Lunar eclipse 21 January 2019

On the night of 20/21 January 2019 there will be a total eclipse of the Moon, which will be viewable from many areas of the world. This will be worth making the effort to see, especially for my readers in the western USA and Canada for whom it will occur at a sociable hour. The… Continue reading Lunar eclipse 21 January 2019

The darker mornings.

Updated 14 December 2025 As I complete this post from my home in Manchester, England, it is 4:30 pm and already  dark outside. Many people think that it will continue to get dark earlier each day in the afternoon until we reach the winter solstice , which in 2025 occurs on 21 December in the… Continue reading The darker mornings.

The Impact of Copernicus on Astronomy

Updated January 19 2026 The move away from the prevailing Earth-centred theory of the Universe to the heliocentric theory published in 1543 by Nicolas Copernicus, represents one of the greatest advances in astronomy ever made. Nicolas Copernicus - Image from Wikimedia Commons Problems with the Geocentric Theory The Geocentric theory of the Universe was the… Continue reading The Impact of Copernicus on Astronomy

Geocentric Cosmology

Updated 14 December 2025 Today it is generally accepted fact that the Earth is one of eight planets which revolve around the Sun, that the Sun is one of 400 billion or so stars in our Milky Way galaxy and that the Milky Way is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable… Continue reading Geocentric Cosmology

The discovery of pulsars 1967

Updated 14 December 2025 In 1967, a 24-year-old student from Cambridge University, Jocelyn Bell, was doing the research for her PhD. She was using a radio telescope to study radio waves emitted from compact astronomical objects known as quasars, and when she analysed the data she had collected, she noticed a signal which appeared to… Continue reading The discovery of pulsars 1967