Astrobiology, Space

Astrobiology 104: Looking for Life beyond the Habitable Zone

In my last post, I talked about the possibility of life existing within the sunโ€™s habitable zone. Although it is an easy method of elimination when it comes to using precious telescope time, this narrow minded approach is becoming less relevant as we discover more about the conditions in the outer solar system. Read on,… Continue reading Astrobiology 104: Looking for Life beyond the Habitable Zone

Astrobiology, Biology, Physics, Space

Astrobiology 101: Where are all the Aliens?

Terms and Conditions Apply. The Milky Way is over 100,000 light years across. Thatโ€™s a whole lot of football pitches! It has at least 100 billion stars (with some estimates reaching all the way to 400 billion!) and the range in estimates for the number of planets in the galaxy is from โ€˜justโ€™ 50 billion… Continue reading Astrobiology 101: Where are all the Aliens?

Space, Spaceflight

Moon or Mars?

This past week, there has been quite a lot of attention on space travel, due to the fact that July 20th marked 50 years since the Apollo moon landing! And what makes this even more exciting is that recently, NASA announced its accelerated plans to put people on the moon againโ€ฆ by 2024!ย  The main… Continue reading Moon or Mars?

Particle Physics, SciComm, Space, Spaceflight

Should We Go To Space?

If you were given the chance to go to space, would you? For many, including myself, it would be a truly amazing opportunity. But a question asked more rarely is: Should you? In 2019, the US government gave NASA 21 and a half billion dollars to spend. Sounds like a lot of money. And in… Continue reading Should We Go To Space?

Physics, Space, Spectacular Scientists

Spectacular Scientists: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Born in Ireland, Jocelyn Bell Burnell was interested in science from a young age despite her first school not initially permitting girls to study science. Fortunately, her parents supported her interest, and she attended boarding school in England, where her physics teacher persuaded her to continue to University. After an undergraduate in physics from Glasgow,… Continue reading Spectacular Scientists: Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Biology, Physics, Space, Spaceflight

How to Survive Spaceflight

โ€˜To Mars!โ€™ As both Government Space Agencies and Private Companies turn their attentions to long-haul spaceflight, plenty of problems have arisen! It isnโ€™t just the logistics of living on the moon and mars, but getting there has provided its own plethora of difficulties to be solved! I have already written a post about the spacecraft… Continue reading How to Survive Spaceflight

Physics, Space, Spaceflight

The Future of Human Spaceflight

It is an exciting time for space travel! Preparations for NASAโ€™s Space Launch System (SLS) is well underway, multiple space agencies have announced their cooperation for the Lunar Orbital Gateway, and private companies are competing to launch the first tourists commercially! Letโ€™s take a look at some of the awesome projects that will almost certainly… Continue reading The Future of Human Spaceflight

Chemistry, Particle Physics, Physics, Space

What Makes Up The Universe? Part Two

Part 2: The Unknown When you think of what makes up the universe, you will probably think of atoms. Sure, they are the building blocks to most things we see around us, but as we discovered in a previous post, atoms arenโ€™t the end of the story. It turns out that all the things that… Continue reading What Makes Up The Universe? Part Two

Chemistry, Particle Physics, Physics, Space

What Makes Up The Universe? Part One

Part One: The Known When you think of what makes up the universe, you will probably think of atoms. Sure, they are the building blocks to most things we see around us, but as we discovered in a previous post, atoms arenโ€™t the end of the story. The atoms are made up of smaller particles… Continue reading What Makes Up The Universe? Part One