These are some of my cosmology posts
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The shortest days
Originally posted on Explaining Science: Revised 10 September 2018 Most people are probably unaware of this but the length of a solar day, which is the natural day measured by the rising and setting of the Sun isn’t always 24 hours. It varies slightly throughout the course of the year and that September 18 is in fact the shortest solar day…
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20 Years of the International Space Station: A Milestone for humans in space
The International Space Station (ISS), initiated in 1998 with the launch of the Zarya module, symbolizes global cooperation, mainly between the US and Russia. Manned since November 2000, its construction relied heavily on the Space Shuttle program. Research on the ISS focuses on microgravity effects, including impacts on human health and material sciences. Transport is…
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The International Space Station
Update May 2026 This post has been replaced by the post: Twenty Years of the International Space Station
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Lunar eclipse 27 July 2018
On 27 July 2018 there will be a total eclipse of the Moon, which will be viewable from many areas of the world. This will be the first total lunar eclipse able to be observed in the UK for nearly three years and it will be worth making the effort to see, especially since, for…
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The Martian Methane Mystery
In 2014, NASA’s Curiosity rover detected methane on Mars, suggesting an unknown replenishing process due to its short atmospheric lifespan. While Earth’s methane largely originates from biological sources, the Martian findings remain ambiguous. Subsequent missions, including ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter, reported no detectable methane, deepening the mystery.… Continue reading The Martian Methane Mystery →
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June 21 2018 – the solstice
This year, the June solstice will fall on 21 June. In the northern hemisphere, it is the day when there is the most daylight and when the Sun is at its highest in the midday sky. Sunrise at the solstice at Stonehenge, England – image from Wikimedia commons The origin of the word solstice is…
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The anthropic principle.
The post discusses the anthropic principle, which suggests that the laws of physics and the universe are finely tuned for life. Introduced by Brandon Carter in 1973, it highlights how slight changes in fundamental forces would prevent life. The article contrasts strong and weak anthropic principles and touches upon concepts like the Omega Point and…
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Jupiter at opposition 9 May 2018
On May 9 Jupiter is at opposition. This event, which occurs every 399 days, happens when Jupiter is at its closest to the Earth and at its brightest. To the naked eye it is a brilliant white object, three times brighter than the brightest star. Features such as coloured bands and the famous great red…
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The Rare Earth hypothesis
Updated 15 December 2025 Ever since the pioneering work of Frank Drake (1930-2022) way back in 1960, astronomers have been looking for radio signals from extraterrestrial civilisations but all SETI searches have failed to find anything. This could be because Earth-like planets containing complex life forms (such as ourselves) are rare in the Universe and only…
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Galileo and the telescope
Updated March 2026 Telescopes are instruments which use multiple lenses to produce magnified images of distant objects. It is unclear who invented the first telescope: lenses had been widely used in Europe to correct poor eyesight since the fourteenth century and I expect that, over time, the telescope was actually invented many times by different…
Explaining Science 