Uncategorised Archives - Colin Stuart https://www.colinstuart.net/category/uncategorised/ Astronomy author and speaker Tue, 10 Sep 2019 09:38:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.5 https://www.colinstuart.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/cropped-Saturn1-32x32.png Uncategorised Archives - Colin Stuart https://www.colinstuart.net/category/uncategorised/ 32 32 166732936 Why we shouldn’t ask kids what they want to be when they’re older https://www.colinstuart.net/why-we-shouldnt-ask-kids-what-they-want-to-be-when-theyre-older/ Wed, 29 Mar 2017 19:36:41 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=2439 Many of us are guilty of what I think is a well-intentioned mistake: we ask children to imagine the jobs they want to do when they are older. When they don’t know we give them suggestions. We do it, perhaps, because we were asked the same question as children. Certainly when I was young there […]

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]]> 2439 A way to visualise the scale of the universe https://www.colinstuart.net/a-way-to-visualise-the-scale-of-the-universe/ Fri, 02 Dec 2016 22:12:39 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=2311 I talk to a lot of people about the universe. Tens of thousands of people a year, ranging from 3-year-olds to 93-year-olds. And one of the things everyone finds hard to comprehend is the sheer scale of the universe. We’re used to dealing with a daily existence spanning mere metres. Sometimes we drive hundred of kilometres; […]

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]]> 2311 Planet Nine (and a reminder of what is and isn’t a planet) https://www.colinstuart.net/planet-nine-and-a-reminder-of-what-is-and-isnt-a-planet/ https://www.colinstuart.net/planet-nine-and-a-reminder-of-what-is-and-isnt-a-planet/#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2016 09:39:23 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=2000 The internet and news media are awash with news of “Planet Nine”. For the last few years astronomers have known that some of the objects orbiting the Sun beyond Pluto appear to be mysteriously aligned. One possible explanation for this is that there is a large body even further out and the gravity of that […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/planet-nine-and-a-reminder-of-what-is-and-isnt-a-planet/feed/ 2 2000 Stargazing in the Sahara https://www.colinstuart.net/stargazing-in-the-sahara/ https://www.colinstuart.net/stargazing-in-the-sahara/#respond Mon, 28 Sep 2015 12:49:03 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1975 On a recent holiday to Morocco I was lucky enough to spend one night sleeping in the Sahara desert. Cut off from the rest of the world, I have never been to a place more beautiful or more quiet. Only when you’re somewhere that remote do you realise just how much background noise you are […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/stargazing-in-the-sahara/feed/ 0 1975 Mars Orbiter spies Phobos in front of Red Planet https://www.colinstuart.net/mars-orbiter-spies-phobos-in-front-of-red-planet/ https://www.colinstuart.net/mars-orbiter-spies-phobos-in-front-of-red-planet/#respond Thu, 05 Feb 2015 10:57:18 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1835 Unlike our Moon, which is about one quarter the size of Earth, Phobos, the largest of Mars’s two moons is tiny – just 25 kilometres across. That makes it smaller than London. In this new image, released from The Mars Orbiter, Phobos is seen passing in front of Mars back in October. The gorgeous views […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/mars-orbiter-spies-phobos-in-front-of-red-planet/feed/ 0 1835 Astronaut posts immense picture of London from space https://www.colinstuart.net/astronaut-posts-immense-picture-of-london-from-space/ https://www.colinstuart.net/astronaut-posts-immense-picture-of-london-from-space/#respond Thu, 05 Feb 2015 10:36:30 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1832 Italian astronaut Sam Cristoforetti has one of the best views of anyone at the moment. Orbiting above our heads at 17,500 mph on the International Space Station, she can see up to 16 sunsets and sunrises in a single day. She also gets a unique view on the rest of us as we scurry around through […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/astronaut-posts-immense-picture-of-london-from-space/feed/ 0 1832 Cassini spies tiny moon Epimetheus next to Saturn’s rings https://www.colinstuart.net/cassini-spies-tiny-moon-epimetheus-next-to-saturns-rings/ https://www.colinstuart.net/cassini-spies-tiny-moon-epimetheus-next-to-saturns-rings/#respond Mon, 02 Feb 2015 16:55:32 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1825 Saturn is a lot of people’s favourite planet due to its resplendent rings. Some of those rings – made of house-sized chunks of ice – have recently been snapped by the Cassini space probe alongside the planet’s diminutive moon Epimetheus (just 113 kilometres across). Released today, but taken on December 5, 2014, Cassini was 2 million kilometres […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/cassini-spies-tiny-moon-epimetheus-next-to-saturns-rings/feed/ 0 1825 Beautiful new Hubble image of NGC 7714 https://www.colinstuart.net/beautiful-new-hubble-image-of-ngc-7714/ https://www.colinstuart.net/beautiful-new-hubble-image-of-ngc-7714/#respond Thu, 29 Jan 2015 15:30:58 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1816 The Hubble Space Telescope is the gift that keeps on giving. For more than 20 years now it has been churning out spectacular views of the cosmos. And this latest image of the galaxy NGC 7714 is no exception.   It beautifully illustrates how, over time, gravity can sculpt wondrous sights out of galaxies. A […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/beautiful-new-hubble-image-of-ngc-7714/feed/ 0 1816 Jawdropping new image of mystery gas cloud https://www.colinstuart.net/jawdropping-new-image-of-mystery-gas-cloud/ https://www.colinstuart.net/jawdropping-new-image-of-mystery-gas-cloud/#respond Wed, 28 Jan 2015 11:00:40 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1804 Astronomers have used the Very Large Telescope in Chile to image the ethereal gas cloud known as CG4.   It is an example of a ‘cometary globule’ – long, stretched out clouds of gas that are reminiscent of comets. They were first discovered in 1976 and their exact nature remains elusive. The new image shows […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/jawdropping-new-image-of-mystery-gas-cloud/feed/ 0 1804 Moon revealed around asteroid that recently buzzed past Earth https://www.colinstuart.net/moon-revealed-around-asteroid-that-recently-buzzed-past-earth/ https://www.colinstuart.net/moon-revealed-around-asteroid-that-recently-buzzed-past-earth/#respond Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:43:29 +0000 http://www.colinstuart.net/?p=1809 NASA has released new data from yesterday’s cosmic fly-past when asteroid 2004 BL86 zoomed past the Earth at a slightly greater distance than our Moon. Those observations appear to reveal the asteroid has a moon of its own. The main asteroid is 325 metres across and its companion measures 70 metres. Click the image below to see an […]

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]]> https://www.colinstuart.net/moon-revealed-around-asteroid-that-recently-buzzed-past-earth/feed/ 0 1809