2023 Ffiseg a Seryddiaeth Ryngwladol – Rhaglen i Addysgwyr: Cyllid i addysgwr o Gymru

Posted on 9 March 2023 by Chris North

To read this page in English, please click here. I ddarllen y dudalen hon yn Saesneg, cliciwch yma os gwelwch yn dda. Mae’r cyfnod ymgeisio ar gyfer athro o Gymru ar gyfer rhaglen LIGO 2023 Rhyngwladol Ffiseg a Seryddiaeth bellach wedi dechrau. Dyddiad Cau: 31 Mawrth 2023 Gwahoddir addysgwyr yng Nghymru i wneud cais am
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2023 International Physics & Astronomy Educator Program – Welsh educator funding

Posted on 9 March 2023 by Chris North

I ddarllen y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg, cliciwch yma os gwelwch yn dda. To read this page in Welsh, please click here. Applications for a Welsh teacher to attend the 2023 LIGO International Physics and Astronomy (IPA) program are now open. Deadline: 31 March 2023 Educators based in Wales are invited to apply for funding
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Staring at the dawn of time

Posted on 16 February 2023 by Chris North

Chris North and Edward Gomez discuss the first attempt to launch a rocket from UK soil, albeit via a piggyback on (or under) a plane. There’s also an interesting supernova, the first exoplanet confirmation from JWST. Meanwhile, on Mars, does no news mean bad news for China’s Zhurong rover? We also speak to Dr Ian
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Happy Birthday JWST!

Posted on 23 December 2022 by Chris North

The 25th December marks an anniversary in the world of astronomy (as well as Sir Isaac Newton’s birthday, of course) – the launch of JWST, the infrared space telescope launched to explore the Universe in unprecedented detail. One year on from launch, Chris North and Edward Gomez look at a few of the results that
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Pythagorean Astronomy: The future of Space Exploration

Posted on 1 December 2022 by Chris North

With the Artemis I mission mid-mission (at the time of recording), Chris North and Edward Gomez look at what this means for the future of human space exploration, and more ambitious missions to the Moon (and beyond). Meanwhile, back here on Earth, the European Space Agency have announced their next crop of astronauts. The list
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Pythagorean Astronomy: On Board with DART

Posted on 2 November 2022 by Chris North

At the end of September, NASA’s DART mission was deliberately crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos. Not carelessness, but a deliberate act with a view to testing planetary defense. After all, if we discover something large heading towards Earth, we might want to be able to nudge it off course. Here in Wales, the Comet Chasers
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The Welsh school children helping NASA save the planet from asteroid strikes

Posted on 26 September 2022 by Chris North

In Hollywood movies like Armageddon, Deep Impact, or the more recent Don’t Look Up, it is the Americans who save the Earth from the disaster of an asteroid or comet impact. But now Welsh school children are getting in on the act, observing an asteroid in support of An exciting NASA mission. NASA and partners
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Gravitational Field Trip – part 2

Posted on 21 September 2022 by Chris North

This is the second part of a gravitational field trip to the LIGO Hanford Observatory in Washington State, in the US. Last month we talked about how the detectors work, and the scientists and engineers who operate them. This time, we take a longer-term look, not just into the future but also into the past,
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Gravitational Field Trip – part 1

Posted on 4 August 2022 by Chris North

This month, we go on a field trip to the LIGO Hanford Observatory, one of a number of detectors that are searching for gravitational waves. In part one of this trip, we hear from a number of people working at the detector. Dr Mike Landry, Head of the LIGO Hanford Observatory, explains how – and
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Amateur Advances

Posted on 2 July 2022 by Chris North

Amateur astronomers regularly make important contributions to astronomy research. That can be through observations of meteor showers, or images of solar system objects. But it’s not always about pretty pictures, and some amateurs also make measurements that feed into our understanding of a broad range of astronomical phenomena, providing a network of telescopes that far
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