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| 2008-11-17 | |
| Scots urged to see the light in campaign for 'dark sky parks' | |
| SCOTLAND could become the first country in Europe to have internationally recognised "dark sky parks" where visitors could go to enjoy the full spectacle of the night sky.
A campaign to make people more aware of the importance of dark skies has been launched to mark the 400th anniversary in 2009 of the discoveries of the astronomer Galileo. Next year has also been designated the International Year of Astronomy. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-11-04 | |
| Gazing at the Stars in Liverpool | |
| The Image Group celebrates our love of astronomy with large outdoor photography exhibition documenting stars, planets and galaxies as far away as 13 billion light years. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-10-27 | |
| Cardiff folk will be seeing stars better | |
| Cardiff University School of Physics and Astronomy has unveiled a new large optical telescope for use by students and the public. The Cardiff Half-metre Newise Telescope has enormous capability for carrying out astronomy, even through the bright night skies of Cardiff. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-25 | |
| Starry, starry night | |
| Starry-eyed expert and amateur astronomers in Pembrokeshire have told the Western Telegraph why they will be delighted to see street lighting cuts across the county. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-22 | |
| Star-gazers gather for celestial party | |
| Star gazers from all over the country are expected to gather for an autumn equinox sky camp held at a north Norfolk holiday park which has an ever growing reputation for the clarity of its skies. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-16 | |
| Exoplanet circles 'normal star' | |
| A planet has been pictured outside our Solar System which appears to be circling a star like our own Sun - a first in astronomy. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-15 | |
| Putting the fizz into physics | |
| The former keyboard player with D:Ream is set to become the nation's favourite scientist after talking us through the subatomic goings-on at Cern. Just don't mention the end of the world. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-09 | |
| Scots countdown to space tourism | |
| The night sky above Scotland could become as important to tourism as its landscape by day, according to experts on space and tourism. Science business boss Maarten de Vries said Scotland was one of a declining number of countries with large areas free of light pollution. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-08 | |
| The sky's the limit for astronomer | |
| He's spent more than 20 years watching the skies, but these days you're just as likely to see Mark Thompson zooming through them. That's because the chairman of Norwich Astronomical Society is edging a tiny bit closer to the galaxies he loves, by training to become a pilot, as DAN GRIMMER discovered. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-09-08 | |
| Sir Patrick special guest at astronomy festival | |
| ASTRONOMERS and stargazers from all over the country will descend on Herstmonceux Observatory this weekend for the Herstmonceux Astronomy Festival. The festival will be a celebration of all things astronomical with a series of lectures by astronomers and scientists. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-08-18 | |
| Star award for astronomer Andy Lound | |
| STARGAZER Andy Lound has given thousands of Brummies an out of this world experience over a 30 year career.
It was in August 1978 that the then teenage astronomer first invited his friends and neighbours in Rodway Close, Newtown, to look skywards and view the Perseid meteor shower. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-08-01 | |
| Sun and Moon set to put on show | |
| Skywatchers around the globe can see a total eclipse of the Sun on Friday.
A dark shadow will sweep across the surface of the planet in a broad arc as the Moon passes directly between the Earth and our star. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-31 | |
| Ancient Olympic Calculator Discovered | |
| An ancient astronomy calculator appears to show the four-year cycle of the early Greek competitions that inspired today's Olympic Games.
Newly uncovered inscriptions on the 2,100 year-old device reveal names linked to the Olympiad cycle of games once celebrated among ancient Greek city-states. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-29 | |
| Exeter astrophysicist in new planet discovery | |
| The European team running the CoRoT space mission has found a new planet orbiting a star slightly larger than the Sun. Their latest discovery was presented on 24 July 2008 at an international astronomy conference, the ‘Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun’ meeting at the University of St Andrews. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-23 | |
| STFC Media Release: Polarised sunglasses see black hole disks | |
| For the first time astronomers have found a way to get a clean view of the elusive disks of matter surrounding supermassive black holes. By using a polarising filter on the Science and Technology Facility Council s UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, they have been able to see through the clouds of dust which surround these black holes. This work is published on 24th July 2008 in Nature. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-16 | |
| World astronomy conference staged | |
| A major international gathering of astronomers will be held at St Andrews University for the first time.
