Physical Science

2009 marks the beginning of the International Year of Astronomy. It is probably no surprise then, that this particular “Year of Astronomy” occurs 400 years after Galileo Galilae first turned the telescope skyward. The anniversary of such a world changing…
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Are we alone? Many humans live on the planet Earth with over six billion other humans and are always alone, or feel that they are. Humans have a tendency to feel lonely and even when they are in a crowd…
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The North Star is well-named; its location in the night-time sky enables one to determine where north lies no matter where one stands in the northern hemisphere. For this reason ocean-going navigators and land wayfarers alike depended on the North…
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Stars are born in vast clouds of dust and gas, and take many years to evolve into the brilliant objects that illuminate our night skies. Stars are immense balls of hydrogen and helium, which shine by the same nuclear reactions…
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Once upon a time, around 15 billion years ago, time and space was created. Before that, nothing happened – nothing could happen because there was no time for it to happen in. Nor was there anywhere for it to happen….
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TV series, movies, comic books, and a horde of other media creations have all made the alien a household recognized image. The typical biog head with wrap around eyes and a frail body is the traditional alien appearance and of…
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Dr Tom McDonough, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology, is waiting patiently for along distance call. If it comes, it will have taken years to arrive and will have crossed trillions of kilometres of empty space. It will…
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NASA is currently producing a new type of map of the world’s forests, using satellite-based laser technology. It is intended to measure forest height and density around the world, in order to study the extent to which forests function as…
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Call me a big kid if you want but there’s just something intrinsically exciting about receiving a gift in a solid metal briefcase. Like a sci fi treasure chest, reassuringly heavy. It was as a Christmas present I received the…
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The Kepler space telescope is NASA’s most ambitious effort yet to find Earth-like planets orbiting other stars in our galaxy. This three-foot-diameter telescope was launched in 2009 and has already produced tantalizing evidence of planets which were previously too small…
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