BBC OU star party

Don't know if this has already been mentioned, but for those who may not
have heard here's the press release below.

ALL NIGHT STAR PARTY: A LIVE TV EXTRAVAGANZA
FROM THE OPEN UNIVERSITY AND THE BBC
Imagine a viewer steering a giant telescope thousands of miles away to see
the icecaps of Mars or a spectacular galaxy deep in the Universe. Or
imagine them tracking dramatic gas clouds and impressive galaxies, guided by
some of the UK's foremost astronomers.
A special Open University live programme for BBC Two, All Night Star Party
(to be shown in late August 2003) will hand over some of Britain's largest
telescopes to viewers so they can see for themselves the full splendour and
violence to be found in the Universe - live and as it happens.
The timing of the programme is ideal:
? Mars is closer to Earth than at any time in the last 60,000 years;
? Britain's Beagle 2 Mars lander, brainchild of Prof Colin Pillinger from
the Open University, is on its way to search for signs of life on the Red
Planet.
The Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory in Cheshire is the venue for this space
extravaganza, which will be staged to coincide with National Astronomy Week.
It's home to the newly refurbished 76metre Lovell Radio Telescope, which
could detect a mobile phone 220million miles away.
Meanwhile, 3000metres up on the edge of a volcanic mountain on La Palma in
the Canary Islands, astronomy presenter Dr Chris Riley will hand over the
giant Isaac Newton Telescope to viewers to take a closer look at galaxies
and planets. m/f
-2-
In a parallel observing event, viewers using the internet will be able to
target other research telescopes around the world.
Producer Peter Brown says: "Not only is Mars at its closest for thousands of
years, but there are also spiral galaxies, exploding suns and spectacular
swirling gas clouds where stars are born to be seen. We may even glimpse an
approaching comet. The radio telescope will listen to 'ticking' pulsars and
other weird wonders and will even listen for signs of extra-terrestrial life
as part of its work for the Searching for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
project.
"The programme also hopes to make an exciting new discovery during the
event. We'll be challenging amateur astronomers to find a hitherto unknown
asteroid while the programme is on air, which will serve as a chilling
reminder that there are countless fragments of rock floating around out
there. We're sure the programme will bring home the passion of Britain's
professional and amateur sky-watchers and capture the elation of discovery
in space science."

EDITOR'S NOTES
All Night Star Party is an Open University-funded production for the BBC,
produced by BBC Popular Features in conjunction with PPARC, the funding body
for UK physics and astronomy. The programme producer is Peter Brown.
Executive producer for the BBC is Jack Weber and programme executive for the
Open University is Chris Palmer. The programme's academic consultant is Dr
Sean Ryan, of the Open University.
Exact transmission details for the programme will be released in early
August. Further details about the programme and its themes will be available
from the All Night Star Party website at www.open2.net, which will be live
from mid-August. Stills are available from
http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/image-bank/programmes.asp