I took a ride on a moving radio telescope

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[zakiducky]

The part about the energy in the feather hitting the floor being larger than that collected by all radio telescopes ever was _genuinely_ mind blowing.

[danidotexe_]

John is a very enthusiastic and informative guide, and you can tell he absolutely loves his job. It's always so amazing to see such passionate people sharing what they love, and Tom's sheer indulgence in it is infectious. Another banger!

[thorflot]

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how good of a guide John is? Presenting technical (and quite elaborate) information in an easy to understand manner, coupled with little quirks and bits of trivia about the facility without skipping a beat. I assume he has done this many times, but wow! A round of applause!

[Its_Soph_ie]

the fact a feather hitting the floor is more energy than has even been collected from the stars is mind blowing to me, it's crazy how amazing technology is

[skullduggerry]

This is unreal, the scale of technology never fails to amaze me! Thank you for showcasing this!

[lovecraftianwalrus]

A few months ago my brother did an internship here, and when he came back the number 1 thing he talked about was how great John was and how cool it was to go out onto the dish. Honestly, I’m kinda jealous of him, what an amazing experience.

[davidberriman]

Tom as a seventy year old Australian I have to say I am very jealous. I have seen the dish from a distance but not up close and personal. Given the number of pieces you have produced featuring heights I find your continued apparent discomfort rather interesting. Please keep producing this material. I really enjoy your work.

[andrewwebb]

The idea that they can use the telescope itself as a giant crane is ingenious.

[paulhicks]

I’ve worked on a couple of programs about the dish, in 1984 and 2000, and apart from being able to crawl all over the structure etc, the most memorable part for me was chatting with the astrophysicists working there over dinner. Their descriptions of deep space etc blew my mind.

[leonpoole]

John is the perfect guide. His enthusiasm and the way he brings science to life in such an accessible way is amazing. Fantastic

[jimk]

“The amount of energy the feather expended when it struck the floor is more energy than has ever been collected by every radio telescope ever” what a mind boggling comparison!

[echoes]

I know it’s a small thing, but as a retrocomputing enthusiast seeing a mighty PDP-11 from DEC still “on duty” made my heart pump a tiny bit faster ❤

[AmunRa]

I love when Tom visits something like this and gets to get a tour from someone who is clearly very passionate about what they do.

[shakespeare]

Can we take a moment to appreciate the camera operator here, who not only kept tom perfectly in frame whilst descending a moving dish, but also kept the shot level whilst doing that, without a horizon!

[QuantumSngularity]

Man, i can listen to John explaining stuff about radars and dishes all day long and it will never get boring or hard to understand. The guy has A TON of charisma and you can sense that this is not only a job for him, it's a passion. Amazing bloke.

[banjofries]

This has to be one of the top 10 Tom Scott openings, the cold cut to Tom popping out of a manhole is too good

[Triairius]

I swear, Tom, the best thing you and your team does is find passionate experts on fascinating topics and simply let them shine.

[lachd]

I was incredibly lucky to walk on The Dish about 25 years ago at an Astronomy open day. It absolutely blew my mind as a young kid. This brought back some memories! Cracking video Tom

[JoeBleasdaleReal]

Immediately intrigued by Tom Scott emerging from his burrow like a science-obsessed badger, and then John held my attention for ten minutes. This is a top-tier Blue Peter segment!

[AFGuidesHD]

How the dish at that angle doesn't rip off from the building is quite interesting