SKA space science documentary airs in Australia

BY ICRAR & BEAM ME UP MEDIA

The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) recently partnered with Perth-based production company Beam Me Up Media on a documentary exploring the scientific efforts behind establishing the SKA-Low telescope in Australia.

The Hidden Universe – Discovering the Square Kilometre Array, which aired nationwide in Australia earlier this year, welcomes viewers down under to southern skies for an Aussie space adventure. The programme is hosted by four space crusaders, including two ICRAR researchers, whose love of the night sky brings them together on an outback cosmic adventure from the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Perth, through Western Australia’s pristine dark skies, to the remote Murchison region where the SKA-Low telescope is being built.

RIGHT: Kat Ross, presenting at the at the SKA-Low prototype station on site.

Credit: ICRAR

With unprecedented access to the CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, the documentary explains the SKA project using vibrant imagery, time-lapse astrophotography, clever science animations and an immersive original soundtrack. The Hidden Universe also showcases Western Australia’s world-class dark night skies and how astronomers are working across the region to help protect this pristine night sky asset.

The programme entwines modern astronomy with ancient Aboriginal astronomy, revealing a deeper connection to the glittering stars overhead. Around a campfire, local Aboriginal people share their ancient art of stargazing through a rich tapestry of dreamtime stories.

From the comfort of their living rooms, viewers can hitch a ride and traverse wild outback landscapes and mysterious regions of space, as the hidden Universe is revealed.

Viewers in Australia can watch The Hidden Universe on Seven Plus.

The show’s four presenters, Kat Ross, Dr Luke Davies, Donna Vanzetti, and Dan Paris, at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, Western Australia.

Credit: ICRAR