ForĀ 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. DevelopmentĀ 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 ninthĀ space probe to visit the planet. The first wasĀ 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 itsĀ poles.… Continue reading Mission Juno
As discussed in aĀ previous post,Ā in the far futureĀ humanity may decide to terraformĀ Venus so that the planetĀ hasĀ a similar temperature and atmosphere to that which currently exists on the Earth. However, the lack of a global magnetic field would cause significant obstacles to humans settling on Venus. Without this protective shield inhabitants would be exposed to the… Continue reading Giving Venus an artificial magnetic field
Revised and Updated 1 February 2026 The Earth is unique among the inner planets in our Solar System (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) in that it has a strong magnetic field. It is this invisible field whichĀ causes the needle of a compass toĀ point North that has been used by navigators for centuries and is used… Continue reading The Earth’s magnetic field
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