Stargazing Live coming back to BBC soon, clouds gather in anticipation

I'm looking forward to Stargazing Live coming back soon. This is a science communication juggernaut in television terms, and episode one of this the third series will focus on Mars exploration. It all starts on Tuesday, 8 January 2013 on BBC Two. Here's the blurb from the official site:

Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain host three nights of stargazing and discussion, live from Jodrell Bank. Featuring guest experts and link-ups to observatories around the world.

There's a good reason those global link-ups are necessary - the pesky weather. If there's one thing astronomers in Ireland and the UK can be sure of, it's that it'll always be cloudy when something interesting is happening. So I'm sure clouds are already gathering in anticipation of raining on our astronomy parade. Hrmph.

Incidentally, our Northern Star science documentary (about the controversial discovery of pulsars) also has Jodrell Bank at its heart - you can watch the exciting opening sequence online on the Agtel site or hit play on the embedded video below...