Delegates from 26 countries will meet next week for the five-day long conference, entitled "Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun".
It is the 15th time the conference, which attracts about 350 astronomers, has been held but the first time that it has been hosted in the UK. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-10 | |
| Astronomy holidays: Where to go | |
| Stargazers and amateur astronomers an indulge their passion in one of these great locations for watching the heavens. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-07 | |
| "Ambitious" science funding announced | |
| A total of £1.9 billion of funding over the next three years has been announced for physics and astronomy projects that will have a 'great scientific impact'.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) says the funding will maintain UK scientific leadership in physics and astronomy and operate world-leading facilities for the benefit of UK scientists. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-04 | |
| Government backs down over plans to close Britain's 'eye in the sky' Jodrell Bank observatory | |
| The world famous Jodrell Bank observatory has been thrown a lifeline with the promise of Government cash 'to keep its future secure'.
The historic radio dish - which detected the first signals from the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1957 - had been threatened by savage spending cuts. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-07-02 | |
| Doubt over date for Brit invasion | |
| Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in 55BC could not have occurred on the dates stated in most history books, a team of astronomers have claimed.
The traditional view is that Caesar landed in Britain on 26-27 August, but researchers from Texas State University say this cannot be right. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-27 | |
| Asteroid 6137 newly renamed John | |
| An amateur Gloucestershire astronomer has had an asteroid named after him after Sir Patrick Moore nominated him for the honour.
John Fletcher, 60, regularly sends off data collected using the observatory in his back garden in Tuffley, Gloucester. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-26 | |
| Cunard Line Partners with The Royal Astronomical Society | |
| SOUTHAMPTON, England, June 26 /CNW/ -- Cunard Line is proud to announce a
new partnership with The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) onboard its trio of
famed luxury ocean liners, Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and QE2. Poised to
become a highlight of Cunard Insights, the Line's award-winning enrichment
programme, the RAS partnership begins this summer with RAS Fellows joining 15
voyages on such popular itineraries as Queen Mary 2's Transatlantic Crossings
and Caribbean voyages and Queen Victoria's Mediterranean sailings. RAS will
offer custom night sky displays of constellations and star navigation
instruction, and highlight astronomical points of interest using the SkyScan
software in the only planetarium at sea onboard Queen Mary 2. Nighttime "Star
Parties" on deck, informal discussion groups and formal lectures with leading
astronomers, will also be distinguishing features of this first-at-sea
programme. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-20 | |
| Jodrell Bank future looks better | |
| The future of eMerlin, a crucial upgrade to the world-famous Jodrell Bank observatory, in Cheshire, is starting to look brighter.
Its ranking has been raised in a review of science priorities for the body overseeing UK astronomy and physics. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-17 | |
| Europe determines a grand plan for astronomy | |
| The long-term future of European ground-based and spaced-based astronomy will be debated at the ASTRONET Symposium in Liverpool between 16 and 19 June 2008.
The Symposium will help to determine if Europe will be able to retain its position as world leader in astronomical research and space exploration by establishing a realistic plan for the required funds and infrastructures for the necessary scientific advances to be made. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-09 | |
| North Museum ponders creating astronomy club | |
| The North Museum of Natural History & Science will hold an open forum Saturday to discuss the possibility of creating an astronomy club for children.
The museum is inviting parents and their children to attend the meeting at 9 a.m.
"Right now it's really open, and that's why we're looking to get feedback from the parents and the kids to find out what they would want to do," North Museum marketing and membership coordinator Amanda Eckinger said. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-09 | |
| New space observatory completed | |
| Work has been completed on a new £75,000 observatory in the Highlands which is the only one in the region to be available to the public.
Highlands Astronomical Society will officially open the building on 21 June - the Summer Solstice. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-06 | |
| The first International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone Project brings the stars to Liverpool, UK | |
| With the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and UNESCO’s International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) nearly upon us, the Albert Dock in Liverpool will host the first event displaying breathtaking images from an IYA2009 Cornerstone project, From Earth to the Universe.
