Looking Up

By Fine Music Radio

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Subscribers: 8
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 150

Description

Five minutes at the end of each week explores the big and the small questions in astronomy, cosmology, and space science. Hosted by Kechil Kirkham, no subject is too big or too small, and experts are regularly brought on board to illuminate and excite. Cape Town is the place to be for astronomy, with some of the largest telescopes in the world housed or being built not too far away. Looking Up takes advantage of the shoals of scientists and engineers working on the planet’s most advanced astronomy projects, who live and work right here in the Mother City. Kechil has recently acquired an MPhil in Space Studies at the University of Cape Town, and works in South Africa’s space industry on the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.

Episode Date
Looking Up - 10 Dec 25 - Gerhard Swart, SKA
Dec 10, 2025
Looking Up - 03 Dec 25 - Kathryn Rosie, Mechanical Engineer at SAAO
Dec 03, 2025
Looking Up - 26 Nov 25 - John Woodland describes Follow That Star
Nov 26, 2025
Looking Up - 19 Nov 25 - Dr Danièl Groenwald, Astronomy Operations Manager
Nov 19, 2025
Looking Up - 12 Nov 25 - The Southern African Large Telescope
Nov 12, 2025
Looking Up - 05 Nov 25 - Prof Todd Tripp
Nov 05, 2025
Looking Up - 29 Oct 25 - Prof Peter Dunsby, astrotourism project.
Oct 29, 2025
Looking Up - 22 Oct 25 - Humans do strange things
Oct 22, 2025
Looking Up - 15 Oct 25 - 3 Comets
Oct 15, 2025
Looking Up - 08 Oct 25 - Low frequency gravitational waves
Oct 08, 2025
Looking Up - 01 Oct 25 - Prof Jessica Dempsey, Director General Square Kilometer Array
Oct 01, 2025
Looking Up - 24 Sept 25 - Fast Radio Bursts
Sep 24, 2025
Looking Up - 17 Sept 25 - The Mars Perseverance rover
Sep 17, 2025
Looking Up - 10 Sept 25 - Dr Sushant Dutta performs post-mortems of radio galaxies
Sep 10, 2025
Looking Up - 03 Sept 25 - Molecular Hydrogen, Plus a lunar eclipse on 7th September.
Sep 03, 2025
Looking Up - 27 Aug 25 - Anti-matter
Aug 27, 2025
Looking Up - 20 Aug 25 - Karen Lee-Waddell, the director of the Australian SKA
Aug 20, 2025
Looking Up - 13 Aug 25 - Dr Anna Bosman, computer scientist
Aug 13, 2025
Looking Up - 06 Aug 25 - JUICE spacecraft
Aug 06, 2025
Looking Up - 30 July 25 - Where is all the matter in the universe?
Jul 30, 2025
Looking Up - 23 July 25 - What about Uranus?
Jul 23, 2025
Looking Up - 16 July 25 - Machine learning in astronomy.
Jul 16, 2025
Looking Up - 09 July 25 - FMR's John Woodland
Jul 09, 2025
Looking Up - 02 July 25 - Dr Karen Lee-Waddell, Director of the AusSRC.
Jul 02, 2025
Looking Up - 25 June 25 - The amazing Vera C Rubin telescope has switched on!
Jun 25, 2025
Looking Up - 18 June 25 - The Place of the Stars
Jun 18, 2025
Looking Up - 11 June 25 - Professor Oleg Smirnov and Kechil talk more about PARROT pulsar
Jun 11, 2025
Looking Up - 04 June 25 - Distinguished Prof. Oleg Smirnov talks to Kechil
Jun 04, 2025
Looking Up - 28 May 25 - The Blue Danube in space!
May 28, 2025
Looking Up - 21 May 25 - What is an AGN? And What is an inactive black hole?
May 21, 2025
Looking Up - 14 May 25 - What's up now that winter's here?
May 14, 2025
Looking Up - 07 May 25 - Nic Erasmus Part 2
May 07, 2025
Looking Up - 30 Apr 25 - IAA Planetary Defence conference in Stellenbosch
Apr 30, 2025
Looking Up - 23 Apr 25 - What to do if asteroids get too close ?
