Look Up!

Every human who has ever lived has looked up at the night sky and wondered what they were looking at. This month, Gideon is joined by Royal Observatory Greenwich senior astronomer Tania de Sales Marques to celebrate the launch of The Sky We Share, a beautifully illustrated book of star stories from across the globe, written by Laura Knowles and illustrated by Marianna Ruiz Johnson. We also look ahead to the wider October programme at Royal Museums Greenwich.

Tania was the in-house consultant on the book, which draws on almost 30 consultants worldwide. She shares her journey from stargazing on an island off Macau to the Royal Observatory, and explains what cultural astronomy really is: living knowledge systems, not just stories. We also hear from two of the book's contributors, Imo Bell and Paulo Nuno Martins, on why sky stories matter and what people most often misunderstand about traditional astronomical knowledge.

In this episode:

How the same constellations, like Orion, inspire completely different stories around the world

The dark constellations of the Milky Way, including the Dark Emu

Why the Pleiades appear as sisters and wives in so many cultures

How light pollution, satellites and climate change are affecting sky knowledge

How to share stories respectfully when they aren't yours to tell

What to look for in the October sky: the Pleiades, best seen from 3 to 13 October, with a new moon on 10 October. Orion rises later in the season, and the full moon is on 26 October.

The Sky We Share is published on 15 October and is available in bookshops and at the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory.

https://shop.rmg.co.uk/products/the-the-sky-we-share-star-stories-from-around-the-world?srsltid=AU7gw4UifIh9Q5EsnHcmUdsODIx85xWfZaTqzFKhU2nm5u6SXJ6IjyWP

Look Up! is the podcast of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Keep looking up.

What’s in the night sky this September? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Gideon and Catherine cover this month’s must-see cosmic objects and events in this podcast. We bring on our fellow astronomer Tania de Sales Marques to answer a visitor question. As usual, our hosts also discuss this month’s cosmic news stories, including the story of the discovery of Neptune and where our germs might be able to survive on the Moon.

Got a question about space? Send it to us at [email protected] and our team of astronomers will answer it in next month’s podcast.

If you want to write in, our address is:

Astronomy Education Team

Royal Observatory Greenwich

Park Row, Greenwich,

London, SE10 9NF

What’s in the night sky this August? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Gideon and Catherine cover this month’s must-see cosmic objects and events in this podcast. As usual, our hosts also discuss this month’s cosmic news stories, including the Psyche mission and a major exoplanet discovery.

Got a question about space? Send it to us at [email protected] and our team of astronomers will answer it in next month’s podcast.

What’s in the night sky this July? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Gideon and Jess cover this month’s must-see cosmic objects and events in this podcast. As usual, our hosts also discuss this month’s cosmic news stories, including the Swift mission and ancient methods to track the Sun.

Got a question about space? Send it to us at [email protected] and our team of astronomers will answer it in next month’s podcast.

Jake Foster's 'Galaxies' book is available for pre-order: Galaxies: A Beginner’s Guide to Exploring Galaxies: https://shop.rmg.co.uk/products/galaxies-a-beginner-s-guide-to-exploring-galaxies-pb?_pos=1&_psq=galaxies&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Finding Carroll crater: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5646/

Read the accompanying blog: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/astronomy/night-sky-highlights-july-2026

What’s in the night sky this June? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Jess and Catherine cover this month’s must-see cosmic objects and events in this podcast. As usual, our hosts also discuss this month’s cosmic news stories, including the SMILE mission and the recent launch of SpaceX's Starship V3.

Got a question about space? Send it to us at [email protected] and our team of astronomers will answer it in next month’s podcast.

See the SMILE picture mentioned in the podcast here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile/Smile_factsheet2

What’s in the night sky in May? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Jess and Gideon cover this month’s must-see cosmic objects and events in this podcast. As usual, our hosts also discuss this month’s cosmic news story, with a special focus on the Artemis II mission.

Got a question about space? Send it to us at [email protected] and our team of astronomers will answer it in next month’s podcast.

Artemis 2 links discussed in the podcast:

Night-side of the Earth, and Venus, by Reid Wiseman: https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/fd02_for-pao/

Solar Eclipse from the far side of the Moon: https://www.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-art002e009301/

Artemis II captured from Earth by Bray Falls: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BbV6hWAqDLw

What’s in the night sky in April? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Jess and Catherine cover this month’s must-see cosmic objects and events in this podcast. As usual, our hosts also discuss this month’s cosmic news stories; the 25th anniversary of the end of the Mir Space station and new updates on the DART mission.

What's in the night sky in March? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Jess and Gideon talk through some of this month's must-see cosmic objects in this podcast. Also discussed are this month's cosmic news stories, an update on NASA's Artemis II mission and the latest on interstellar comet 3I/Atlas!

Dr Aileen Yingst is a planetary geologist working at the Planetary Science Institute. She came to visit us at the Royal Observatory Greenwich and shared some fascinating stories about Mars and the Moon. If you’re interested in the spacecraft investigating the Moon and Mars, and the life of a scientist who ‘talks’ to the Mars rovers daily, give this a listen!

What’s the night sky in February? Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Catherine and Gideon talk through some of this month’s must-see cosmic objects in this podcast. Also discussed are this month’s cosmic news stories, the expected launch of the Nancy Roman Space Telescope, and a meteor shower on Venus!