For revised post containing more tips on how to view the Perseids see The Perseids 2021. On 12 August you may be lucky enough - if it's a clear night and you are somewhere without too much light pollution - to see a phenomenon called the Perseids, which is a meteor shower which appears at… Continue reading The Perseids
On 8 July 2011 Atlantis took off for the final 13 day mission of the Space Shuttle programme and it remains to this day the last American spacecraft to carry humans into orbit. The landing of Atlantis on 21 July 2011, which brought the Space Shuttle programme to a close - Image from NASA. Development of… Continue reading July 8 2011- The Final Mission
On 4 July 2016 the NASA spacecraft Juno will arrive at Jupiter after a 5 year journey. It will be the ninth space probe to visit the planet. The first was Pioneer 10, which flew past in December 1973, (see notes). Juno will go into an orbit around the planet which will take it close to its poles.… Continue reading Mission Juno
The June solstice will fall on June 20 or June 21 this year, depending on where you are in the world. It is the longest day in the northern hemisphere and the day when the Sun is at its highest in the midday sky (see note). The origin of the word solstice is from the Latin words sol,… Continue reading June 20- The Solstice
I was very pleased to hear a couple of weeks ago that the UK government plans to introduce a piece of legislation called the Modern Transport Bill. This may not sound very exciting, but behind the uninspiring name is the intention to ultimately establish the UK's first commercial spaceports, from which space tourists as well as scientists… Continue reading Spaceport UK?
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