Category Archives: Astronomy

Proving that Physicists were the Original Hipsters

A black and white photograph of Nobel physicist Richard Feynman, pictured smiling in front of the blackboard of a lecture room, which is covered with mathematical equations.Modern-Day Hipsters Take Heed…

With his wind-swept mane, the inimitable Richard Feynman looked devilishly handsome. And he darn-diddly knew it too! As for Fritz Haber, Rosalind Franklin and Neil deGrasse Tyson, they were the original hipsters. That’s according to BuzzFeed anyway… Continue reading Proving that Physicists were the Original Hipsters

Exoplanet ‘Young Jupiter’ 51 Eridani b

An illustration showing the distant exoplanet 51 Eridani b, nicknamed "Young Jupiter". Source: SETIKing of Planets

Astronomers have found the smallest exoplanet yet to be directly photographed by a telescope on Earth.  A methane-shrouded gas giant.  A young Jupiter… Continue reading Exoplanet ‘Young Jupiter’ 51 Eridani b

Size Matters… in Astrophysical Terms

Little Big Earth and the Universe

Let’s talk about size…  😉  How big are the objects floating in our Universe and how big can they get?  Starting with a “big” object, our very own Moon…  Embark on a tour of space…  A tour of our Universe… Continue reading Size Matters… in Astrophysical Terms

Just a Second…

A close-up photograph of an analog clock showing the hands just reaching the hour.What Does a Second Look Like?

1/60 minute.  1/3,600 hour.  1/86,400 day.  1/1 hertz.  The duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of a 133 55Cs caesium isotope corresponds to one second.  But what does it look like?  And where might you find a second? Continue reading Just a Second…

Physics at 13 TeV – Cranking Up the LHC

A composite picture showing inside the underground tunnel at CERN, and a small portion of the giant particle accelerator in artificial colours, with the words 13 TeV superimposed on it. Image: NaturPhilosophieA Vernesque Feat of Human Engineering

Deep down, in huge subterranean caverns… Underneath the Franco-Swiss border… 300 feet underground… lies a beast of unprecedented power… and mystery.  The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that man summons to  explore the uncharted corners of the sub-atomic realm…  After two years of a deep slumber, the mighty beast has awoken… Continue reading Physics at 13 TeV – Cranking Up the LHC

The World Outside My Window… What a Window!!

What a World!!

Amazing timelapse footage of the Earth (including aurorae, lightning and city lights) as seen from the International Space Station.  Just mesmerizing…

Published on YouTube on 3 Dec 2013
Images: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/
Music: ‘Fill My Heart’ by Two Steps from Hell
Editor: David Peterson

 

All Alone in the Night…

Late O’ Clock at Night

It’s late o’clock at night. All alone in the night? Enjoy this amazing time footage flyover of the Earth from the International Space Station. Absolutely uplifting… Positively enthralling…
Continue reading All Alone in the Night…

Food as Geopolitical Subjugation – Welcome to Plastic City, Almería!

A satellite photograph of El Ejido "Plastic City" in southern Spain, showing the vast expanse of the plastic covered greenhouses near Almeria.El Ejido, Southern Spain

Surrounding the town of El Ejido, Almeria Province, southern Spain is a sea of greenhouses, stretching for tens of kilometres, visible from space.  Millions of tons of vegetables are exported from there to other European countries and further parts of the World.  Along the Mediterranean coast, tourism flourishes, fuelling a booming real estate economy…  Continue reading Food as Geopolitical Subjugation – Welcome to Plastic City, Almería!

