I took a ride on a moving radio telescope

The Parkes Radio Telescope, Murriyang, part of CSIRO, is one of the most famous telescopes in the world: and it's got a unique way of getting equipment up and down from the central section. ▪ More about the Telescope: www.csiro.au/en/about/facilit...
Edited by Michelle Martin / mrsmmartin
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[@TomScottGo]

And now, a blatant plug for the podcast I host, Lateral! Episodes with William Osman, Simone Giertz, Devin "Legal Eagle" Stone, and loads more people are over at lateralcast.com - and there are highlights at kzbin.info !

[@eldredo2482]

awesome

[@chyavanavinash]

ok

[@h-Films]

until full visual episodes come to KZbin im not listening

[@trailerhater]

I really enjoy Lateral. Keep up the great work.

[@minorii24]

Nice.

[@ScrungleGaming]

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

[@SeanBZA]

Also remember that the signal coming from Voyager is so weak that they can barely receive it with those massive dishes, and the communications back are done using multiple hundreds of kilowatts of power, sent via the same dish, and the spacecraft will only get them more than 24 hours later, and reply also 24 hours later on. Also the voyager spacecraft were never actually designed to last that long, they were actually spare Mariner spacecraft bodies that got a massive antenna grafted on to allow communications, then a RTG instead of solar panels, and thus were sent out. Now down to a little over 200W of power for use on the spacecraft, so by around 2030 they will no longer have enough power left to transmit high speed data, and soon after that will lose all transmit power, though the computer will continue to operate, and keep the spacecraft aimed at the sun for decades afterwards, but will be mute.

[@gameseeker6307]

@@SeanBZA like in death Hearing goes last

[@davidioanhedges]

@@SeanBZA ..Voyager's dish and power were deliberately designed to be a small as possible, so the signal was only just strong enough to be detected - it has a fiendish error correction protocol to try and compensate which is why the images take so long to download - it is an extremely weak signal to start with (just not by today's standards)

[@SeanBZA]

@@davidioanhedges Yes it is small, but by the standards for the Mariner probes it was based off it was huge, and the error correction was designed to be as robust as possible, but also as simple to implement in the spacecraft as well, as complexity at the time came with added mass, and you had an overall maximum launch mass you could not exceed. Thus the panels were made from Beryllium aluminium alloy, milled as thin as possible in low stress areas, and milled away completely where not needed, just to avoid the mass of a rivet to hold a gusset in place. Remember at this time digital decoding was done using discrete chips, or using massive computers, so to put the error correction and forward error correction in the probe they had to choose between robustness, data rate and mass, choose one, because mass is the severe limit. Even the digital data recorder was special, because it had to survive in a vacuum, and it still does work now, that design and the tapes are still holding up.

[@RFC-3514]

Not "from the stars". We get quite a bit more energy than that from a single star in a second. Just _for the purposes of radio astronomy._

[@AFGuidesHD]

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

[@AFGuidesHD]

Unless the building is mostly thick concrete and the bricks are just décor essentially

[@kennichdendenn]

@@AFGuidesHD if I understood correctly, its not resting on the building, but the separate central column which seems to be made out of a pipe-shaped steel outer layer and a massive steel core column.

[@boogusnutsack5926]

@@AFGuidesHD Like the guide said in the video, the dish and the central column supporting it have their own foundation and are not connected to the building, the building is entirely aesthetics to house personal and equipment.

[@richardmillhousenixon]

The dish is on a separate foundation from the rest of the building, they mentioned that in the video.

[@duudiiss]

5:23

[@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!

[@PrograError]

probably had a quite a bit of school trips over the years...

[@GTA_Maverickx]

As someone who visited this telescope last year and had this legend as our guide I can agree

[@soundscape26]

Yep, totally agree.

[@LionHeartSamy]

Yup, the fact that he's using comparisons to give his audience a sense of how large things are tells me he's been doing this for a long while

[@ChemEDan]

He needs his own... radio show.

[@lovecraftianwalrus4490]

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.

[@mollusckscramp4124]

That's so cool! What was the internship for?

[@RandomOnes_]

How does this have 229 likes but only one reply?

[@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.

[@jaybehkay2438]

That’s WILD

[@Technodreamer]

Like staring at the shadow on the wall and being able to tell that someone lit a match, miles away.

[@biggusmunkusthegreat]

I still have the video paused contemplating this fact. I had to replay it a few times to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding him. That's a *crazy* piece of information. EDIT: Followed up by the cell phone on the moon's surface bit. I had no idea we were talking those scales.

