The most distant star ever seen has been observed by astronomers, who say the discovery could unlock secrets of a still-unknown era of the universe. The light from the star has taken some 12.9 billion years to reach Earth, much more than the nine billion light years of the farthest “supergiant” previously observed. Scientists said […]
August has been a spectacular month for astronomy, with a livelier than usual Perseids meteor shower, and five planets visible in the evening sky. Early tonight, one of the most impressive and rare sights will be visible just after sunset, as Venus and Jupiter will appear to almost touch, as space.com reports. Of course in reality the two […]
I’m looking forward to The Martian, the new film starring Matt Damon which opens this week. The word is that if you like your science fiction with the emphasis on science, rather than fiction, it promises to be a rewarding experience. Yesterday, NASA announced the results of research which shows that liquid water has been observed on the surface […]
Of course there’s a lot to do on board the International Space Station, but for an Italian astronaut, good coffee has to be a priority! So Samantha Cristoforetti became the first person to brew and drink an authentic espresso in space, and in doing so she paid tribute to a fictional female space pioneer who never […]
How big is a satellite? Well it doesn’t need to be any bigger than a drink can, according to the organisers of a competition for Irish schools, launched today by former NASA astronaut Greg Johnson. Colonel Johnson is President and Executive Director for the Centre for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the US National Laboratory […]
We’ve talked about Rosetta before. The European Space Agency’s mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko took 10 years to catch up with the comet, which is about the size of a city, and which we now know is shaped like a rubber duck! It’s also a rough uneven surface, with gravity 100,000 times less than Earth’s. Landing on it […]
The last ‘SuperMoon’ of 2014 is taking place right now. The best nights to see it are Sept 7th, 8th and 9th, with the Moon technically being closest to Ireland in the small hours of Monday Sept. 8th. Astronomy Ireland is inviting people to send in their photographs of this ‘extra-large’ Moon, and their comments and […]
The Juno spacecraft is on a mission to Jupiter and will arrive in 2016. Meanwhile, it’s building up speed to get there, and that involved a fly-by of Earth last month, using the gravity of its home planet to give it a push along the way. As it passed, its cameras captured pictures of the […]
While some governments seem to have “issues” with moving towards a more “open” government and recognising their citizens wishes, the US government seems to be doing quite a good job .. At least they’ve got a sense of humour and are familiar with popular culture. When someone started a petition on the White House site […]
Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died at 82. Armstrong suffered complications during heart surgery. Armstrong is best remembered for the quote: That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind
