by Colin Stuart | Dec 3, 2014 | Astronomy news, Uncategorised
The search for life beyond the Earth is one of the driving factors behind modern astronomy. For a long time a debate has raged about the habitability of planets around red dwarf stars. This latest study adds fuel to those flames. Such stars are by far the most common...
by Colin Stuart | Dec 2, 2014 | Astronomy news, Uncategorised
I’ve just seen this beautiful video from Swedish artist Erik Wernquist. He imagines what our future in the solar system might look like and it is nothing short of spectacular. Carl Sagan provides the stirring narration.
by Colin Stuart | Dec 2, 2014 | Astronomy news, Uncategorised
The team behind the European Space Agency’s Planck satellite has released their latest set of data stemming from observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) between 2009 and 2013. What they’ve found strongly supports the prevailing view of how...
by Colin Stuart | Dec 1, 2014 | Astronomy news, Uncategorised
This year has been all about Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, the destination finally reached by Rosetta after a decade in space. But last year all eyes were on an entirely different comet: ISON. Some commentators were billing it as ‘the comet of the...
by Colin Stuart | Dec 1, 2014 | Astronomy news, Uncategorised
The recent landing of the Philae spacecraft on the surface of a comet captivated the world. Now it seems its hair-rising ride also came with a fair amount of good fortune. Matt Taylor, the mission’s colourful project scientist, has been describing how it might...
by Colin Stuart | Dec 1, 2014 | Astronomy news, Uncategorised
Not a new picture, but one I like to show time and again as it never ceases to take my breath away. Taken by European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers, whilst orbiting the Earth at 17,500 mph on the International Space Station, it shows the UK capital as an almost...