[@jettnash5217]

Genuinely mind blowing, it shows just how much information we're missing! We've learnt so much from such a small amount of data!

[@jonnym4670]

and the aliens are still able to hide themselves from the mess we call humanity

[@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!

[@Shmak1]

Just wanted to say that, it seems he has been waiting his whole life to do this presentation.

[@heroulttengu762]

He really knows, how to show this telescope!

[@glomann]

i especially love how he had a feather ready ( 2:30 ) for occasions like this, you really can tell he loves his job

[@donovan5154]

I got that impression immediately. Didn’t seem even slightly bothered at all!

[@TheMightyAgency]

John needs to make sure to file his TPS Report on time.

[@paulhicks3595]

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.

[@sixstringedthing]

There's something about spending time among people with planet-sized brains which simultaneously makes you feel smarter but also makes you feel very basic. :)

[@QuantumS1ngularity]

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.

[@andrewwebb3431]

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

[@dangeary2134]

No doubt! I never thought about having the edge of the scope go down to get the equipment into the dish. But then, I should have thought of it. I’ve used the power of a piece of heavy equipment to help assemble and disassemble itself!

[@bachaddict]

@@dangeary2134 Mobile crane? I think self-assembling cranes are such a cool design principle

[@alex0589]

like treebeard picking up a hobbit

[@sino_diogenes]

Makes perfect sense, too! You already have an extremely robust and heavyweight piece of machinery to lift things high up, why not use it?

[@mehere8038]

typical Aussie thinking :) We invent a lot of stuff cause of this sort of style of thinking. Why work hard if there's an easier way to acheive the same result :)

[@skullduggerry]

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

[@kingloser4198]

built in the 1950s too

[@mastan7773]

Tell me that you didn't watch the whole video without telling me

[@davidroddini1512]

The scale? No. This video is about a telescope, not a scale. 😉

[@supernatural_forces]

No sophisticated technology reaches a state of complexity until it becomes indistinguishable from magic. Anyways, have a look at the concept of Fundamental Constants. You'll be amazed at the precisions in Creation. Everything in the Universe is determined by special forces called fundamental constants which are unbelievably precise. For eg. -: If the rate of expansion of the Universe would have changed only by just one part in a quintillion after the Big Bang, a quintillion is one with 18 zeros after it, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000, the Universe would have continued to expand or collapsed back on itself. How the Atmosphere (various layers) protects the Earth from destruction from meteorites is again amazing. Solar Flare which occur frequently from the Sun ☀️ has energy equivalent to 100 billion Atomic Bombs which was dropped on Hiroshima couldn't destroy Life on Earth 🌍 due to Van Allen Radiation Belt. The centre of gravitational force could have existed anywhere on the Universe which is supposedly 13.5 billion Light Years Big but it only exists at the right place that's why Life is possible. Scientists say, if it is shifted/ moved even 1 inch compared to 13.5 billion light years length of the Universe, the effects would be catastrophic & it would wreck the Universe. So, everything is on the knife edge.

[@princecuddle]

Scale of technology? Look at the great pyramids they're not just burial tombs. Look into it.

[@lachd2261]

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

[@destroyergordon7540]

This feels so nostalgic to watch as I remember going to the Dish for work experience in school with John. Got to use the telescope to collect some data from a neutron star. I recommend people to visit it.

[@gikle8354]

Haha I did the same thing was a great experience

[@davidberriman5903]

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.

[@maltava4534]

One of these days you should just go down there, ask questions, and see if you can do some of these types of things! People that do this kind of work are very passionate and sharing that passion with others is one of the joys of life!

[@christine4223]

I agree. You would be surprised at what you may be able to do if you simply ask.

[@diegopescia9602]

And don't forget to turn off your mobile phone

[@frankmusgrove8498]

As David Berrimans relative, i once broke a dish after dinner into hundreds of pieces that i had to pick up and he told me he wasnt jealous while up close and personal....

[@francistaylor1822]

@@diegopescia9602 don't matter on maint day I would expect

[@leonpoole7952]

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

[@AdamIannazzone]

You might say that he was *stellar*

[@razorwork1]

We all know the only reason why Tom was in Parkes was for the Elvis Festival hahaha

[@robertneeds1919]

John be like : "If it ain't broken, we ain't fixin' it!"

[@KarlEller]

He probably appreciated having a genuinely receptive audience, too, rather than a bunch of hyped up school kids.

