BBC Astronomer Misses Meteor During Live Show

krou writes "BBC astronomer Mark Thompson wasn't having a good night for the BBC's Stargazing Live show. He turned to the camera to complain of poor cloud visibility and a lack of activity in the sky ... only for a meteor to shoot past in the background. A rather sheepish Thompson said, 'I must admit I was oblivious to it. I think I'm probably the only person in the entire country who didn't see it.' (YouTube video of the original live footage)."

And this is news?

[Kokuyo]

It wasn't even a stupid mistake on his part. This is like someone blinking just when someone else is taking a picture. Bad timing. Is this truly newsworthy?

Sowat?

[EEDAm]

He didn't turn round to the camera, he was facing the camera ready to deliver his lines on a live link. And so a meteor appears behind him with his back turned. So frigging what? There's no miss and no mistake, just a bloke looking the other way as he must to do his job. And the clouds are clearly visible in the video as well. Non-article in extremis.

Re:Wow, live stargazing is a TV show in England?

[Dr. Spork]

Look, I love astronomy far more than the average person, but live stargazing - especially in cloudy England - is just about the dullest thing I can think of to bring out what's interesting in the field. As the ancients noted, the stars basically do nothing if you watch them live. They admired this "permanence" and its contrast with the wanderings of the planets and the transience of events on Earth. But that's exactly why there is no point is watching the stars "live"!

Re:And this is news?

[MichaelSmith]

I think its pretty amazing that it was possible to see a meteor in the UK.

Daily Mail is moronic

[Phil Hands]

The last time I had the misfortune to have my brain polluted by a Daily Mail story was when sitting bored in a physio's waiting room.

Flipping the rag open at random, I see a headline something like:

    87% of Britons now members of a persecuted minority

this little nugget of wisdom had apparently been assembled by taking the percentages of various "minorities" and adding them all together.

The groups included:

    51% Women

*cough* minority?

and then:

    12% Single Mothers

[SubEd Are you sure we can simply add that number to the Women?] [Ed: yeah, no problem]