“As this is the last of the planned ‘Beginners’ Astronomy’ articles, and it’s scheduled to appear on Christmas Day, this seems an appropriate subject to end with. “
The Star of Bethlehem
Avoiding Collision With Earth
The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) research site in Gakona, Alaska will attempt to bounce a radio signal off an asteroid on December 27th this year.
Older Couples Spend Less Time Apart, The Albatross
Wandering albatrosses with older partners spend less time on foraging trips than those with more sprightly partners so that their mate has a shorter wait without food.
The Disappearance of Our Earthworms
New research, collating 100 years of data, suggests that significant and previously undetected declines in UK earthworm abundance could have occurred.
The Southern Sky
Venus and the Pleiades over Australia, Aug 2017 by Yuri Beletsky – Orion at top, Betelgeuse at foot
The Sound of Mars
“Just like Earth, there is different weather in different areas on Mars,” Wiens said. “Using all of our instruments and tools, especially the microphone, helps us get a concrete sense of what it would be like to be on Mars.”
Happy Snakes
“I received an article sent to me by my wife following my rather dismissive “oh get on with you, you have made that up” over the breakfast table.”
Space Observatories
“From an early stage in planning space exploration, the benefits for astronomy were obvious. “
Apollo 17
This classic photograph of the Earth was taken on Dec. 7, 1972, by the crew of the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, as they travelled toward the moon on their lunar landing mission
Rise in Plastic Nurdle Pollution Recorded in 2022
1,365 people took part including groups from 63 organisations.