[@DocTinfoil]

I LOVE this telescope so much! For my 40th birthday in 1999, my 2 daughters asked "Dad, what's THE most important place you want to visit?" - So... here we went! ...Also, "The Dish" (by director Rob Sitch) is perhaps THE most gentle, kind, quirky, fun, and lovely little movie ever made♥♥♥

[@echoes89]

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 ❤

[@Triairius]

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

[@joeturner7959]

Yes, this guy, while rather matter of fact, was also BRILLIANT with his explanations.

[@Coastfog]

Totally, such a well crafted way of telling stories.

[@AmunRa1]

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.

[@cucuawe465]

Also good sense of humour too

[@ricoparadiso]

✝️ LORD JESUS DIED & ROSE AGAIN TO PAY THE DEBT OF UR SIN! ✅By Faith in the sacrifice God has made are we saved from the penalty of sin! 🔵Turn from your sin that leads to death & accept His Gift that leads to eternal Life! 💜We are all sinners that need God. No one can say they are perfect to be able to pay their debt of sin. This is why only God could pay the penalty for us, that is merciful Love!

[@louisgordon4388]

His explanation of how a phone on the moon would be the brightest signal really puts into perspective how much data SIGINT planes can capture

[@rh9909]

2:01 That a true engineer speaking for sure

[@jimk8520]

“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!

[@MistaGSpecialEducation]

Imagine theres an alien radio wave that hit directly at Tom at the time

[@Whiskypapa]

It was such a simple yet superbly powerful demonstration.

[@DennisGr]

no wonder a smartphone, which emits radiation in the order of milliwatts, shines as bright as a bonfire to a telescope like this, even when placed on the moon.

[@Fleischgewehr]

I'm not sure about every radio telescope, but there are some you can't even use cars with spark plugs around because the spark to start the combustion will get picked up. The Green Bank Observatory over in West Virginia has to keep a little fleet of diesel cars to navigate the grounds.

[@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

[@origami5834]

In fact, I think Tom should do more of those

[@MargaretUK]

Totally agree! 👍

[@ValouIka]

"Hey, Tom Scott here! Do radio waves actually exists?"

[@Panticle]

I loved that. I remember years ago, seeing a programme where a guy was going up to change the aircraft warning light at the top of the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, and he went up inside, on increasingly narrow and rickety spiral stairs, and the opened a door, and it cut to the view from below, and it was a tiny little hatch right at the top of the spire.

[@cyberwomble7524]

Should've been accompanied with a Clanger's whistle.

[@wildbill7267]

As an asbestos expert from the NY City area, I approve of the Australian asbestos warning sign! Love to see how asbestos is regulated around the world. If you had a video on asbestos in your travels, I’d definitely be interested!

[@petertaylor4980]

I presume you've seen his video from the town of Asbestos?

[@Myne1001]

I highly suggest people watch the film 'The Dish'. It's a comedic take about the telescope's role in the Apollo Moon Landing. The scene where they play cricket in the dish itself is one of the most iconic scenes in all of cinema.

[@mehere8038]

I need to rewatch it, I thought it was golf they played, but cricket probably makes more sense. The scene where they've lost the link with the rocket that's travelling to the moon & freak out becasue how are they going to get it back, cause the sky's WAY too big to scan to find the signal within the next few days, only to realise they can maybe narrow down roughly where to point the telescope to find the rocket is my favourite

[@krashd]

@@mehere8038 Not seen the film yet but if I was looking to locate something heading between Earth and the Moon and I was on Earth I would point my telescope at the moon.

[@mehere8038]

@@krashd yup :) The way they did it was great though, as one of them looks up as they realise that & says something to the others "hey guys........ I think I know where it is" or something & points & they all look up & then the camera cuts to the moon in the sky. Probably doesn't come across in reading, but the comic timing in the film makes it really work :)

[@upside_you_mop]

I should

[@shakespeare5215]

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!

[@Interruptor7]

most modern cameras have levels, that's why the operator managed to keep the horizon

[@thoregrimm6042]

The camera operator was holding a GoPro 360° camera with which you can do all that in post-processing. Not to discredit them, it's just the solution that makes the most sense for that situation.

[@Ducky69247]

Plus Jack is literally holding a camera on a gimbal 🤷‍♂️

[@joebonomono5078]

Flinging whilst as you do.

[@Llorx]

This guy is still living in the 60's xD

[@joebleasdale5557]

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!

[@zyeborm]

Did he see his own shadow though? Or are we cursed with another decade of anti science rhetoric? ;-)

[@buizelmeme6288]

Someone should draw tom scott as a badger!

