A Trip Around The Sun
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. |
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Listen to Peter Gallagher:
“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 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.
More on the series at the A Trip Around the Sun webpage
Listen to some of the voices behind the project:
A Trip Around the Sun is produced by Helen Shaw, audio editor is Pearse Ó Caoimh and the digital editor is John Howard.
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.