This majestic photographic display, which is planned for 7-29 June 2008, takes viewers on a colourful visual journey through the wonders of the Universe and allows them to travel back through 13 billion years across the evolving Universe. The 48 images were created by some of the world’s best astrophotographers — professionals as well as hobbyists, while the display was generated by a collaborative task group that includes members from the European Southern Observatory and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Center. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-06-03 | |
| Discovery Comes To A Night Sky Near You | |
| Stargazers across the UK will tonight be treated to a sparkling display of human endeavour.
Astronaut Dan Tani has told Sky News people will be able to look up and see the International Space Station and Discovery shuttle docked together as they fly over the UK at 17,000mph.
Mr Tani, who has just returned from the ISS after a four-month stay, said the station would pass over from west to east at 11.13pm and would be visible for five minutes. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-30 | |
| Amateur Finds the Fastest-Spinning Asteroid | |
| When a tiny object called 2008 HJ flew past Earth last month, observations by British amateur astronomer Richard Miles showed it to be about 12 by 24 meters long (the size of a nice yacht), tumbling end over end as it hurtled by. More surprising is that it turned once every 42.7 seconds — 66 times faster than Seattle's Space Needle — making this the fastest-spinning natural body yet known in our solar system. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-30 | |
| Observatory reaches for the sky with £5m visitor centre revamp | |
| STARGAZERS keen to unravel the mysteries of the night sky are set to benefit from a £5 million revamp of visitor facilities at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh.
At the heart of the ambitious project will be the Blackford Hill observatory's collection of 11,000 rare first edition books and manuscripts by scientists such as Kepler and Galileo.
Under the plans, these works would go on public display for the first time and a newly restored telescope would be installed in the historic building's east tower. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-22 | |
| Exploding star caught in the act | |
| Astronomers have been able to capture and record the first moments when a massive star blows itself apart.
After decades of searching, researchers have used the world's top telescopes to observe the remarkable event.
Previously, scientists had only been able to study these "supernovas" several days after the event.
The results, published in the journal Nature, show that within two hours of the blast, a giant fireball scattered radioactive debris across space. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-21 | |
| Enchanted Forest Appoints Big Ben’s Lighting Company | |
| The Enchanted Forest, the innovative outdoor sound and light show at Faskally Wood in Perthshire, has appointed Sound 2 Light, the company responsible for projecting provoking charity messages onto the side of Big Ben, to produce this year’s light show: A Journey Through Space.
The contract was won following a competitive three way tender, with Sound 2 Light’s strong theme clinching the deal for the Bristol based company.
Sound 2 Light have already made a name for themselves by illuminating some of the UK’s most unusual venues, including the projection of messages onto the side of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London, and the opening of the new Wembley Stadium. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-19 | |
| Sky is no limit for these city scientists | |
| The mysteries of deep space can be brought to earth thanks to the technical skill of observatory staff.
THEY are among the deepest and most profound questions known to humanity. How did we get here? What does the future hold for planet Earth? And is there life out there, somewhere among the stars?
Walkers enjoying the peace and panoramic views of Edinburgh from Blackford Hill may occasionally stop to wonder about such things, but a stone's throw away there is a team working to find answers to these timeless conund-rums. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-19 | |
| Star gazing with astronomer Dave Buttery | |
| Dave Buttery has been into astronomy since he watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon at the age of eight.
"I wanted to be a spaceman so I got a telescope and looked at the stars and have been doing work as an amateur ever since," he said.
Then seven years ago Dave, of Pingle Lane, left his job in IT, bought an inflatable planetarium and started the company Auriga Astronomy. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-14 | |
| Vatican star watcher says aliens may be out there | |
| The Catholic Church’s top astronomer has said there is no contradiction between the one true faith and believing in aliens.
The statement will surely spark speculation that the Church knows more than it’s letting on and is preparing the world for some pretty big revelations, or at least laying the groundwork for mass conversions of extra-terrestrials once we’ve tracked them down.
José Gabriel Funes, the director of the Vatican Observatory, admitted the possibility of extra-terrestrial life in an interview with the Papacy’s inhouse daily L'Osservatore Romano, titled “The Alien is my Brother”. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-13 | |
| Mysterious noctilucent clouds span the heavens | |
| A magical sight appeared just before dawn in Northern Ireland on May 5. A spooky, electric-blue glow lit up the northern sky; it was seen independently by two astronomers searching for meteors.
