Category Archives: Astronomy

Comet NEOWISE – catch it if you can

Posted on 21 July 2020 by Stephen

Comet NEOWISE has come but not yet gone. If there is no cloud cover for the next night or two, you might be able to catch its wispy presence low in the north-west before it fades from view. Don\’t feel bad … Continue reading →

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Transitory Mercury

Posted on 9 May 2016 by Stephen

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get to see today’s celestial encounter. The forecast was for blanket cover by early afternoon and the blue skies of the morning had largely filled with cloud by lunchtime, when the transit was … Continue reading →

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What’s the Extent of the Problem?

Posted on 30 January 2016 by Athene Donald

I don’t usually recycle my posts, but the time seems ripe to repost this particular one appended below. I wrote it just over three years ago. It asks ‘Just how bad is it?’ referring to the issue of sexual harassment. … Continue reading →

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Mars Attacks (the senses)

Posted on 10 May 2014 by Stephen

Last night on Twitter someone posted a ‘selfie’ taken by the Mars Curiosity rover. It’s quite a photograph, particularly since it captures a fantastic piece of human technology amidst the landscape of another planet. The detail is what makes the … Continue reading →

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Tripped up by the light fantastic

Posted on 30 June 2013 by Stephen

Yesterday I went to Mars. I stood on the surface and gazed at the dusty red ground, illuminated as far as the pink horizon by sunlight weakened from a journey that is a 100 million kilometres longer than the distance to … Continue reading →

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Passing By

Posted on 6 June 2012 by Stephen

I was determined not to miss the transit of Venus today. Life’s too short. But this week I have relocated to St Raphael in the south of France for a conference on picornaviruses and had to leave my telescope behind. Despite … Continue reading →

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Fabulous night

Posted on 27 March 2012 by Stephen

Tonight, at the end of an exhausting day, I have few words, but it was beautifully clear so I have taken some pictures of the night sky. And made a short film. The photographs are by no means exemplary. The … Continue reading →

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Resurgence and Resilience

Posted on 15 August 2011 by Steve Caplan

There’s nothing like nature on a fine weekend to revitalize oneself after a rough week in the trenches laboffice. This weekend, we began Friday evening with a trip to the Neale Woods observatory to view the night sky telescopically–in particular … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, education, hiking, Lake Zorinsky, luck, meteor, omaha, perseus, Research, researchers, resilience, science | Comments Off on Resurgence and Resilience

Rings of Saturn

Posted on 22 April 2011 by Stephen

It has been a beautifully clear and sunny day – perfect weather for a barbecue. We dined and chatted with our guests as the afternoon turned to dusk and then the stars began to wink in the night sky. After … Continue reading →

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Sun Spot

Posted on 17 April 2011 by Stephen

I have been working my way around the solar system with my telescope. The moon was easy to spot. And Jupiter and Saturn were not so very difficult to find, though they proved to be beyond my photographic capabilities. Over the … Continue reading →

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