Geothermics and Gravity – The IRENA Global Atlas for Renewable Energy

A satellite colour map taken from the IRENA Global Atlas for Renewable Energy - Free Air Anomaly Map.Eye on the Energy Sources of the Future

Geothermal energy prospectors have long used gravity meters in their search for the right subsurface characteristics.  But these have been point measurements.  GOCE now provides this information across the World at a resolution never before achieved on that scale.  Continue reading Geothermics and Gravity – The IRENA Global Atlas for Renewable Energy

That Mysterious Missing Matter – Cocktail Party Physics

A 3D animation showing dark matter creation and the large scale structure of the Universe.Dark Matter

“Dark matter?”  You cannot see it.  But there is something there.  As for what it is, it’s anybody’s guess!  Dark matter does not interact with light.  At all.  Which makes it difficult to detect.  But if you cannot see it?  How do you know it is in fact there?”  Well, it does interact with gravity, and as it does so it bends the path of any light ray passing nearby...  “And did it really kill the dinosaurs…?”  Continue reading That Mysterious Missing Matter – Cocktail Party Physics

400 – Anatomy of a Solar Eclipse

A photograph of the total eclipse seen from Tokyo in 2012, featuring the Sun's corona and the famous "diamond ring".Orbiting Spheres

Right on cue, day turned into a sudden eerie twilight as a great swathe of the Earth’s surface quickly plunged into transient darkness.  The magic number is 400.  For many observers, weather conditions were far from ideal.  Clouds obscured the much awaited spectacle of the 2015 eclipse.  Thankfully, alternatives were available to astronomers keen not to miss the big event…  Continue reading 400 – Anatomy of a Solar Eclipse

Celestial Rendez-Vous – An Equinoctial Total Eclipse of the Sun

A photograph showing the Sun's diamond ring during a total eclipse.

Polar Equinoctial Eclipse 2015

On 20th March 2015, the Moon will pass in front of the Sun and exactly block out most of its light.  It will be the first total solar eclipse of the 21st century that is visible from the northernmost regions of Europe… Continue reading Celestial Rendez-Vous – An Equinoctial Total Eclipse of the Sun

Changing States – Fundamental Phases of Matter

Melting ice cubes in a small pool of water.Everyday Matters

Four states of matter can be seen in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and – somewhat more exotically – plasma.  As a tightly bound combination of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, a water molecule is nothing out of the ordinary.  Liquid water, steam or ice are still just water.  Yet, it is intriguing to see how the very same building blocks of matter are capable of producing such broadly distinct states. Continue reading Changing States – Fundamental Phases of Matter

Northern Lights over Scotland

A photograph taken from the International Space Station and showing the northern lights $ ($aurora borealis$ )$ above Scotland.#BlueDot

This mesmerising image of the Northern Lights over Scotland was captured by Baltimore-born NASA astronaut Terry Virts, a member of Expedition 42 from the International Space Station earlier this week, as it drifted over Europe. Continue reading Northern Lights over Scotland

Planck’s Time and the “Oldest Light” in the Cosmos

A photomontage showing an image of the Planck spacecraft superimposed on a sky planisphere of the Cosmic Microwave Background $ ($CMB$ )$ Radiation.Who, What, Where?

What happened at time T = 0?  is still anybody’s guess.  At least, earlier observations of Planck’s radiation had suggested the first generation of stars were bursting into life by about 420 million years after the Big Bang.  However, scientists from Europe’s Planck satellite mission now say the first stars lit up the Universe later than was previously thought… Continue reading Planck’s Time and the “Oldest Light” in the Cosmos

Testing Times – Methods of Dating the Geological Past

A spiral-shaped drawing illustrating the Earth history through the ages, since the Big Bang and the birth of our Solar System.Cross-Referencing Geological Time

At the beginning of the 20th century, the discovery of the radiometric “clock” revolutionised our understanding of the Earth’s deep history, confirming what geologists had been claiming for decades.  Nevertheless, newer and more accurate dating methods posed further problems in themselves.  After all, how do we know our Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and not a mere few thousands of years as suggested by the Bible?  Continue reading Testing Times – Methods of Dating the Geological Past

Earth Creation – The Story So Far…

An artist's impression showing two hands touching on a cloudy night sky background, inspired by Michelangelo's famous scene of Genesis on the frescoed ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The moment of Earth creation?Earth is Born

Our planet has existed for 4.5 billion years, and it has been a busy lifetime.  From amazing leaps and bounds forward into evolution to devastating asteroid impacts and other episodic extinctions, here are the biggest milestones in Earth’s history – the eventful journey that shaped our World today.  Continue reading Earth Creation – The Story So Far…