This fantastic spectacle was an unusually early case of noctilucent, or night-shining, clouds. These are the highest clouds in the atmosphere, floating around 80km (50 miles) high in the mesosphere, on the edge of space. Being so high, they are usually masked from view, so the best times to see them are in late twilight, after sunset or before dawn, when they often appear as shimmering, silvery blue ribbons. And usually the best months to see them are in June and July. “In my long years of observing noctilucent clouds, this is the earliest I have ever seen them,” reported John McConnell at Maghaberry, Co Antrim.
More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-13 | |
| Microsoft Combats Google Sky With “Worldwide Telescope” | |
| “Google Sky rival on its way, Gates puts release within next three weeks.”
Microsoft Corp., still smarting from its Yahoo rebuff, is now squaring off against Google Inc. over the search giant’s “Google Sky” application, with the launch of “WorldWide Telescope,” extending its battle for Internet dominance with Google to the cosmos.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Friday that WorldWide Telescope is a program for discovering images of the night sky will arrive by the end of May, and is available for free to anyone who wants to use it.
Worldwide Telescope is tool that helps people to watch the celestial body through the data collected by telescopes all around the world -- and above it: the software uses the best images from the Hubble Space Telescope and approximately ten earth bound telescopes and allows users to view outer space. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-08 | |
| Europe creates largest radio telescope network | |
| One of the world's largest fully steerable telescopes is the 100-metre Effelsberg telescope, which recently joined e-EVN, Europe's largest radio interferometric telescope network. The new addition has enabled the network to double its surface and sensitivity. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-08 | |
| Stark message in the sky: Funding dries up for British astronomers | |
| Even after 50 years, the view of the huge Lovell radio telescope dominating the Cheshire Plain is still one of the most futuristic sights in Britain. It speaks of many things: of the unexplored far reaches of space and time; of Big Bangs and black holes; of stars and galaxies; and of so many things far beyond us. Its founder, Sir Bernard Lovell, who at the age of 94 still works there three days a week, described the telescope as being "at the centre of immensities". More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-05-01 | |
| Hopes of saving observatory rise | |
| EDINBURGH University is in talks over a rescue plan for the city's Royal Observatory, where up to 50 jobs are under threat.
The UK's Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC), which shares the observatory on Blackford Hill with the university's Institute of Astronomy, was told at the end of last year its budget will be halved over the next three years. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-30 | |
| MPs report blames Government and a quango for science funding crisis | |
| Mismanagement of research by the Government and a quango has damaged Britain's reputation abroad and put some of its most prestigious science facilities at risk, a committee of MPs says today.
A crisis in British physics, one that has seen petitions of protest signed by thousands of physicists, is blamed today on Government interference and a quango with a poorly conceived delivery plan, lamentable communication and poor leadership. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-28 | |
| Star Man | |
| Since he was a child, Gary Fildes has been fixated with the night skies.
