ABC’s Stargazing Live breaks world record thanks to 46,000 Australians

The ABC has claimed a Guinness World Record title for the most people stargazing across multiple locations, thanks to 46,000 Australians from every corner of the country.

In partnership with the Australian National University (ANU), the ABC’s Stargazing Live community initiative saw 46,345 amateur astronomers simultaneously observe the moon through a telescope over a 10 minute period, absolutely destroying the previous record set by 7960 people the ANU in 2015.

The world record managed to bring 62,000 people to almost 300 “star parties” which were hosted by various community groups around the country. The event was held during the broadcast of Stargazing Live, which marks ABC’s largest community engagement initiative and the first of its kind to cover the entire nation at one time. the event was broadcast live on ABC TV and ABC ME as well as streamed live on ABC iView, and the ABC YouTube channel and Facebook page.

ABC Director of Entertainment & Specialist David Anderson commented on the event, saying, “Stargazing Live made science accessible and entertaining for Australians of all ages, across multiple platforms and services. The national initiative demonstrated the ABC’s commitment to high-quality and distinctive Australian content that aspires to inform, to educate and to entertain. No one but the ABC delivers such indispensable content and services to the Australian community.

“Through our world record attempt, we brought communities together in different locations across the country and inspired them to look to the moon and the stars beyond.”

With more than 1000 employees and community volunteers at star parties across the country, the national initiative demonstrated the ABC’s unrivalled capacity and determination to entertain viewers, all while educating them at the same time.

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Matthew Arcari

Matthew Arcari is the games and technology editor at The AU Review. You can find him on Twitter at @sirchunkee, or at the Dagobah System, chilling with Luke and Yoda.