Like many of my readers I was pleased to see that the Chang’e 5 spacecraft returned to Earth on 16 December 2020 with around 2 kg of lunar rocks. This great achievement was the first lunar sample return mission for China and is indeed the first time any rocks have been brought from the Moon… Continue reading Chinese Moon samples
Author: Steve Hurley
Hi I am Steve Hurley. Although I work in the IT industry. I studied for a PhD in astronomy in the 1980s. My real passion is explaining scientific concepts to a non-scientific audience. My blog (explainingscience.org) covers various scientific topics, but primarily astronomy. It is written in a style that it is easily understandable to the non scientist.
Publications and videos
For links to my books and videos please visit www.explainingscience.org
Dark energy an unexpected finding
I offered recently to write an article for my local astronomy society on the discovery of dark energy. It is an expanded version of the blog post I wrote on the topic last year and, at over 3000 words, it is longer than my usual posts. I thought it would be of interest to many… Continue reading Dark energy an unexpected finding
Arecibo Update
Since the publication of this post on 2 December 2020 it appears that Arecibo observatory may be rebuilt. Although the $8 million pledged by the Puerto Rico Rico government is clearly not enough https://www.engadget.com/puerto-rico-approves-8-million-to-rebuild-arecibo-telescope-155454170.html I was saddened to see that the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has closed following catastrophic damage to its cables and… Continue reading Arecibo Update
Why Haven’t We Heard from Aliens?
Interest in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has risen, highlighted by the Allen Telescope Array. Despite decades of searching for alien signals, no evidence has been found, which may be due to the rarity of intelligent life, communication methods, or missed signals. Some theories suggest advanced civilizations may self-destruct or remain undetected.
The changing pole star
Polaris, commonly known as the pole star, is situated near the North Celestial Pole and has been used for centuries for navigation. But Polaris hasn't always been the Pole Star and won't be in future. This is gradually changing over a 25 800 year cycle.
