Ever since the first asteroid was discovered in 1801, astronomers have looked to find other similar objects in our Solar System. Many of these minor planets can be found in a belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, often many asteroids are lone wanderers, roaming beyond the limits of the Asteroid Read more…
In February 2013, the asteroid 2012 DA14 flew past the Earth closer than many of the Earth’s geo-stationary satellites. Although not visible to the naked eye many telescopes were fixed towards the skies in a hope of catching a glimpse of this celestial fly-by. Many other people watched live webcasts Read more…
Since before the dawn of history we have admired our planet’s amazing moon and enjoyed its beautiful light.Since the 1600s we have known that some of the other planets of the Solar System have multiple moons.This started some astronomers thinking; perhaps we do have more than one moon! If Read more…
Something dramatic happened in our skies on Friday evening.I missed seeing it myself so I’m quite green with envy of the reports from eye witnesses of spectacular fireballs racing through the night. So what were these bright balls of light?From collated reports this sight is thought to have been Read more…
In December 2014, a Delta IV Heavy rocket will thunder skywards from Florida, launching NASA’s first Orion spacecraft to an altitude that has not been achieved by a human spacecraft flight since the last Apollo lunar landing mission forty years ago. Designated Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), this milestone test (to Read more…
James Moriarty (?-1891) was one of the greatest of the many astronomer-mathematicians who flourished in the nineteenth century, however among the general public his scientific accomplishments are forgotten. Mention his name and most people will think of the dark rumours about his personal life and the lurid circumstances of his Read more…
202 million km (1.35 AU or 125 million miles) from Earth an explorer from Earth is investigating the giant asteroid Vesta. This intrepid pioneer is the Dawn space probe. Orbiting about 2700 km (1700 miles) above Vesta, Dawn slowly rotates around the world beneath it. Every 69 hours, the Read more…
NASA’s Dawn spaceprobe is approaching the asteroid Vesta. At a distance of 483 000 km, the spacecraft has made images rivalling the best Hubble Space Telescope views of this fascinating little world. Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt. Relics of the Solar Nebula which birthed the planets, these Read more…
There are cosmic threats to life on Earth.Hiding in the depths of space are things lethal beyond imagining.One day the End will be nigh for real.A forthcoming conference, part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, will discuss how the Universe could kill us all. Hosted in Edinburgh, Science Festival 2011 runs Read more…
It is 14 November 2019 and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, when humans first walked on another world, has been and gone but today a new and exciting voyage begins. A massive booster stage pushes a spacecraft out of Earth orbit. This vehicle comprises two Orion Read more…