As we’re now well into the second half of summer in the Northern hemisphere and the number of hours available to us for stargazing are slowly but surely increasing again, the mild evenings make for some very comfortable viewings of some very special wonders in our night sky. So pull Read more
Welcome to our quick take on top celestial wonders to spot in the March night sky! Well we’ve certainly been spoiled for entertainment so far this year with the heavyweights of our Solar System -Earth’s planetary neighbours gathering together on the same side of the Sun to put on the Read more
Who would have thought it?! – as the clamour of summer 2024 dies away and we make our way into early autumn, the month of September presents us with a great opportunity to pause, retune our dials and take in the first refreshing breath of cooler night air as we Read more
Welcome one and all to your favourite ‘happy place’ – the AOP night sky blog, where you can kick off your shoes, cosy up in a comfortable chair and chill-out amongst the shimmering stars! It’s also the month with the confusing name which begins with “Oct” -which implies the 8th month, Read more
Welcome to another edition of the night sky for the month of June! If like me you’re glad to have finally shaken off the coldest of this year’s weather to date -then the thought of some comfortable longer periods of stargazing in balmier temperatures has particular appeal. If on the Read more
From when the first pressure suits of high-altitude military and experimental aircraft pilots were adapted for applications in Space in the 1960s, the spacesuit as we know it has continued to evolve. Let’s take a look at where things are at with the spacesuits of today and the direction in Read more
While 2020 was in many ways a strange and challenging year for many of us in one way or another, the heavens certainly gave us cause to look up and find some measure of celestial relief. Well there is good news! 2021 will be no different as we can prepare Read more
From the fertile imaginings of the 1950s and 60s in the American aerospace industry came a wealth of Space-launcher ideas in all seemingly conceivable (and sometimes, inconceivable) shapes and sizes. So as we continue to investigate some of the ‘biggest rockets that never were’ and cannot examine them all, let’s Read more
Are you up for a free ‘firework show’ from Space? If so, this is the month for you because on the 11th August (Tuesday), the Perseids Meteor Shower is coming to town! As our planet silently glides through the cold void of the Solar System (at the phenomenal speed of Read more
So we know the biggest rocket that ever was, was the mighty Saturn V that took NASA’s Apollo astronauts to the Moon. But what about the biggest rockets that never were? Could there have been some other rockets that, had they been built, would’ve rivalled the Apollo era’s champion launcher? Read more
Various nations have produced rockets of different shapes and sizes down through the years, but a question that often comes to the fore is which was the biggest of them all? As it takes objects with a large mass a considerable amount of energy to move against the pull of Read more