In 2024 September 22 is the date of the September equinox and is also the first day of autumn (or the first day of spring if you're one of my readers in the Southern Hemisphere). In this post I’ll talk about the equinoxes and discus the commonly held, but not quite correct, view that they… Continue reading September 22 2024 – the equinox
Tag: Space
Commercial Space Travel
Although a small number of extremely wealthy space tourists have paid millions of dollars for orbital spaceflight, by their very nature only a handful of people can take part in these spaceflights each year. It looks like Virgin Galactic will start commercial spaceflights aimed a larger audience soon. According to the Virgin Galactic Website Galactic… Continue reading Commercial Space Travel
4 October 1957 – Sputnik 1
Updated 17 December Despite the somewhat difficult relations between Russia and the West in the last few years, it is worth looking back over 68 years to October 1957 and the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1. This historic event, which caught many in the West by complete surprise, was the beginning of… Continue reading 4 October 1957 – Sputnik 1
Frank Drake and the Drake equation
I was saddened to find out about the recent death, at the age of 92, of Frank Drake, one of the pioneers of SETI. One of the things he is most famous for is the equation bearing his name which estimates the number of intelligent civilisations in our galaxy, the Drake equation. As a tribute… Continue reading Frank Drake and the Drake equation
James Webb Telescope
On 18 December a Ariane 5 rocket will take off from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, aboard it will be the $12 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) - the most expensive scientific instrument ever launched into space. In this post I’ll talk about this remarkable telescope and the mission to deploy it.… Continue reading James Webb Telescope
Explaining Science 