Posts tagged as:

astronomy

Science: Islam’s forgotten geniuses

by Barney on 23 August 2009

Jim Al-Khalili
Published: 12:01AM GMT 29 Jan 2008

For 700 years, the international language of science was Arabic

The untold story of Arabic brilliance should be a timely reminder of a proud heritage, says Jim Al-Khalili
Next year, we will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, and the 150th of the publication of his On The [...]

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A dusty galaxy far, far away

by Barney on 7 April 2009

I love this dramatic image from the Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 7049, a so-called Brightest Cluster Galaxy. It is amongst the oldest and most massive galaxies in the universe.
The small faint points of light are globular clusters of young stars, and the halo – the ghostly, diffuse light surrounding the galaxy – is made [...]

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Stargazing on a cloudy night

by Barney on 29 November 2008

Erica, Jacob and I drove over to the University of Hertfordshire’s Science Learning Centre at Bayfordbury yesterday for the University astronomy department’s open evening.
Our daughter (Jacob’s mum) and son-in-law, Doug, are both astrophysics PhD candidates at U Herts. Postgrads, including Doug, were on duty demonstrating various aspects of the department’s work. Doug, who’s involved in [...]

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Astronomically short-sighted

by Barney on 26 January 2008

I was appalled to read this on the BBC News website:
UK astronomers will lose access to two of the world’s finest telescopes in February, as administrators look to plug an £80m hole in their finances.
Observation programmes on the 8.1m telescopes of the Gemini organisation will end abruptly because Britain is cancelling its subscription.
It means UK [...]

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