Thermodynamics and Entropy – Our Irreversible Universe

A photographic montage representing entropy, shown a dropped china tea cup being broken down on impact.Irreversibility

A friend of mine once casually asked me over a drink: “What is entropy?”  Eeek!  Interesting concept.  But…  How do you define entropy in a non-mathematical way?  How can you sum up entropy in 30 seconds?  In one mental image.  In a single concept…  In one word.  A form of energy?  A measure of disorder in the Universe?  Randomness?  All of the above?  Tricky question.  And then, I dropped my glass… Continue reading Thermodynamics and Entropy – Our Irreversible Universe

The Ion Propulsion System – What the… #!$@*!!

Four different ion thrusters. Source: Michigan Technological University (MIT)“That’s Star Trek stuff!”

… is pretty much the bemused reaction you’ll get if you allow yourself to answer casual questions about science over a drink with a non-physicist.  AB-SO-LUTE disbelief.  Your fault!  Shouldn’t have gone there…  Pretend you didn’t hear the question…  Especially if the answer is ion propulsion!   Continue reading The Ion Propulsion System – What the… #!$@*!!

GOCE and Gravity – Looking Down at the Oceans Up Above

An artist's impression of GOCE. Source: ESAGOCE – Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer

GOCE succumbed to gravity – the force it had been sent up into space to study.  Ironically.  When the xenon fuel for this engine was exhausted, the satellite fell back to Earth in November 2013.  The first of ESA’s Living Planet Programme satellites, GOCE was intended to map the Earth’s gravity field in unprecedented detail.. Continue reading GOCE and Gravity – Looking Down at the Oceans Up Above

It’s All Go at “Cape Kebaberal” in Sheffield…

A photograph showing Azuma Makoto bonsai sent into space in 2014.Lift-Off!

Florida has Cape Canaveral, and now it seems the UK city of Sheffield has a new space port dubbed “Cape Kebaberal”.  The name was inspired by the favourite student food of Alex Baker and Chris Rose, who run the Sheffield-based company SentIntoSpace Continue reading It’s All Go at “Cape Kebaberal” in Sheffield…

Lightning and the Sun’s Magnetic Field

A photograph showing lightning over Glasgow's West End.Magnetic Fields All Around

It’s not often you can see lightning above Glasgow, so this 2006 Flickr photograph is a rare and impressive sight.  But that’s not the point…  A study by researchers in the United Kingdom shows it is not just conditions here on Earth that determine how much thunder and lightning we get.  The Sun’s magnetic field also has a major influence, more than doubling the number of lightning bolts on some days…    Continue reading Lightning and the Sun’s Magnetic Field

A Starry Starry Night or The Unexpected Maths in a Van Gogh’s Masterpiece

An image showing Van Gogh's painting "The Starry Night" (1889).Van Gogh’s Starry Night

When Classical Physics and Post-Impressionist artists meet, few results are as hauntingly beautiful or as enchanting as one of Vincent van Gogh’s most famous masterpieces.  The Starry Night embodies the inner, subjective expression of van Gogh’s response to Nature.  And the churning night sky he depicted tells of the artist’s very unique perception of the World around him… Continue reading A Starry Starry Night or The Unexpected Maths in a Van Gogh’s Masterpiece

Le GEIPAN – Qu’est-Ce Que C’est?

A photograph showing sky lanterns floating up in the night.GEIPAN

The United States have one.  The Danish used to have one, and so did the Brits, but no longer.  France remains the only country in Europe to have one.  So, what exactly is the GEIPAN?  Continue reading Le GEIPAN – Qu’est-Ce Que C’est?

“Looks Like a Great Day, Scotland!”

A photograph of Scotland taken on board the International Space Station (ISS) on 14 October 2014. "Looks Like a Great Day, Scotland!"#BlueDot

This beautiful image of Scotland was tweeted by a German astronaut from the International Space Station today, as it drifted over Europe.  Continue reading “Looks Like a Great Day, Scotland!”