Apr 23, 2025
Looking Up - 16 Apr 25 - Would you like to hear the sound of star clusters?
Apr 16, 2025
Looking Up - 09 Apr 25 - Kechil talks to Sam Wilson, author of The First Murder on Mars
Apr 09, 2025
Looking Up - 02 Apr 25 - Sam Wilson, author of The First Murder on Mars
Apr 02, 2025
Looking Up - 26 Mar 25 - Saturn's rings have disappeared!
Mar 26, 2025
Looking Up - 19 Mar 25 - What are the differences between the northern and southern hemispheres?
Mar 19, 2025
Looking Up - 12 Mar 25 - The Moon belongs to everyone, the best things in life are free
Mar 12, 2025
Looking Up - 05 Mar 25 - Planetary alignments and Blue Ghost
Mar 05, 2025
Looking Up - 26 Feb 25 - Dr Rosalind Skelton, Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory
Feb 26, 2025
Looking Up - 19 Feb 25 - How does an astronomer become an ambassador ?
Feb 19, 2025
Looking Up - 12 Feb 25 - Samples returned from the asteroid Bennu
Feb 12, 2025
Looking Up - 05 Feb 25 - Who would've thought that the Graeco-Roman Goddess of Hinges would be revived
Feb 05, 2025
Looking Up - 29 Jan 25 - How do you look at black holes?
Jan 29, 2025
Looking Up - 22 Jan 25 - Roundup of currently visible planets
Jan 22, 2025
Looking Up - 15 Jan 25 - New Year on Mars: what might it look like?
Jan 15, 2025
Looking Up - 08 Jan 25 - Kechil talks to Shamin Doman
Jan 08, 2025
Looking Up - 01 Jan 25 - What is time?
Jan 01, 2025
Looking Up - 25 Dec 24 - What was the Star of Bethlehem?
Dec 25, 2024
Looking Up - 18 Dec 24 - Visit the Observatory for a tour!
Dec 18, 2024
Looking Up - 11 Dec 24 - Kechil caught up with Prof Phil Charles
Dec 11, 2024
Looking Up - 03 Dec 24 - Australian indigenous astronomy
Dec 04, 2024
Looking Up - 27 Nov 24 - Kechil reports on the latest plans by the European Space Agency
Nov 27, 2024
Looking Up - 20 Nov 24 - Kechil talks to Ramesh Bhat in Australia
Nov 20, 2024
Looking Up - 13 Nov 24 - The 2025 Sky Guide Southern Africa is out now
Nov 13, 2024
Looking Up - 06 Nov 24 - Distinguished radio astronomer Ron Ekers talks to Kechil in Perth
Nov 06, 2024
Looking Up - 30 Oct 24 - Spookiness in space!
Oct 30, 2024
Looking Up - 23 Oct 24 - Kechil is back in South Africa after visiting astronomers in Perth, Australia
Oct 23, 2024
Looking Up - 16 Oct 24 - Kechil interviews Dr Rajan Chhetri in Perth, Australia
Oct 16, 2024
Looking Up - 09 Oct 24 - Kechil caught up with Jordan Collier in Perth, Australia
Oct 09, 2024
Looking Up - 02 Oct 24 - Dr Knicole Colon of the James Webb Space Telescope - Part 2
Oct 02, 2024
Looking Up - 25 Sept 24 - Dr Knicole Colon of the James Webb Space Telescope - Part 1
Sep 25, 2024
Looking Up - 18 Sept 24 - Kechil gives a round-up of upcoming eclipses
Sep 18, 2024
Looking Up - 11 Sept 24 - A candy floss planet!
Sep 11, 2024
Looking Up - 04 Sept - Ranpal Gill works on the engineering side of a new massive survey telescope
Sep 04, 2024
Looking Up - 28 Aug 24 - Liquid water has been found on Mars
Aug 28, 2024
Looking Up - 21 Aug 24 - Professor Phil Charles
Aug 20, 2024
Looking Up - 14 Aug 24 - What is dark matter and what is dark energy?
