In the latest from the Documentary On Newstalk Series, we join Dublin man Peter Gallagher as he sets out to build a radio telescope in Ireland.
“It just so happens that the Sun is a lovely laboratory for testing physics”– Peter Gallagher, Professor in Astrophysics/Associate Dean of Research (TCD)
Peter Gallagher is a man obsessed with the Sun and his drive to understand it has put Ireland at the cutting edge of international space research. In this audio documentary series, supported by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and Newstalk, Athena Media, across two years, tracks Gallagher’s journey to build a radio telescope in Ireland. Gallagher’s LOFAR (Low-Frequency Array) telescope connects with a European network to provide a coordinated tool for observing space, allowing researchers to ‘see’ back to the Big Bang and to explore the universe for new planets, as well as understand sun flares, eruptions on the Sun, which can affect our daily lives.
Peter Gallagher is a Dubliner who says his career in astrophysics came not from a brilliant Leaving Certificate in Physics (which he didn’t get!) but from a driving curiosity to understand the world and how it works. He says his father’s job as a fitter influenced him in that as a kid he went with his Dad on jobs and got to understand how engines worked. His engineering mind led him to a science degree in UCD where he met his wife, fellow scientist Emma Teeling, but while Emma became a geneticist Peter fell in love with space and with the endless opportunities that space provides for discovery and exploration.
BROADCAST TIMES:
‘A Trip Around The Sun' is a two-part series. It will be broadcast on Newstalk 106-108fm on the following dates:
Sunday 8th April 7am: A Trip Around The Sun Episode 1
Saturday 14th April 9pm: A Trip Around The Sun Episode 1(repeat)
Sunday 15th April 7am: A Trip Around The Sun Episode 2
Saturday 21st April 9pm: A Trip Around The Sun Episode 2 (repeat)
PODCAST: The podcast will be available at http://www.newstalk.com/documentaryonnewstalk after the broadcast.
CREDITS: A Trip Around the Sun is an Athena Media production for Newstalk made with the funding support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the TV licence fee.
A Trip Around the Sun is produced by Helen Shaw, audio editor is Pearse Ó Caoimh and the digital editor is John Howard. The series features the story and work of astrophysicist Professor Peter Gallagher, and his research team at Trinity College Dublin and the LOFAR Ireland observatory at Birr Castle, CO Offaly.
