Since its launch on 24 April 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has taken over a million observations. These images can now be found on everything from phone cases to cinema screens. To celebrate its 25th anniversary BBC Sky at Night put together this special edition full of images from the telescope – and I helped […]
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Space Lab Antarctica
Antarctica may be the bottom of the world but – as the coldest, driest, highest continent on Earth – it’s proving ideal for observing the universe. “Wrap up warm” has long been a mantra among astronomers everywhere, given that so much observation of the cosmos necessarily has to take place out in the open, at […]
Asteroid Nets
NASA’s latest space fishing trip aims to capture an asteroid and bring it closer to Earth to study. In June 2010, the Japanese Hayabusa probe succeeded in returning to Earth some dust samples from a distant, stoney asteroid known as 25143 Itokawa. Up to now, however, such missions have rarely been successful, not least because […]
Preserving Our Space History
As we strive to explore and expand beyond the sphere of our own planet, we’re leavng a growing trail of artefacts with vital cultural significance along the way. Should we preserve our space history – and how? Few people—except for certain conspiracy theorists—are likely to dispute that genuine history was made on 21 July 1969 […]
Direct to Low-Earth Orbit
When Space Shuttle Atlantis made its final landing at the Kennedy Space Center, on 21 July 2011, NASA’s iconic Space Transportation System was already 15 years beyond its originally planned service life—thanks in part to the delayed construction of the International Space Station (ISS). Despite this significant extension, the agency did not have a successor […]
Rocket Man
For as long as he can remember, Dave McKay always wanted to fly. “During my formative years, I lived in Helmsdale on the east coast of Sutherland,” he says. “That really inspired me to get into flying because it was on a low level entry point to one of the great training areas in the […]
Dealing with the Deluge
Computers have long played an important role in astronomy. It’s just that, back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the word was originally applied to people rather than machines—specifically to the men and women who, during daylight hours, carried out repetitive calculations and measurements derived from some of the earliest photographic surveys […]