Aug 14, 2024
Looking Up - 07 Aug 24 - The International Astronomical Union's General Assembly
Aug 07, 2024
Looking Up - 10 July 24 - More about asteroids
Jul 10, 2024
Looking Up - Last Sunday was International Asteroid Day
Jul 03, 2024
Looking Up - 26 June 24 - Why do stars spin? What sets them off?
Jun 26, 2024
Looking Up - 19 June 24 - Even NASA slips up in its communications
Jun 19, 2024
Looking Up - 12 June 24 - What do things in the universe taste like?
Jun 12, 2024
Looking Up - 05 June 24 - Voyager1 continues to deliver
Jun 05, 2024
Looking Up - 29 May 24 - How can the Sun affect our weather, aside from its obvious heat ?
May 29, 2024
Looking Up - 22 May 24 - Kechil talks to the Director of the Solar Section of the Astronomical Society of SA
May 22, 2024
Looking Up - 15 May 24 - 55 Cancri e is an odd one
May 15, 2024
Looking Up - 08 May 24 - New Boeing Starliner capsule
May 08, 2024
Looking Up - 01 May 24 - K2-18 b
May 01, 2024
Looking Up - 24 April 24 - 49 new galaxies detected by Dr Marcin Glowacki
Apr 24, 2024
Looking Up - 17 April 24 - Fast Radio Bursts
Apr 17, 2024
Looking Up - 10 April 24 - PhD student Venu Prayag shares his interest in technosignatures
Apr 10, 2024
Looking Up - 03 April 24 - There will be a solar eclipse on 8 April
Apr 03, 2024
Looking Up - 27 Mar 24 - So many satellites
Mar 27, 2024
Looking Up - 13 Mar 24 - Leeuwenboschfontein Observatory
Mar 13, 2024
Looking Up - 28 Feb 24 - Landing on the Moon is tricky
Feb 28, 2024
Looking Up - 21 Feb 24 - Professor Matthew Bailes from Swinburne University of Technology
Feb 21, 2024
Looking Up - 14 Feb 24 - Raoul Coetzee, creator of the Carina image
Feb 14, 2024
Looking Up - 07 Feb 24 - Carina nebula
Feb 07, 2024
Looking Up - 31 Jan 24 - JAXA's Moon mission
Jan 31, 2024
Looking Up - 24 Jan 24 - Evolution of galaxies in clusters
Jan 24, 2024
Looking Up - 17 Jan 24 - Missions to the Moon launching this year
Jan 17, 2024
Looking Up - 10 Jan 24 - Cocktail Party Problems in Space
Jan 10, 2024
Looking Up - 03 Jan 24 - Fun Facts about the Mantis Moon
Jan 03, 2024
Looking Up - 27 Dec 23 - The turn of the Springbok Moon
Dec 27, 2023
Looking Up - 20 Dec 23 - Professor John Compton describes what we know about the Geology of Planets
Dec 20, 2023
Looking Up - 13 Dec 23 - The History of Astronomy in Cape Town
Dec 13, 2023
Looking Up - 06 Dec 23 - Matter does escape from black holes
Dec 06, 2023
Looking Up - 29 Nov 23 - Professor John Compton talks to Kechil about his latest book
Nov 29, 2023
Looking Up - 22 Nov 23 - The worthy and wonderful Sky Guide Southern Africa 2024
Nov 22, 2023
Looking Up - 01 Nov 23 - Particle accelerators,Space Endeavours
Nov 01, 2023
Looking Up - 25 Oct 23 - Historical records of the Sun's cycles
Oct 25, 2023
Looking Up - 18 Oct 23 - Kechil interviews director Dane Dodds
Oct 18, 2023
Looking Up - 11 Oct 23 - Migratory bird vagrancy
Oct 11, 2023
Looking Up - 4 Oct 23 - Sounds in space!
Oct 04, 2023
Looking Up - 20 Sept 23 - Have we detected a sign of life on an exoplanet?
Sep 20, 2023
Looking Up - 13 Sept 23 - What is a Silent Barker?