[@codyb3232]

Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended everyone watches "The Dish" from 2000 (starring Sam Neill and Patrick Warburton) -- it's a comedy movie about how a town in rural Australia was chosen to transmit around the world the images from the 1969 moon landing, and the technological challenges they faced way back then. Aussie humour and cinema classic👌🏻

[@saneerasmus]

I always appreciate that Tom doesn't tell us what his interviewee said, he just shows us. So many youtubers only show small clips and then explain themselves what they learned from the interview. I see enough of the youtuber already! Show me the awesome people! Thanks Tom!

[@mission101]

0:55 I love that even a high-tech facility has a staircase that wouldn't look out of place in a local Aussie footy/cricket clubroom

[@brainwave8034]

I clicked the time stamp and burst out laughing, you're so right

[@tituskasurinen684]

this is just true

[@karlwilhelmmeinert7592]

I mght have seen that staircase in germany too.

[@carriebartkowiak]

I love how John is having SO much fun showing all of this cool stuff to someone who's excited to hear about it. You can tell he thinks it's really really cool, too.

[@whytushar]

Which it is! Very very cool stuff :)

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

After all, who wouldn't?

[@hiigara2085]

It reminds me of the people on "smartereveryday"

[@matteomaximov4238]

And also that Tom can easily understand all the technical bits

[@batcrow6224]

@@matteomaximov4238 You could tell when some of the questions Tom asked were about more specific parts and John looked both slightly surprised and really glad to hear those specific questions

[@NeonRabies]

This Aussie guy explaining how everything works is incredible. He explains everything very simply while also being very informative. Fair play to you Jack. Great work. Thanks Tom

[@jeremysalkeld8742]

7:00 Oh, just casually dropping in that Barnes Wallis, the guy who built the Dam Buster bombs, *also* worked on this telescope...

[@jcthefluteman]

I'm so stoked that other people get to see how dope our country is; The Dish is a genuine Aussie icon

[@ericvandenavond8748]

Hopefully I can get to move to Australia because it's such a cool place. Much love from the US 🇺🇲

[@standardised8260]

@@ericvandenavond8748 Here's to! The more people the merrier over here. Much love from Australia

[@creeperawman1431]

Hey i know you! You make hermitcraft remixes

[@ricoparadiso]

✝️ LORD JESUS DIED & ROSE AGAIN TO PAY THE DEBT OF UR SIN! ✅By Faith in the sacrifice God has made are we saved from the penalty of sin! 🔵Turn from your sin that leads to death & accept His Gift that leads to eternal Life! 💜We are all sinners that need God. No one can say they are perfect to be able to pay their debt of sin. This is why only God could pay the penalty for us, that is merciful Love!

[@westerlywinds5684]

Oh I thought it was in South Africa. The guy with the helmet on sounded South African to me.

[@That_One_Kobold]

I like how Tom is afraid of heights but keeps going to high places to stand on metal mesh

[@gaforb]

The mic drop moment (or feather, in this case!) at 2:30 is an incredible bit of information and such a powerful demonstration of just how much effort goes into radio-astronomy. And tom's look when he hears it is a testament to that! Brilliant video, and brilliant guide work from John.

[@ojtheaviator1795]

"so if we can detect it from the moon, we have no trouble detecting it from the carpark" I just love the way the nice gentleman said that 😂😂😂

[@MsMehWhatever]

Reminds me of that story about a mystery signal confusing a bunch of astronomers turning out to just be an unshielded microwave in the kitchen. Funilly enough, it turns out that story is from this same telescope!

[@mikeoxmall69420]

@@MsMehWhatever imagine a bunch of angry scientists showing up just after you have finished microwaving your ramen😂

[@ShadowSliph]

They actually have a bunch of signs asking you to turn off your phone and any radio equipment as you approach the carpark. Given that my job currently involves loading up a car with a bunch of radio gear and driving around the country, it's lucky that it was already switched off when I drove past a couple months back!

[@Shemegory]

@@mikeoxmall69420 Any Australian would be angry at a heathen using a microwave to heat water. Use a damn kettle.

[@murph7421]

@@Shemegory Americans don’t know what kettles are.

