- Catherine Zentile
Scientists recently spotted a planet being born. It's just formed and is still enshrouded within the disk of dust that formed it. So like a baby in the birth canal, the newborn, placenta and amniotic fluid of planetary formation are all still there for scientists to see. In terms of age, this was a teenage pregnancy, but what it can tell us about the planetary birth process makes this particular cosmic conception very exciting...
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- Catherine Zentile
Snowflakes form when water vapour condenses directly into ice crystals, and for many years writers have used their delicate beauty as a metaphor for fragility and uniqueness. But now scientists are studying these same qualities to understand one of the most important molecules on Earth – water.
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- Stuart Clark
When the clipper ship Southern Cross sailed into a living hell off Chile during the night of 2 September 1859, little did the sailors know that they were witnessing the aftermath of a gigantic solar explosion that had engulfed the Earth. Today, astronomers are still unpicking the consequences of this tremendous event.
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- Chris Smith
There was a time when almost every action movie seemed to involve the hero or villain becoming swamped in quicksand, sinking away until only their hat remains on the surface. But contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe, although it’s almost impossible to escape from quicksand, it's even more difficult to drown...
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- Chris Smith
What is a thunderstorm, how is lightning generated by clouds, how much energy is there in a lightning bolt, and could it be harnessed to power a town?
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- Phil Rosenberg
Imagine we had discovered another world, slightly smaller than our own, with rain clouds, rivers and lakes on gently hilly continents. Sounding a bit bland and Earth like? Okay then lets add some twists...
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- Chris Muirhead
Superconductors are amazing materials whose resistance drops to zero when cooled. Chris looks at how they can be used to detect Pulsars, receive mobile messages, and make trains levitate.
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- Bob Bury
Ultrasound Scans (USS), and now Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), allows us to visualise body tissues in high resolution, without the risks associated with the use of ionising radiation such as X-Rays. Bob Bury explains how ultrasound scans and MRI scanning works.
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- George Pendle
The fantastical, tragic and largely unknown story of John Parsons is one of the most intriguing tales to be found in the annals of modern science. Founder of the Jet propulsion Lab, and obsessed with magic. George Pendle investigates.
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- Dana Mackenzie
George Bush's plan to establish a permanent base on the Moon by 2020, and send astronauts to Mars by 2030, has drawn a less than enthusiastic reaction. Why should we go back?
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