Arts
Postcard From The Moon
The Puffin is a well-travelled bird, although a trip to the moon might be beyond even the most enthusiastic non-reader of articles and comments. Fear not, the moon might be coming to you. The Museum [more…]
Space
America
Starlink Installation and Setup
Why? My BT broadband, including mobile is £85/month. I get a download speed of around 23Mbps and it’s not particularly reliable. The basic Starlink package of £40/month (I understand this might vary by location) is [more…]
19th Century
George Airy: The Man Who Filed the Universe
George Biddell Airy was Astronomer Royal for 46 years. He drew the line the whole world sets its clocks by, weighed the Earth from the bottom of a coal pit in South Shields and never, [more…]
America
Labour
Moan, moan, moan
It’s time for a rant, it changes nothing but by golly you feel much better afterwards or at least you ought to to. As I sit here compiling this list I am getting more and [more…]
Physics
20th Century
Is there life on (somewhere other than) Mars?
Once upon a time we knew our place in the universe. The science was settled and the experts agreed. The Earth was at the centre of the universe and everything we could see in the [more…]
20th Century
Close Approach of Mars to Earth
In September 1956, as Mars approached its closest to Earth for 34 years, John Alldridge summed up what we then knew (or thought we knew) of the planet for the Manchester Evening News – Jerry [more…]
Arts
Elementary, my dear Watson – Ti Titanium
Another week, another element. Let’s head off on another exciting elementary excursion. You’ll get the idea now that I hope to ensure that at least one element is included from each of the eighteen Groups [more…]