Sep 13, 2023
Looking Up - 6 Sept 23 - Kechil talks to astronomer Itumeleng Monageng
Sep 06, 2023
Looking Up - 30 Aug 23 - Kechil talks to astronomer Itumeleng Monageng
Aug 30, 2023
Looking Up - 23 Aug 23 - Kechil talks to astronomer Itumeleng Monageng
Aug 23, 2023
Looking Up - 16 Aug 23 - Kechil talks to astronomer Itumeleng Monageng
Aug 16, 2023
Looking Up - 9 Aug 23 - Kechil talks to astronomer Itumeleng Monageng
Aug 09, 2023
Looking Up - 02 Aug 23 - You too can be a scientist
Aug 02, 2023
Looking Up - 26 July 23 - Will South Africa send astronauts to the International Space Station
Jul 26, 2023
Looking Up - 05 July 23 - cfah.org.za is the website about Heritage Moons
Jul 05, 2023
Looking Up - 28 June 23 - Why is space engineering boring
Jun 28, 2023
Looking Up - 14 June 23 - China has plans to send people to the Moon
Jun 14, 2023
Looking Up - 31 May 23 - Saturns rings are disappearing!
May 31, 2023
Looking Up - 24 May 23 - The British are about to knit a satellite
May 24, 2023
Looking Up - 17 May 23 The Voyager missions are hurtling into interstellar space
May 17, 2023
Looking Up - 10 May 23 Space-X's Starlink programme
May 10, 2023
Looking Up - 03 May 23 You too can be a scientist
May 03, 2023
Looking Up - 26 Apr 23 Sara de la Fuente is the Science Operations Manager
Apr 26, 2023
Looking Up - 19 Apr 23 Two important rockets to talk about
Apr 19, 2023
Looking Up - 12 Apr 23 The Earth, and every other object we know in space
Apr 12, 2023
Looking up - 05 Apr 23 More NEOs, or Near Earth Objects
Apr 05, 2023
Looking Up - 29 Mar 23 Kechil talks to Dr Chris Pearson
Mar 29, 2023
Looking Up - 22 Mar 23 Dr Chris Pearson tells Kechil about the scary Event Horizon
Mar 22, 2023
Looking Up - 15 Mar 23 Black holes! What are they?
Mar 15, 2023
Looking Up - 08 March 23 Kechil talks to Louisa Quartermaine from Perth
Mar 08, 2023
Looking Up - 01 March 23 There is a pretty conjunction of Venus and Jupiter
Mar 01, 2023
Looking Up - 22 Feb 23 A reminder that the observatory has open nights on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month
Feb 22, 2023
Looking Up - 15 Feb 23 There is a pretty chain of planets to be seen after sunset at this time
Feb 15, 2023
Looking Up - 08 Feb 23 Last Sunday the US shot down a Chinese balloon
Feb 08, 2023
Looking Up - 01 Feb 23 Kechil unpacks the Skittles image from the James Webb Space Telescope
Feb 01, 2023
Looking Up - 25 Jan 23 Pamela Kassen, an astronomer from Edinburgh, is here in Cape Town
Jan 25, 2023
Looking Up - 18 Jan 23 A satellite launch recently failed from the UK on 9th January
Jan 18, 2023
LOOKING UP - 11 JAN 23 There is a comet arriving in our neighbourhood
Jan 11, 2023
Looking Up - 28 Dec 22 How is it that the Earth is not the center of the solar system?
Dec 28, 2022
Looking Up - 14 Dec 22 The Orion capsule splashed down last Sunday
Dec 14, 2022
Looking Up - 07 Dec 22 Sumari Barocci-Faul, a Masters student at the University of Cape Town
Dec 07, 2022
Looking Up - 30 Nov 22 Great balls of fire!
Nov 30, 2022
Looking Up - 23 Nov 22 Chris Forder has spent a lifetime building telescopes
Nov 23, 2022
Looking Up - 16 Nov 22 South Africa is to host a ground station for NASA
Nov 16, 2022
Looking Up - 09 Nov 22
Nov 09, 2022
Looking Up - 02 Nov 22 Kechil mentions a couple of new space engineering endeavours
Nov 02, 2022
Looking Up - 26 Oct 22 An ancient text has been found and accurately dated
Oct 26, 2022