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25th Dec 2010

Lessons from the Past - Exploring the History of Astronomy


Dominic Ford

Carolin Crawford

Andrew Pontzen

Ben Valsler
Leipzig central library globe collection

This month, we read the history of Martian science in a collection of globes, and find out why it's important to understand ancient and aboriginal astronomy.  We find out why some Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are shrouded in darkness, discuss the recent controversy around arsenic-using bacteria and get the high-speed low-down on the Hubble Space Telescope.  Plus, we tackle your questions on gravity, relativity and the edge of the universe.

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News

(c) NASA

Voyager Outruns Solar Wind

NASA's Voyager 1 mission has travelled so far from our Sun, it no longer experiences the stream of charged particles known as the Solar Wind. Next step - out of the Solar System completely...

(c) NASA

Illuminating Dark Gamma Ray Bursts

Gamma Ray Bursts are some of the most energetic events in the universe - but only around half of them are associated with a burst of visible light. New observations explain why half of them are in the dark...

(c) Aram Dulyan

Explaining the Elements in Earth's Crust

Iron-loving elements like gold and cobolt are found in Earth's crust at greater concentrations that would be expected - when the Earth was still in it's molten phase, they should have been taken along with the iron, to the core. New models show where these elements may have come from......

(c) Image © 2010 Henry Bortman

The Controversial Arsenic Loving Bacteria

The discovery of bacteria that appear to thrive on toxic arsenic may have implications for our understanding of the chemistry of life, both on Earth and elsewhere. But the resulting criticisms and controversy may overshadow the discovery, by questioning the very way scientists discuss their work......

(c) Chris Dick @ Flickr

New Projects for Galaxy Zoo

Galaxy Zoo - the project that uses the barinpower of it's users to identify interesting aspects in photographs of many thousands of galaxys - has announced two new projects: "Planet Hunters" and the "Milky Way Project".


Interviews

(c)  NASA

Mars Globes & the History of Astronomy

We visit the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, and discover a collection of Mars Globes and the story they tell of our understanding of the red planet...

(c) Peter Woodard, Poyt448

Ancient and Aboriginal Astronomy

We explore the importance of understanding ancient and aboriginal astronomy...

Fact Impact: The Hubble Space Telescope

All you need to know about the Hubble Space Telescope...




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