But by keeping his feet firmly on the ground he has become the driving force behind one of Europe's newest stargazing facilities – a groundbreaking new observatory at Kielder Forest, set to open this weekend. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-23 | |
| Space investment attracts kids to science say Hawkings | |
| In a lecture celebrating NASA's 50th anniversary at George Washington University yesterday, theoretical astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking, a journalist and book author, argued that an active human spaceflight program is one of the few opportunities for governments to attract students into the sciences. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-18 | |
| Royal Society president's anti-astronaut comments sparks UK backlash | |
| UK space scientists have criticised Martin Rees, president of the UK's national academy of science, the Royal Society, and the University of Cambridge's professor of cosmology and astrophysics, for his comments that Europe should abandon human spaceflight "to be competitive". More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-18 | |
| Science cuts threaten Jodrell Bank radio telescope | |
| The Labour government of Prime Mister Gordon Brown is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts in the UK science budget, with many critical programmes and facilities now threatened. In March, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) outlined a Programmatic Review listing all the science projects it funds in order of priority. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-17 | |
| Gravity 'ripples' hunt upgraded | |
| The next phase in physics' great 21st century quest - to detect gravitational waves - has been approved. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-16 | |
| Demand for Europe space rethink | |
| Europe should give up on sending men and women into space and concentrate on unmanned projects, according to one of the world's leading astronomers. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-15 | |
| Brian May attacks science research cuts | |
| Queen guitarist and astronomer Brian May has said under-funding in science is a "big mistake" and threatens the UK's future on the world stage. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-15 | |
| Cambridge academics shed new light on the Sun | |
| New insights into solar activity have been revealed thanks to research from a group of Cambridge. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-14 | |
| Science cuts: Funding chief has his say | |
| Professor Keith Mason is chief executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which funds astronomy and particle physics in the UK. The STFC has been embroiled in a storm of criticism over cuts to its science portfolio. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-14 | |
| THz QCL operating temperature raised by 10°C | |
| In collaboration with professor Frederico Capasso’s group at Harvard University, the UK’s University of Leeds has raised the operating temperature for a terahertz quantum cascade laser (THz QCL) by nearly 10°C, from the previous record of just -104°C (169K) to -95°C (178K) More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-14 | |
| Old galaxies stick together in the young universe | |
| UK astronomers have developed the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe ever produced, revealing the origins of the most massive galaxies in the cosmos. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-11 | |
| An astronomer's view of funding cuts | |
| Paul Crowther is a professor of astrophysics at Sheffield University.
He has been a regular commentator on the funding cuts that have thrown UK particle physics and astronomy into turmoil. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-11 | |
| Hubble Pinpoints Visible Glow of Brightest Gamma Ray Burst | |
| University of Leicester astronomers have used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to peer across 7.5 billions light-years, halfway back to the big bang, to photograph the fading optical counterpart of a powerful gamma-ray burst. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-10 | |
| ASTRONET Symposium, Liverpool, UK | |
| The ASTRONET Symposium will take place from 16 to 18 June in Liverpool, UK. Several hundred of Europe's leading astronomers are expected to travel there to help finalise a unique 'Road Map to the Stars', which will act as the blueprint for Europe's ongoing exploration of the Universe over the next 20 years, guiding all major astronomical research and development. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-10 | |
| Peer review informed ILC pull-out | |
| The UK government claims that the controversial decision to pull the country out of plans for the International Linear Collider (ILC) was taken on the basis of peer review. The government’s claim is made in its response to a petition on the Downing Street website, signed by over 17,500 people, that called on the prime minister Gordon Brown to “reverse the decision to cut vital UK contributions to particle physics and astronomy”. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-10 | |
| Black hole in funding say scientists | |
| The young man at the back of the room got a big clap. "I'm a PhD student in solar physics. Why, in the current climate, should I and other students take the risk of continuing to do research in this area?" he'd asked the panel. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-10 | |
| The largest synthesized telescope in Europe doubles its surface | |
| The 100m Radio Telescope Effelsberg enters operations of the e-EVN network, enhancing its sensitivity to detect the radio sky providing the sharpest images in nearby real time. The European radio interferometric network e-EVN almost doubles its sensitivity with the addition of the largest radio telescope in Europe. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-09 | |
| Space trawl nets galactic result | |
| SYDNEY: A ten-year star survey that found hundreds of thousands of galaxies has seen the project's Australian and British leaders lauded by a U.K. space conference. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-09 | |
| Witnessing The Formation Of Distant Galaxies | |
| UK astronomers have produced the most sensitive infrared map of the distant Universe ever undertaken. Combining data over a period of three years, they have produced an image containing over 100,000 galaxies over an area four times the size of the full Moon. Some of the first results from this project will be presented by Dr Sebastien Foucaud from the University of Nottingham on Friday 4th April at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting in Belfast. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-08 | |
| U.K. scientists find 'scaled-down' version of solar system | |
| Astronomers in the United Kingdom say they have discovered a planetary system that is similar to our own, orbiting more than 5,000 light-years from Earth. More / Comment >> | |
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| 2008-04-07 | |
| Look out for a young, slim Moon | |
| Tomorrow evening (6 April) will offer an excellent chance from the UK to view an extremely young Moon, as long as the weather plays ball. With an age of less than 17 hours, just the merest sliver of a crescent will be displayed. More / Comment >> | |
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