[@Astronemma]

As a radio astronomer, I was so happy to see this video! There really is nothing like going up into a dish - I've been on the Efflesberg radio telescope. I've never observed with Parkes, but I have with another Australian telescope, ATCA (they're both operated by the same institute). It's an amazing feeling when you're observing remotely from the UK, and knowing that you're responsible for such huge things turning and looking at astronomical objects for you. You might be sick of radio astronomy now, but you have got an invite to Jodrell Bank Observatory in your suggestions submission form! Come say hello next time you're up this way. :)

[@muddydave01]

Is ATCA the multi dish on rails one near Narrabri? I've always wanted to go take a look at that. Also really excited to see what the Murchison square kilometer array finds.

[@tin2001]

@@muddydave01 Yes it is. I did my high school work experience week there many decades ago. If you do visit, remember the visitors centre is now unstaffed, so you can't just turn up and get any sort of tour or ask questions. If you're making a long trip specifically to see the site, I would suggest calling them or emailing them to see if there's any chance of a tour or anything. There's a lot of technical information that is fascinating but not really explained in the visitors centre.

[@MikesTropicalTech]

Hey, how can we trust you to do good science when you didn't see the Vogons coming!

[@marvindebot3264]

He may be, we on the other hand are not at all tired of radio telescopes. Didn't you love the look on Tom's face when the guide did the feather drop analogy? Not often do we see Tom Speechless!

[@zyeborm]

I get giddy making a LED flash or a gate open from a distance with electronics I've made. Making a thousand tonnes dance must be next level

[@devinsullivan6160]

So jealous Tom. I am a Arecibo fanatic, but until they rebuild it, I needed a new favorite terrestrial telescope. Thanks to both of you for showing us a fantastic piece of engineering

[@centaurus2309]

The Arecibo dish collapsed very close to when the PornHub scandal about nonconsensual imagery appeared in the mainstream media. The two events are likely connected and scheduled. Removal of a means to view heavenly bodies. The Dave Matthews Band song Satellite has predictive programming showing how these two events are linked.

[@EsperRanger]

I'm always fascinated by Tom's videos but this one was on a whole new level of interesting for me from a visual and mechanical design perspective. Thank you to Tom and his tour guide!

[@nekomasteryoutube3232]

I love how buds was rather enthusiastic to tell scott about how the place runs and works. ALSO holy crap when it was mentioned that it was big I didn't realize until the end when it tilted all the way so they could just hop off the dish onto the ground. She's an old bit of kit, but these old radio-telescopes will keep helping us understand the stars for ages to come.

[@daveh7720]

Physics hasn't changed in the last 60 years, so machinery like this can just keep on chugging. Virtually all the upgrades they've made in that time were in how they handle information, either from the signals they receive or for controlling the telescope's position and movement.

[@Sparky-Tim]

Do yourself a favour & watch "The Dish". It's the most heart warming space movie ever.🙂👍

[@FenixQubes]

Wow that feather example really opened my eyes on how little of a signal strength can be detected.

[@Triairius]

It is an absolutely brilliant way of contextualizing just how sensitive this telescope is.

[@mwiz100]

Having been aware of this telescope because of the fantastic film The Dish, I never quite realized the scale of the thing until you were walking around just under it. Nor did I think when you said "...to touching the ground" I didn't ever think that meant quite literally. Absolutely amazing it can do that!

[@RyanSmith-th9sz]

Tom, you visit the most amazing places. Thanks so much for bringing us along!

[@joelavrunin347]

The feather falling to the floor was my favorite part of the video. You know he keeps that feather at the ready for every tour that comes through.

[@Jacob_Waller]

Tom Scott is my favorite part of monday mornings

[@shivas3003]

where do you live ? it's 17h00

[@letmebecharlie]

Tom Scott is my favorite part of late monday afternoons

[@DaLou1e]

@@shivas3003 1600 here

[@minorii24]

Lmao same

[@sheilaross1449]

@@shivas3003 somewhere in the Americas, like me.

[@emgee44]

Another top video by Tom Scott and crew. Seeing that massive dish tilt right down to the ground was amazing, it must have been incredible to ride it. What a treat.

[@thejesmeister]

Just LOVE this! A heady mix of enthusiasm, nerdery, and joy ❤

[@OneFaintingRobinOld]

I'm not entirely sure where I expected it to end, but I spent this whole time wondering why there was no harnesses or anything, because what if you just fell off the edge. I was entirely unprepared for the dish being so big that, fully tilted, it just... touches the ground.

[@timothymclean]

If you build big enough, eventually you stop needing safety equipment.

[@stanleybochenek1862]

@@timothymclean huh

[@MrRoeler]

Same here

[@Sameebob]

After seeing Tom all harnessed up and clipped onto the safest walkway Ive ever seen for the high dive video its funny seeing him here completely free walking along an absolutly giganstic tipping bowl.

