As a species we human beings are rather obsessed with the end of our world and how that is going to happen. From zombie apocalypses to giant asteroids hitting the Earth, we’ve pretty much thought of everything. However there is a new idea in town, and it makes giant asteroids Read more…
Various claims about the end of the world and “Judgement Day” can be found threaded into the long history of humanity and has become a common re-occurrence that, most likely, will always be something that raises its needless anxiety-inducing head. For my short 27 years on this grand old planet Read more…
Maybe you have seen one of the alarming videos or emails circulating around the internet claiming that the End is Nigh. The claim is that an enormous dinosaur-killer of an asteroid is going to smash into the Earth sometime between 15-28 September 2015. The scary predictions say that the asteroid Read more…
Ukrainian astronomers have discovered a 410 m (1350 ft) wide asteroid passing through the constellation of Camelopardalis (the Giraffe). This chunk of rock and metal could be back in Earth’s neighbourhood in 2032. Even though there are well over 10000 other known near-Earth objects, predictably parts of the internet and Read more…
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…
Comet ISON is here! This new comet was in January 2013 just a dim speck in the constellation Gemini, between the stars Castor and Pollux. Astronomers could not agree if it was going to develop into the greatest astronomical spectacle in a decade or into a dim and disappointing smudge- Read more…
It’s the end of the world as we know it….or maybe not. Predictions of the end of the world have often been made throughout history. However, few have captured the attention of so many such as the 2012 end of the world saga; brought to the forefront of consciousness by Read more…
What exciting space events has 2012 in store for us? What important space anniversaries are coming up this year? Welcome to our annual guide to what the Universe has waiting ahead! This year marks twenty years since the first extra-solar planets were discovered when a pair of planets were Read more…
The approaching Comet Elenin has triggered suspicious and fearful speculation among some observers. A contribution to this brouhaha has been the lack of images of this visitor from deep space, but at last there are images from a NASA space observatory of this oncoming comet. On 1 August 2011 Comet Read more…
Comet Elenin is coming!We’re doomed!That is if you believe everything you see on the internet.Comet Elenin’s approach has been all but ignored by the mainstream media, and into this vacuum a host of bloggers and online videos have poured rumours and prophesies of death and destruction.Here are the facts about 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…
The giant star Betelgeuse will soon perish in a titanic explosion. Could this happen in the mythical “doomsday” year of 2012? Could dying Betelgeuse take us with it? “Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!” was the chant which summoned the obnoxious ghost played by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton’s 1988 movie. Keaton’s character Read more…
At first glance Gliese 710 is not a very distinguished star. A K7 class orange dwarf a bit more than half as massive as the Sun, it currently lies about 63 light years from us in the constellation Serpens. It is moving fast though and that is why one reason Read more…