A friend of mine, the keen amateur astronomer Colin Henshaw, brought the following photograph to my attention. It appears to show the Moon rising over Mossel Bay in South Africa. Although it was passed off as a genuine image, in fact it must be a fake. If you study the Moon, it is how it… Continue reading Fake Astronomical Images
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
2021 will be an interesting year for human space flight. Not only is it the sixtieth anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic first manned spaceflight, but it will be the first time that a privately operated spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station (ISS). This private spacecraft is not just a one-off but will be… Continue reading Human spaceflight in 2021
Like many of my readers I was pleased to see that the Chang’e 5 spacecraft returned to Earth on 16 December 2020 with around 2 kg of lunar rocks. This great achievement was the first lunar sample return mission for China and is indeed the first time any rocks have been brought from the Moon… Continue reading Chinese Moon samples
Polaris, commonly known as the pole star, is situated near the North Celestial Pole and has been used for centuries for navigation. But Polaris hasn't always been the Pole Star and won't be in future. This is gradually changing over a 25 800 year cycle.
Explaining Science 