[@NickRoman]

I always laugh at how timid he is about everything, and yet he still does all of this stuff. He probably plays it up a bit to try to communicate the feeling to the viewers.

[@dustinbrueggemann1875]

It's always interesting to see how counterintuitive a risk factor can be. Standing on a thousand tonne rotating metal bowl is no more dangerous than walking down a moderate hill, whilst the diving platform is designed with the assumption that you want to fall off of it, even if you *really* don't.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I guess there's no evolutionary response to standing on a big moving floor.

[@KarlEller]

@@NickRoman Where Tom was most uncomfortable on the dish was when he was standing on mesh, which the video doesn't really show very well, so he would have been able to see the ground. I probably would have freaked out too.

[@Zraknul]

Different places have different safety requirements. The high dive place required it.

[@frapels]

Been blessed to do an observation run over there a few years back. Amazing instrument. Awesome to see you stand on top.

[@MarkusManon]

You found an utterly charming guide for this video, Tom! Well done to the both of you, and the cameraman

[@marktownsend2384]

"The Dish" is one of my favourite films. It's awesome to see Tom wandering around Parkes, and to see that they must have filmed a lot of the movie in the actual structure. The telescope is an amazing piece of kit.

[@boredincan]

A lot of the film was shot in Forbes, as it looks more like a 60s town

[@coweatsman]

@@boredincan Forbes and Parkes used to be very similar towns 30 km apart but Parkes reopened gold mining in the 1990s and has grown in population and wealth as a result while Forbes is sleepy. Parkes is also a rail junction for east west trains and one day a north south line when it's completed. Forbes does have some gorgeous architecture however well worth the look. Forbes is also prone to flooding from the Lachlan River as it did in 2022.

[@coweatsman]

The line west of Parkes en route to Broken Hill has only this week just reopened after repairs to flood damage last year.

[@maxwilson7001]

Gonna have to watch it now

[@TonyBullard]

I love all your stuff, Tom, but this is best video you've done in a long time. The dish is fascinating, John is a great guide, and the fact that you literally WALKED OFF THE TELESCOPE is just amazing. Great episode!

[@SixOThree]

When he hopped onto the ground I legit let out a “that was freaking awesome.” I had no clue it would go that far.

[@joopsmit6910]

John has such a great Aussie way of explaining very technical details understandably. Thanks for a great segment Tom and Jack.

[@sinafoch3651]

This is amazing - thank you for going places I never would go to and speaking to people I never would (be able to) talk to. I owe you much regarding my horizon! Thank you!

[@teganmc94]

As an Aussie these videos are so exciting! So far I've visited some of these places and now my fave youtuber is making videos on them!!! That never happens in Australia!

[@ruddbot179]

So I live in Parkes right. Finished a very long shift and saw Tom walk past as I was locking up. Thought I had gone delirious until this video was posted!

[@mazdaroadster-mx5]

@@ruddbot179 based Rudd enjoyer

[@Efflorescentey]

Ahhhh me too! I didn’t know he was here 🤩

[@SemiHypercube]

The amount of technology in this is amazing, cool how it was only meant to operate for 20 years but is still working today

[@michael1]

Same thing for my gran because of the pension scheme.

[@LKonstantina915]

yea same for the voyager satellites that set up in 1977 and are both still kinda active today. Farthest human object. This is mind boggling.

[@boxhead6177]

Well some of those upgrades for the CSIRO Radio Telescopes to keep them running eventually lead to research into digital signal processing, which lead to WLAN chipsets that are in most wireless communications we use today in our Wifi and Mobile Phones. (which you can't have near the telescope).

[@ATjfds]

@@michael1 ayo

[@EminemLovesGrapes]

@@michael1 And at some point she's going to tip over and need some maintenance too.

[@mofire5674]

The effect of switching back and fourth between the guide and the dish slowly lowering Tom down was brilliantly done.

[@toranine09]

this is an absolutely phenomenal video that perfectly showcases the level of care and dedication and attention that goes into these highly specialist fields, and i dont mean to undercut that at all, but i cant silence that part of me that wants to make a titanfall 2 reference

[@TepidWater]

This is one of the most charismatic professionals that's' been on an episode. I could listen to him for hours.

[@chikchikboom1]

The film John refers to is called ‘The Dish’, and was made in about 2000. It’s a great movie, one of the last Aussie films that showcases Aussie larrikinism and wit. Great video, Tom!

