A Geek and Freelancer Writing About the Awesomeness of Science
Before it was proven humans could survive the trip to space, the Soviet Union sent dogs in rockets to the outer edge of the atmosphere. The oldest tests date back as far as 1951. As a result, dogs were among the earliest space pioneers. Dogs versus Apes America and the Soviet Union had very different... Continue Reading →
The RMS Titanic is the most famous ship in history due to its tragic fate of sinking on its maiden voyage. On April 14, 1912, and close to midnight, the ship collided with an iceberg and with over 2200 people aboard almost 70% would perish. Ironically, too, the Titanic was also described as being unsinkable.... Continue Reading →
Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Its slightly larger than our own Moon and over 150 volcanos have been discovered on it, some of which shoot material 300 kilometres into space. At a distance of 422,000 kilometres, Io orbits extremely close to Jupiter and the two are locked... Continue Reading →
A pulsar is a rapidly spinning dead star chunk that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation, like the lights on a lighthouse, out into space. They were first witnessed in 1967 by astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell and are one of the strangest objects the universe has to offer. In a controversial decision, Bell Burnell missed out... Continue Reading →
On May 30, NASA and SpaceX launched astronauts from American facilities for the first time in nine years. The flight, part of the Commercial Crew Program, was a success. It was the culmination of many years of research and design of new state-of-the-art rocket technology. Aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft were astronauts Doug Hurley and... Continue Reading →
Humans have been fascinated by the stars for thousands of years and continue to be so thanks to a burning curiosity that only grows with each new discovery. Since its launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has shaped our understanding of space in ways astronomers never thought possible. It has confirmed the age of the universe,... Continue Reading →
While people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day today, a famous astronomical photo turns thirty years old. In 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft—then at a distance of 6.4 billion kilometres from Earth—turned around and took pictures of all the planets. When the images were collected and placed together, they created a family portrait of the... Continue Reading →
On October 18th, 2019, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history. They were the first all-woman team to perform a spacewalk on the International Space Station (ISS). Koch and Meir follow in the footsteps of other pioneering space women. For example, the first female spacewalk took place 35 years ago. The Historic Spacewalk... Continue Reading →
Australia’s scientific research flagship, the RV Investigator, celebrates five years of service this month. The vessel is maintained by the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and studies a wide variety of Earth sciences—including oceanology, meteorology and biology. It’s nearly 100 m long, is designed to spend up to 300 days a year on... Continue Reading →
July 20 marks the fiftieth anniversary of humankind’s first steps on the Moon. Apollo 11—crewed by Neil Armstrong, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Michael Collins—left Earth four days earlier, travelling 384,400 kilometres to make the historic landing. In a feat of engineering and accomplishment that had never been seen before, the landing was a climactic symbol... Continue Reading →