Updated 21 November 2025 In this post I’ll talk about the star Gliese 710. In 1.3 million years’ time it is forecast to pass within 0.166 light years of the Solar System, 25 times closer than Proxima Centauri which is our current nearest star (excluding the Sun of course). The close approach of Gliese 710… Continue reading Gliese 710: The Closest Future Star Encounter
Tag: Earth
No more leap seconds
With all the events going on in the world it passed almost unnoticed that a decision was made recently to abolish the leap second. The resolution was made on 18 November 2022 during a meeting held in Paris held by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. What is a leap second? The length of… Continue reading No more leap seconds
Overview of tides
Updated 16 December 2025 Even though the Moon is far smaller and less massive than the Earth its gravitational field still has significant effects on our planet. The most noticeable of these are tides, the periodic rise and fall of sea levels. In this post I'll give an overview of the causes of tides. This… Continue reading Overview of tides
The changing pole star
Updated 21 November 2025 Many people know that Polaris, the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor (The Little Bear), is also known as the pole star. Indeed, the name Polaris itself was invented in the sixteenth century and is derived from the Latin stella polaris -pole star. The location of Polaris - Image credit… Continue reading The changing pole star
Staying on the Moon
Until the outbreak of the global pandemic there was a good chance that mankind would return to the Moon in the next ten years, even if the deadline of project Artemis to have a manned mission in 2024 was a little ambitious. It will be some time before the effects of the current crisis on… Continue reading Staying on the Moon
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