November is the best month to look at Uranus.Leon's namesake meteor shower.It's raining space junk, but has anyone ever been hit by it?How Leon broke Scitech.Enjoy, and we'll see you next month to talk about the night sky in December.If you're at all interested in the pictures discussed throughout this audio medium, you can find them here:Lottie WilliamsAlyshia's space pictures of the month: Image 1 Image 2
Nov 1, 2025
49 min
What's Up In The Sky? October's Stellar Stargazing Guide!
What's up this month?The October sky is just like Leon's resting heart rate... chill as hell.There's still stuff to see though! The milky way, triangles (like, official ones, not just three random stars connected), meteors and not to mention it's the best time of year to see Mercury!Additionally, Leon and guest host Alyshia embark on side quests including but not limited to alleged alien sightings, menstruating in space and coming up with the worst puns possible.
Oct 1, 2025
45 min
What's Up In The Sky? September Stellar Stargazing Guide!
This episode containsSexual ReferencesCoarse Language viewer discretion advised Morgan joins Leon this episode, & asks all the hard hitting (not silly) questions. Theres a Total Eclipse of the Blood Moon to look out for. The oddly named Scutum is the constellation of the month & UY Scuti could swallow our entire solar system. Recapping the epic National Science week Mission Space project. Celebrating 10 years since the discovery of gravitational waves, listening to the ancient sounds of the universe & how we found a vintage playboy magazine containing a question about .... space junk?! For more space stuff check out Leon's Monthly Blog "The Sky Tonight"https://www.scitech.org.au/explore/the-sky-tonight/
Sep 4, 2025
51 min
What's Up In The Sky? August's Stellar Stargazing Guide!
The Night Sky!Stuff we will see: It's all about the Milkyway in August (just look up!)Stuff we won't see: Southern Hemisphere misses out on the Perseid meteor shower (lucky you if you're in the north!)Planets: Jupiter and Venus get close and personal in the morning of the 12th & 13th August. Something something optics, physics. Constellation of the Month: Norma - The Set Square. Beth gets constellation bias thinking about Norma and it's lack of greek mythology, but there's something mysterious hiding out there just beyond our view. called "the great attractor."Star Stories: Earth & it's many meanings to many peoples. Space Fail of the Month: An Artemis Rocket Booster went BOOM!Space Picture of the Month:- Beth - NASA Apollo mission patches https://particle.scitech.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/7995383large-1.jpg- Leon - Solid Rocket Boostershttps://particle.scitech.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/boosterstar.pngSpace Flight Focus: Gilmore Space - Eris 1 (Recorded before it launched and will feature more in our September episode)More space stuff: https://www.scitech.org.au/explore/the-sky-tonight/Science news from WA:WA science. Done different. | Particle
Jul 31, 2025
43 min
What's Up in the Sky? July's Stellar Stargazing Guide!
This week on Please Look Up, we’re climbing 2700 metres above sea level to check out a telescope so powerful it’ll basically binge watch the universe.The Vera Rubin Observatory has a 3.2 gigapixel camera (yes, gigapixel) and a mission to scan the entire night sky every three days for the next decade. Total cost? A cool $1 billion. Worth it? We think so.We unpack what this mega project means for science, why Vera Rubin never got a Nobel Prize (but should have), and how her work on dark matter changed the game.Also in this episode:July is peak Milky Way season so rug up, head outside and look upLearn to spot the Dark Emu, a brilliant Aboriginal constellation made of shadows, not starsVenus and Jupiter are stealing the morning show if you're up early enoughSpace junk is piling up with over 130 million bits of debris bigger than a centimetre floating around. We talk about why that matters and who’s keeping an eye on itStuff we mention:emudreaming.com – for more on Aboriginal astronomyscitech.org.au – if you want to keep learning locally
Jun 1, 2025
1 hr 7 min
June 2025: Wolves, Rockets, and the Great Stonehenge Conspiracy
Beth and Leon are back with your monthly galaxy guide and a cracking mix of cosmic banter, dodgy Latin puns, and eyebrow raising Aussie aerospace news recorded at SciTech on Whadjuk Noongar land.In this episode:What's Up This Month? [01:00] Beth and Leon spin left for winter skies, chasing the Milky Way across the southeast and spotting Venus on your morning coffee run.Constellation of the Month: [10:00] Tucked between showier neighbours, Lupus isn’t the flashiest, but it’s got myth, mystery, and a surprise link to Harry Potter. No, really.Solstice Shenanigans [20:00] The 21st brings the darkest day of the year (aka perfect stargazing). Beth explains how to track the Sun with your shadow—and why Esperance has the real Stonehenge.Spaceflight Focus: [30:00] Australia’s first homegrown orbital rocket launch… didn’t quite launch. Beth and Leon unpack the Gilmore Space Vegemite-fuelled debacle and remind us that nobody died, so it’s fine to laugh. A little.
May 31, 2025
59 min
May 2025: Moon Quarters, Lion Kings, and Neptune’s Festival
Join Leon and Beth for your monthly dose of stargazing tips, mythological deep dives, and cosmic commentary, recorded at SciTech on Whadjuk Noongar land.*Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and a survivor’s experience. This content occurs between 40:00 and 52:40.In this episode:What’s Up This Month? [01:00] Celebrate Star Wars Day by heading outside on May 4th at exactly 7:13pm! Beth and Leon walk us through how to spot a perfect first quarter moon, locate Mars, and catch the International Space Station fly directly between Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Also featuring: the tiny Canis Minor, and the surprisingly lion-like Leo constellation.Constellation of the Month: Leo the Lion [10:00] It’s Leon’s time to shine! The crew explores Leo, a constellation that actually resembles its namesake. Learn how to find it in the northern sky this month, how its stars form a backwards question mark, and how both ancient Greeks and Arab astronomers imagined the same great lion in the sky.Star Stories: The Nemean Lion and Regulus [20:10] Dive into the mythology behind Leo, including Hercules’ impossible battle against the Nemean Lion and the clever trick (or divine advice) that helped him skin the beast. Plus: Harry Potter trivia, the meanings behind Regulus and Denebola, and what Arabic star names reveal about ancient cross-cultural astronomy.Meteor Showers and Planet Gazing: The Eta Aquarids [33:40] Set your alarms! The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks in the early morning hours of May 5th and 6th. With the moon out of the way and meteors zipping by at 70 km/s, this is one of the best sky shows of the year. Bonus: look east to spot Venus, Saturn, and even distant Neptune (with a telescope).Star Stories II: Neptune the Freshwater God [40:55] Neptune wasn't always the god of the sea! Beth explains how this Roman deity originally ruled over springs and rivers, and only later took on Poseidon's oceanic identity. Hear about Neptunalia—the ancient summer festival of shade, wine, and cool water—and the odd tale of how Neptune ended up inside his father Saturn.Space Picture of the Month [TBA] …Was there one? Maybe. Possibly. We were distracted by imaginary sausage dogs in the sky. (Sorry, Canis Minor.)
Apr 30, 2025
1 hr 4 min
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