Milky Way
Finding Your Way in the Milky Way
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is vaster than we puny humans can imagine.A huge (100 000 light years across) spiral of stars and nebulae embedded in the tenuous interstellar medium , the Milky Way is a about a thousand light years thick apart from where it swells into the great Read more…
UFOs and Fringe Science
Did aliens build the pyramids?
Mankind is responsible for numerous achievements in technology, arts and science.However, how much can this attributed solely to the human mind or is there another reason man has achieved such incredible feats throughout history.To look at ancient structures built thousands of years ago, how could such primitive man have built Read more…
Science Fiction
Another Earth?
The belief that mankind is unique in our universe has not been proven otherwise. So what if one day we discover we as humans are not one of a kind, and not only is there maybe other life out there, but it is a world with life identical to our Read more…
Science Fiction
Apollo 18: Astronotes Goes to the Movies!
Apollo 18, a movie hybrid of horror and science fiction is stirring up a lot of interest. Your intrepid reporter decided to see what the fuss was about. Here is a brief review and my thoughts on the movie’s accuracy. Well, I splashed out the price of a movie Read more…
Concept Spacecraft
Nazis in Space: The Truth about Hitler’s Space Program
Has lurid fiction like the movie Iron Sky any basis in fact? Everyone knows that WW2 Germany developed rockets far in advance of the Allies, but some argue that in 1945 the Third Reich was on the verge of developing a space program! Ever since Adolf Hitler’s ‘Thousand Year’ Read more…
Science Fiction
Apollo in Hollywood: 8 Moonlanding Movies
Unlike previous voyages of exploration, humanity’s first steps on the Moon did not inspire great works of art and literature. In fact Project Apollo has rarely even intruded in to popular culture. However in the past forty years there has been a smattering of movies and TV shows featuring Project Read more…
Planets
The Truth about Life on Mars (part 2)
Scientists had seriously considered the possibility of plant or even animal life on the surface of Mars for more than a century. However negative results from NASA’s Viking spacecraft in the 1970s ruled out large-scale Martian life but this was not the end of the search for life on Mars. Read more…
Planets
The Truth about Life on Mars (Part 1)
“Is there life on Mars?” This must be one of the most-asked questions in astronomy. In this article I am going to look at the historical background to this question. Current thoughts on the possibilities of Martian life will be considered in a follow up article. Why is life Read more…
Stars
Aldebaran: Red Giant at the Eye of the Bull
To observers on Earth, the great bull of Taurus has a fiery red eye. This is Aldebaran, an old red giant star which dwarfs our Sun. Let’s have a closer look at the facts and fiction about this aging star. If you go out after dark on a winter’s Read more…