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Welcome to Look Up!, the podcast of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. In this special episode, Gideon is joined by senior astronomer Tania de Sales Marques to celebrate the launch of The Sky We Share (published 15 October 2026), a book of star stories from around the world by Laura Knowles, illustrated by Marianna Ruiz Johnson. We also look ahead to the wider October programme at Royal Museums Greenwich.

We explore what cultural astronomy is, why the same stars inspire such different stories, and how to share sky knowledge respectfully. Along the way we hear from book contributors Imo Bell and Paulo Nuno Martins, and finish with what to spot in the October night sky.

Chapters
0:00 Welcome and introduction
1:01 What's inside The Sky We Share
4:38 Tania's journey: from Macau to the Royal Observatory
10:47 What is cultural astronomy?
13:53 Imo Bell: why sky stories matter
15:00 Similarities across cultures
19:42 The Dark Emu
24:34 Paulo Nuno Martins: misunderstandings about traditional astronomical knowledge
26:32 Sky stories as knowledge systems, and the Chinese calendar
31:16 Light pollution, satellites and climate change
37:19 Sharing stories with respect for cultural ownership
40:50 What Tania hopes readers take from the book
43:38 What to see in the October night sky: the Pleiades and Orion
47:09 What's on at Royal Museums Greenwich this October

October sky guide
Pleiades: best viewed 3 to 13 October
New moon: 10 October
Full moon: 26 October

Mentioned in this episode
The Sky We Share by Laura Knowles, illustrated by Marianna Ruiz Johnson, out 15 October (https://shop.rmg.co.uk/products/the-t...)

In Conversation with Luke Jerram, an evening event with the artist behind Mirror Moon
Unboxing the Universe, our science theatre show for October half term
Find out more about what's on at the Royal Observatory and Royal Museums Greenwich on our website.
#LookUp #Astronomy #CulturalAstronomy #TheSkyWeShare #RoyalObservatoryGreenwich #NightSky #Pleiades #Podcast



The Royal Observatory is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the historic Prime Meridian of the world and London’s Planetarium.
Our astronomy science learning and public engagement team is made of real astronomers who are also professional science communicators.

The Royal Observatory is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, along with the National Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark and Queen's House.

Website: https://www.rmg.co.uk/royalobservatory
Twitter: Twitter: ROGAstronomers
Facebook: Facebook: royalmuseumsgreenwich
Instagram: Instagram: royalmuseumsgreenwich

Artwork from The Sky We Share published by Templar Books – Illustration copyright © 2026 by Maria Ruiz Johnson.