[@CheyenneRose]

When Tom said "a film that was shot here more than 20 years ago" I went out in search of a movie made in the 80s, saw the film made in 2000 and thought "huh, they must have remade it then" before my temporal awareness kicked back in. *double facepalm*

[@milamber319]

The dismissive way Tom says "a film shot here 20 years go" as if that film wasn't fantastic is kind of disappointing

[@isaacthehungry7210]

The Dish is actually one of my favorite films

[@CheyenneRose]

@@milamber319 Let's say instead that he employed the fantastic psychological trick of mentioning important information in a way that seems trivial - listeners pick up on that cue without realising, immediately stop what they're doing, and find the film. Okay, I totally made that up, but that's what I did, so something must have worked! 😎

[@line_noise]

@@isaacthehungry7210 The Dish is my favourite film! I watch it a few times a year. I was a bit miffed when Tom describes the Working Dog team as "a bunch of Americans" who called riding the dish a "hayride" in the movie.

[@ejt7642]

I grew up watching 'The Dish' and even got to visit Parks as a kid (too young to remember much about it though unfortunately). I've always wanted to ride on it. Tom, you're living my dream!

[@gib2191]

omg this is so amazing! so much cleverness built into this! the whole building is blowing my mind! thanks Tom for sharing :)

[@darinfoat8410]

John was an excellent tour guide. He really knows his stuff.

[@stanleybochenek1862]

True

[@hcblue]

It wasn't until the last 10 seconds that it actually hit me what "tilting the dish towards the ground" meant. For _several_ minutes, I was like haha, Tom's gonna do camera magic and 'hop' off the side of the dish. Just holy cow, the SCALE of this thing (and the building) is so… difficult to fathom.

[@MercTelmos]

You can tell that John is passionate about his work. The way he is so excited to talk about all of this is great.

[@Electric999999]

With that job who wouldn't be.

[@Pinkybum]

There was previous video that had a similarly enthusiastic and informative expert guide Tom was interviewing although I cannot remember the exact details. I think it was maybe a waterworks or bridge-works?

[@etienneporras7252]

'The Dish' is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen and I am honestly so jealous of Scott for being on site. Genuinely fascinating vid! Bravo!

[@MrCanadianGoof]

Always thoroughly enjoy your videos!

[@Pasta_Pirate]

That jumping off the dish at the end is funny, I love the idea of using an enormous telescope as a quick and dirty elevator

[@CooroSnowFox]

Why bother trying to complicate things when you just use the dish to do the work for you?

[@ChiefArug]

I wouldn't exactly call it quick

[@roberine7241]

@@ChiefArug well faster than dragging the stuff through the building

[@ford9501]

@@roberine7241 Agreed. I used to work at Arecibo Observatory (which Tom Scott has also visited), and lugging equipment up there was an absolute pain. Things in the hundreds of kilos could be lifted by winch, but that wasn't worth the setup overhead for things in the 20-50kg (50-100lbs) range. Those we ended up hauling by hand.

[@WayStedYou]

way slower than walking back down, but much easier than bringing stuff up stairs.

[@thatdavecarter]

If anyone is wondering about the film that Tom mentioned that was filmed here, it's called "The Dish" and it follows the story of tracking and receiving radio/tv signals from Apollo 11. Cracking film! Great video Tom!

[@dmk_games]

Great film, though many of the elements to make the film are invented. And some of the aspects are borrowed from another Australian telescope at Honeysuckle Creek. But you would struggle to shoot at Honeysuckle Creek. It is long decommissioned.

[@Kyrelel]

All the information you gave is in the video :/

[@thatdavecarter]

@@Kyrelel I must’ve missed him say the title 🙈 I had it on a second screen while working, and only caught the mention at the end. Serves me right for trying to multitask 😂

[@thatdavecarter]

@@dmk_games yep, and the town scenes were filmed in Forbes. Still, great nostalgia film 👏

[@wierdalien1]

@Dave Carter it's at least not too far away

[@Srinathji_Das]

Awesome video! 👍 Thanks for these nice people who share their facilities with us!

[@Dman8derek]

Tom Scott is a legend, I never know what his videos will be about but they are always great no matter how interested I think I will be from the title

[@PixieII]

I could listen to John talk for hours, this is definitely my favourite so far. I think this is what I love so much about Tom's series - completely normal people who are experts in their job and still have plenty of enthusiasm to share their passion

[@davekennedy6315]

The gent giving the tour deserves a payrise, he was great!

[@GatvolFourie]

Incredible . You really knocked this one out of the park Tom. Should have been an hour long !

