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Is it possible to visit all major observatories in the world,

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covering every continent, in the space of just 24 hours?

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ESO made a trip “Around the World in 80 Telescopes” during a live 24-hour webcast. 

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Let’s go behind the scenes to find out how it was done.

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This is the ESOcast! 

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Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes of ESO, the European Southern Observatory. 

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Exploring the Universe’s ultimate frontier with our host Dr J, a.k.a. Dr Joe Liske.

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Hello and welcome to the ESOcast. 

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In this episode we're going to follow an incredible 24-hour live webcast

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that was produced at the ESO headquarters on April 3rd and 4th 2009. 

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This webcast was called "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" and it attracted well over 100 000 online viewers.

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The webcast was part of "100 Hours of Astronomy”, a Cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

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Let’s now go backstage to see how this record-breaking event unfolded.

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The ESO headquarters in Garching, near Munich in Germany, is hosting the live 24-hour webcast

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that will follow night and day around the globe and visit some 80 different observatories on the way.

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This is a major technical and logistical challenge; 

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preparations have been underway for months and with one day left to go, the pressure is on to get things ready.

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After a long, final night of testing, the morning of the webcast is here. 

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The atmosphere is buzzing and the project leader, Douglas Pierce-Price, is pleased with the preparations.

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This is the culmination of a lot of extremely hard work by people here at ESO

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and of course at all the observatories around the planet that we'll be visiting during this amazing 24-hour live webcast.

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Things are very, very busy behind the scenes but we're getting things in place,

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we're almost ready to go, and we're looking forward to it.

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Before we delve into the rest of the day, what does it actually take to run a live webcast like this? 

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Well, apart from having many wonderful observatories around the world to visit,

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you need a project leader that remains calm under pressure,

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a first-class production team,

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hilarious technical experts that put our guests at the observatories at ease,

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top notch autocue operators,

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a web team, a professional looking set

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and six attention-starved presenters.

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Oh, and, of course, an on-set blogger!

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Just a few minutes before the start of the webcast, and some final adjustments are made.

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The Gemini North Observatory in Hawaii will be the first stop in a long journey around the world. 

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Everybody is in position as the webcast begins.

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Hello. You're joining us for "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" — a live 24-hour webcast.

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The webcast is a unique chance to experience a snapshot of life at many different observatories around the globe

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and to find out what astronomers are actually doing at the telescopes and what they hope to discover.

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However, like many live events, the webcast is not without initial setbacks.

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Just over an hour into the broadcast, the streaming provider has a problem, 

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leaving a blank screen for the thousands of viewers. 

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All is not lost as the webcast continues with segments being recorded and uploaded online. 

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Lee Pullen of the Cosmic Diary, another Cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, 

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is writing a behind-the-scenes LiveBlog. 

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His posts keep the audience informed, so nobody is left completely in the dark.

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After a tense and stressful half hour, we're back on air!

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Once again the telescope tour is on track.

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With 24 hours of constant airtime, the webcast team work in shifts. 

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People swap in and out of their positions, ensuring a continuous presence. 

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The webcast is running smoothly, so Douglas takes an early evening break to eat a quick meal. 

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The menu for the event was carefully chosen, in order to keep the team happy through the long hours. 

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Although the team could have had a selection of local Bavarian dishes, 

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they opted for a range of international foods, in honour of the event.

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Over halfway through the webcast, the day has gone well. 

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Viewers watching from all over the world have e-mailed in feedback and questions to be read out by our hosts on air.

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And this is a question from Julie who writes in from the UK...

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The night shift team keep things running in the early hours, 

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while Douglas finally gets just one hour of well-deserved rest.

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The dawn of the next day marks the final stages of the webcast. 

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The tired and slightly delirious team receives a much needed boost when the video from the Vatican Observatory is broadcast. 

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Even after 20 hours, the team's spirit is still high.

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Finally, the webcast is over. 

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And so this brings us, after 24 hours of webcasting to the end of "Around the World in 80 Telescopes"...

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With more than 24 hours of continuous interviews completed,

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the time has come to celebrate the successful event with a glass of champagne. 

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I hope you enjoyed the look behind the scenes of “Around the World in 80 Telescopes”. 

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It was an incredible event, but I’m sure there will be other spectacular outreach activities from ESO in the future.

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This is Dr J signing off for the ESOcast. 

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Join me again next time for another cosmic adventure.

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ESOcast is produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory. www.eso.org

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ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy

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designing, constructing and operating the world's most advanced ground-based telescopes.

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Transcription by ESO ; translation by —