A Geek and Freelancer Writing About the Awesomeness of Science
The Wright Brothers made the first successful crewed heavier-than-air flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December, 1903. Ten years to the day, a contract was signed and on New Year’s Day in 1914 the world’s first scheduled commercial flight of a winged aircraft took place. Occurring between Florida’s St. Petersburg and Tampa, the... Continue Reading →
Moree is a country town in New South Wales and is just over 120 kilometres from the Queensland border. It has a rich history dating back to 1862 and was home to the country’s second Earth Station, a relay point linking satellites and telecommunications equipment across the Pacific Ocean. The Earth station also played a... Continue Reading →
Robotic space probes have been venturing into the depths of the Solar System since the 1960s. The Deep Space Network (DSN) makes it possible to communicate with such craft. There are three facilities across the Earth: (1) Goldstone, California; (2) Canberra, Australia and (3) Madrid, Spain. The DSN has a proud history and has made... Continue Reading →
Between 1 July, 1957, and December 31, 1958, scientists from 67 different countries took part in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The worldwide study focused on the Earth’s physical properties and processes, covering scientific fields such as meteorology, seismology, oceanography, glaciology and others. Not only did it lead to some of the most important discoveries... Continue Reading →
The first exoplanet was discovered in 1992 and it opened up a new era of planetary science. Eight years later, a group of astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) took a series of infrared images of a brown dwarf. What they didn’t know at the time was they had also taken the first ever... Continue Reading →
Sir Douglas Mawson is one of Australia’s all-time greatest explorers. He’s best known for his trips to Antarctica and work in geology. From 1984–1996, his image was on the front of the $100 paper banknote. But how and why was he chosen for it? Sir Douglas Mawson Born on 5 May, 1882, Mawson and his... Continue Reading →
From humble beginnings, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth in Vostok 1 on 12 April, 1961. The flight lasted a short 108 minutes and he would become a world hero afterwards. Sadly, his life was cut short in the years that followed. Gagarin was born on 9 March, 1934, and was... Continue Reading →
It was described as a great grey ghost coming out of the mist by the Fire Island coast guard on duty as the RMS Queen Elizabeth came into view. It was March 7, 1940, and no one in New York was expecting the arrival of the world’s largest ocean liner, which meant everything had gone... Continue Reading →
Before being reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, Pluto was considered the ninth and final planet of the Solar System. It was discovered in 1930 but it wasn’t until 1978 when astronomers discovered a second object. Named Charon, the moon was nearly half the diameter of Pluto and defied all expectations. While working at... Continue Reading →
Former astronaut Andy Thomas turned 70 years old today (December 18). Besides having a distinguished career with NASA, he has achieved much as an Australian in space. Even now, Thomas continues to champion the development of the space sector in our country. Thomas grew up in Adelaide and was fascinated with space from a young... Continue Reading →