Pythagorean Astronomy: Beagle 2, and the “Year of the Dwarf Planet”

Posted on 4 February 2015 by Chris North

Chris North In January it was announced that images from spacecraft orbiting Mars had probably located signs of Beagle 2, the unfortunate UK mission to the red planet which went missing back in 2003. This month I chatted to LCOGT’s Edward Gomez, who has been following proceedings, about what this means – including that the UK now holds the
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Universe in the Classroom Host First Obseving Session In Welsh Primary School

Posted on 3 February 2015 by Sarah Roberts

Over the last year, Universe in the Classroom and the Las Cumbres Observatory have been working together to build a robotically controlled telescope for use by Welsh primary school children and today the first observation workshop took place at Moorland Primary School in Cardiff. The workshop, led by one of the project’s Stellar Role Models, invited year
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Inspiring Science Education UK Newsletter: January 2015

Posted on 21 January 2015 by Chris North

The Inspiring Science Education project really is hitting full steam ahead this year, with the repository populated with tools and resources across a wide range of science topics. There are some excellent opportunities for you to take advantage of as well: a free prize draw for school lab equipment, an international competition, and two upcoming teacher CPD
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Pythagorean Astronomy: ExoMars

Posted on 19 December 2014 by Chris North

It has been announced that the UK will lead the design and build of Europe’s next rover to Mars. Part of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars programme, this robotic explorer will drill down up two metres to search for signs of microbial life beneath the Martian surface. To find out about the rover, its mission, and the challenges
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Teacher Training Event in Mid Wales

Posted on 11 December 2014 by Sarah Roberts

Inspire, Inform, Enable. The motto of the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth (Mid Wales) and the aim of the Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy outreach department. This is why the Inspiring Science Education and Universe in the Classroom projects joined together on 3rd December to run parallel CPD sessions for primary and secondary teachers at
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Pythagorean Astronomy: Adventures of Philae

Posted on 27 November 2014 by Chris North

Chris North On 12th November 2014, the Philae lander separated from its mothership, ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft, and made history by making the first ever soft landing on a comet. It wasn’t quite as soft as hoped, with Philae experiencing more than its fair share of ups and downs, but it provided an nerve-wracking few days
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Pythagorean Astronomy: MAVEN to Mars

Posted on 5 November 2014 by Chris North

In late September, two new missions arrived ion orbit around Mars. One was India’s first mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission, while the other was NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. MAVEN’s goal is not to study the surface of the planet but its atmosphere, with the aim of determining how it is changing and how it may have changed in the
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Landing on a comet

Posted on 23 October 2014 by Chris North

Excitement is building around the world as the Philae lander, part of ESA’s Rosetta mission, prepares to touch down on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. As part of the Spatial Awareness series, Cardiff University’s Chris North chatted to Oxford’s Becky Smethurst and QUB’s Alan Fitzsimmons – currently on top of a mountain in Chile preparing to observe the
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Pythagorean Astronomy: AstroCamp 2014

Posted on 30 September 2014 by Chris North

Chris North Autumn and spring are the time of year when you typically find star parties – groups of astronomers meeting to do some stargazing, share hints and tips, and generally socialise. One of the friendliest I’ve been to is “AstroCamp”, which meets twice a year at a campsite on the outskirts of Cwmdu, between
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The Astronomer – An Unexpected Journey

Posted on 30 September 2014 by Jenifer Millard

It was the summer of 2012 and we’d had our new telescope for a few months. A go-to mount, more inches, more power – more frustration. A go-to mount, we thought. Brilliant, we thought. We’ll be able to find everything we want at the touch of a button … we thought. Months down the line
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