In this post I'll look into the distant future and talk about humans living and building settlements on the planet Venus. Because it is well beyond what we can achieve with our current technology, it is a topic that been more in the realm of science fiction rather than factual scientific writing. However, even though there are many difficult obstacles in… Continue reading Living on Venus
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
Transit of Venus
On 6 June 2012, a transit of Venus occurred. This rare astronomical event, when Venus passes directly in front of the Sun, and appears as a large black dot on its surface slowly moving from one side to the other in about 3 hours, has only happened eight times since the invention of the telescope (ref 1). This post… Continue reading Transit of Venus
Happy new year 2016
Happy new year to all my readers and followers. I hope you have had a good festive break. My and wife and I went on a cruise to the Canary Islands, Lisbon and Madeira over Christmas to get away from the cold and damp North West of England. During our holiday I was hoping to… Continue reading Happy new year 2016
The evenings are drawing out already
Revised 14 December 2025 As I complete this post, it's completely dark outside and it's only 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Today is 14 December, and most people I come across think that it will continue to get dark earlier and earlier in the afternoons until 21 December (the date of the winter solstice in 2025), the… Continue reading The evenings are drawing out already
Akatsuki – a second chance – Updated (7 Dec 2015)
This an update to my original post from 4 December. In a press release today the Japanese space agency JAXA confirmed that the smaller rocket motors had fired as planned and the Akatsuki is now in orbit round Venus. The announcement (http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2015/12/20151207_akatsuki.html) went on to say: "The orbiter is now in good health. We are… Continue reading Akatsuki – a second chance – Updated (7 Dec 2015)
Explaining Science 