[@DarrenBates]

What a lovely gentleman showing you around! Absolutely great video.

[@logan_page]

People like Jack are so important for their science communicating abilities. The feather demo, the explanation about a cell phone on the moon, these are things that seem so simple and obvious, but is really a lost art in many scientific communities.

[@antikathy]

I always love those "all you have to do is" moments of ingenuity and engineering. This structure is packed full of them. Thanks for the ride !

[@guyb7995]

''The Dish'' (the movie about this dish, fantastic music score by the way), along with ''The Castle'', ''Strictly Ballroom'' and ''Priscilla Queen of the Desert'' are some of the most quintessential icon Australian Films ever made.

[@Alexander-hx2bi]

What an awesome presentation by John! I can learn a lot about talking on this episode.

[@evanbarnes9984]

The fact that this still runs on a PDP-11 is SO cool!

[@alanj9391]

I was going to say the same - I worked in a chromatography lab in the 70s which was partly controlled by a PDP 11/10 and PDP 11/40 combination.

[@BoredInNW6]

Yes, my ears perked up at that point, having programmed PDP-11s over 40 years ago. Let's hope they can still get parts!

[@AndersDahnielson]

What's amazing is that DEC didn't discontinue the PDP-11 until 1997!

[@Hyc1988]

@@braxtongunnell5518 very cool find.

[@emmitgandlodder]

Tom, your work over the years shows what a genuine KZbin you are.

[@sandyjonesmusic]

Nice on Tom and CSIRO team. Well done keeping the dish in top shape!

[@michaelmcinerney2853]

@2:45 - I love how you can literally see Tom's mind blow.

[@MacGyver201]

John is so knowledgable you can really see how passionate he is about his work. Incredible interview!

[@rocinante4609]

I was there a few months ago. I was blown away by the size of the telescope and amazing astronomical contributions it has made.

[@dket2571]

Been there, done just that, back in the late 60's. With th old American equupment (60hz) Scott, you are so blessed.

[@xXRunDeathXx]

i just love it how i can never even attempt to guess what the next video will be about but each and every one of them is always the same degree of both fascinating and funny. Thanks alot Tom Scott-Team for your dedication to exceptional quality

[@cummerou1]

I really loved his explanation with the feather, and soon collecting 9TB of data an hour? Absolutely crazy, great video!

[@sciathoir]

Dude said “9TB” and I was like “oh that’s a nice little upgrade” …”an hour” 😳

[@cummerou1]

@@sciathoir Legit! They would be collecting more information in 30 min than they do in an entire day right now. INSANE upgrade

[@WayStedYou]

@@sciathoir from 3TB a day to 9TB and hour is crazy.

[@CheyenneRose]

That was incredible- as someone who just had to have 9ishTB of data recovered professionally in order to get at it all, 9tb an HOUR blew my mind!

[@tanushkalazaretto8465]

Yes, it was quite an interesting excursion to the plate. All the time it seemed to me that it was about to take off. Thanks for this video.

[@jacefairis1289]

I love the shot at 5:04 showing the *massive* counterweight that keeps the telescope balanced as it tilts over; it seems so impossible otherwise that it could tilt over all the way to the ground and not fall over, especially given (as he says at 6:38) it's not actually attached to the building!

[@Mike23443]

This guy knows what he is talking about perfectly. Not a single stumble, not a word wasted, exclusively precise and exact information.

[@GeneralAeon]

You have no idea how well timed this was. I live in Australia and today I was actually looking to buy a decent telescope to get into astronomy and astro photography.

[@LillyAvali]

I don't think you can buy that one!

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

I love the pacing of this video- intercutting Tim’s journey along the dish with all the background on the telescope leading to him going to the dish was an excellent choice :)

[@robwilkie1]

That was one of your best Tom. Really great film. Thanks.

[@BeardedKemosabe]

Being an RF engineer that worked at a step site like this but with a 72 antenna; this was my favorite video so far. Absolutely perfect.

[@malicious217]

As someone who's had to polar align a star tracker for astrophotography I can appreciate how they just kind of did it once for this and built it in instead of doing to coordinate calculations. Also this is just mind bogglingly big. Like it doesn't make sense from this perspective that the dish just sits on rollers and doesn't fall over. Awesome video!!

[@overlord5066]

Awesome video, i've been past for a look from a distance many times on my trips around that area. One of these days i'll do something more. Whole video just gives me "The Dish" vibes, such a classic movie

[@Paulkjoss]

That end shot was very cool. Nice little video - thanks 👍🏼