The Ordnance Survey is the UK’s mapping agency. Since 1791 it has helped governments, companies and even individuals by producing and updating maps. How often do maps need updating anyway? You might be surprised. The OS days they make over 10,000 changes to its database of 450 geographic features every day. The most recent map […]
Discover Related Tags
How the last star in the universe might save humanity
Did you know our star will die? The Kurzgesagt “In a Nutshell” video on red dwarfs is fascinating. We learn about a whole host of stars – brown dwarfs, blue dwarfs and even white and black dwarfs. I had no idea there were so many types of stars. Until I watched this quick science lesson […]
A volcano on Io
Io, Jupiter’s moon, is one of the most volcanically active worlds in the Solar System. It has hundreds of volcanoes and some eruptions reach some 250 miles high. That’s not 250 metres high – that’s 250 miles high. In other words, you can see some of Io’s volcanic eruptions from space. You can see them […]
Will Comet ISON explode into the sun or break hearts?
Every individual with an interest in astronomy must be already in the know concerning the much anticipated Comet ISON. Comet ISON was discovered in September 2012 by two Russian astronomers using an International Scientific Optical Network telescope. In essence, comet ISON will come close to mars, at a distance of about 10.8 million kilometers after […]
Could asteroid 2012 DA14 hit Earth?
On Thursday a meteor passed through clear skies above Chelyabinsk in Russia. The breakup caused fireballs and a shockwave that blasted windows. Hundreds of people have been injured. On Friday the 15th the asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass Earth in an unprecedentedly close approach path. It is half the size of a football pitch. There […]
The 2012 Supermoon may wash out the Eta Aquarid meteors – but when?
This weekend will see a “super” moon. A supermoon happens when the moon is full and in perigee. This means the moon is at it’s closest approach point to the Earth. The moon and Earth have elliptical orbits and so are different distances apart at different times of the year. The moon may appear to […]
How did shadows get on the moon – the moon’s history of violence
If you look up at the moon tonight you will see the pale surface has many shadowy patches. These are caused by craters on the surface casting shadows. The light comes from the sun just as it does here on Earth. NASA have released a video called “Evolution of the Moon” which shows the history […]
Watching the Southern Lights from Space
Perhaps it is because this blogger is in Scotland and much of the international media that makes its way here is based in America but when there are discussions of amazing light shows in the atmosphere the references are always to the Northern Lights. The truth, however, is that there can be as equally impressive […]
The diamond planet
Australian scientists have discovered a diamond the size of a planet. They found the crystalised carbon with the aid of the Parks Radio Telescope in New South Wales. This video explains how the astrophysicists were able to find the planet and how they could work out that it is composed from the same elements as […]
Even god listens to iTunes – evil?
There’s a video doing the rounds which appears to be someone mucking around with their video camera as a remarkable piece of news plays on the TV. In the news they suggest a new cluster of stars has been found that looks awfully like the Apple Mac logo. It is the Apple Mac logo. In […]
