I listened to two talks in September that blurred together and definitely inspired me to think more about human colonisation of space, and in particular whether space stations or the surface of planets/moons would be better locations. Colonisation is an old science fiction theme, almost to the point of having become hackneyed without careful thoughtContinue reading “Human Colonies in Space…”
Category Archives: Science
An interesting cluster of sunspots on 8/10/26…
These images show an interesting cluster of sunspots that were visible in white light on 8th October: One of my friends asked, “What does that mean though?” That’s a fair question… and sometimes I forget that people don’t generally know these kinds of things! Here’s my answer to that excellent question: “The Sun is aContinue reading “An interesting cluster of sunspots on 8/10/26…”
Sunspots images with the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope…
Having made a first pass of my partial solar eclipse images from 12/8/26, I thought I’d take a look at how much detail in the visible sunspots had been captured using the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope and a digital phone camera – and I was impressed! I’ve desaturated the colour, slightly boosted the contrast andContinue reading “Sunspots images with the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope…”
Partial Solar Eclipse – 12/8/26…
The UK enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on 12/8/26. About 92% of the Sun was covered by the Moon, and it seemed liked 92% of all people had gone out to see it! I chose to view the eclipse from the cliff tops at Minnis Bay, on the Isle of Thanet. This location has anContinue reading “Partial Solar Eclipse – 12/8/26…”
Astronomy: Python script to convert coordinates between epochs…
I like using “Burnham’s Celestial Handbook”, but the 1950s epoch coordinates quickly get frustrating, as we’re mostly using J2000 now. To speed up my workflow, I created this Python script to quickly convert from 1950s to J2000 coordinates. You’re welcome to pick it up (see disclaimer directly below) from my area on ‘Pcloud’ (Europe’s secure &Continue reading “Astronomy: Python script to convert coordinates between epochs…”
Who do you nominate to be the greatest influence on science?
In my local Science discussion group, the current topic of debate is “who do you nominate to be the greatest influence on science?” – This is a very hard question to answer! Science generally progresses through the collaborative output of thousands of minds. Derek J. de Solla Price estimated that 80-90% of all scientists whoContinue reading “Who do you nominate to be the greatest influence on science?”
Partial solar eclipse – 29/3/25…
Building on the technique I developed last summer for observing the Sun (see “Sept ’24 – Solar Observations from Summer ’24…” from 25/9/24 on my blog), I was well-placed to observe today’s partial solar eclipse. Here is an image I took, showing both the Moon passing between Earth and the Sun, and a few sunspots:Continue reading “Partial solar eclipse – 29/3/25…”
A Problem with Fundamental Physics…
In my opinion, the purpose of Physics is to determine the key physical processes governing how the natural world works, and to write down the associated mathematical Laws which describe them. From Galileo to Newton to Einstein, building on the work of thousands of scientists, much (obviously not all) of the focus has been onContinue reading “A Problem with Fundamental Physics…”
Solar observations – summer ’24…
I’ve been indulging my love for Astronomy with a little 70mm / f5.7 refractor that I picked up at the start of the year. This summer was great for observing the Sun via eyepiece projection (don’t try that at home unless you know what you’re doing… I melted the inside of a 10mm eyepiece whileContinue reading “Solar observations – summer ’24…”
A mathematical model of the launch of Apollo 11 to Earth-parking-orbit…
I’ve always been interested in the technology of spaceflight, and particularly the 1960s solutions to the problem using the Saturn-V launcher. I think it is the complexity of the machine, combined with its extraordinary thrust and the drama of being the first to take humans to the Moon that is so captivating. I was notContinue reading “A mathematical model of the launch of Apollo 11 to Earth-parking-orbit…”
