Archive December 2007 - February 2008

23 February 2008
Galaxy Zoo: The Results
I have a new feature article in March’s BBC Sky At Night magazine.
“Stuart Clark reveals how amateurs have shed new light on the Universe.”

Read the full story in the March 2008 issue of BBC Sky At Night. Visit them online here.

22 February 2008
Ulysses mission coming to a natural end
I have another story published by ESA:
“Ulysses, the mission to study the Sun’s poles and the influence of our star on surrounding space is coming to an end. After more than 17 years in space – almost four times its expected lifetime – the mission is finally succumbing to its harsh environment and is likely to finish sometime in the next month or two. …”

You can read the full story here for free.

21 February 2008
The light and dark of Venus
I have a new story published by ESA:
“Venus Express has revealed a planet of extraordinarily changeable and extremely large-scale weather. Bright hazes appear in a matter of days, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly. Such ‘global weather’, unlike anything on Earth, has given scientists a new mystery to solve. …”

You can read the full story here for free.

20 February 2008
Integral: Stellar winds colliding at our cosmic doorstep
Another new story published at ESA:
“ESA’s Integral has made the first unambiguous discovery of high-energy X-rays coming from a rare massive star at our cosmic doorstep, Eta Carinae. It is one of the most violent places in the galaxy, producing vast winds of electrically charged particles colliding at speeds of thousands of kilometres per second. …”

Read the full story for free here.

19 February 19, 2008
Are the UK's space goals beyond its means?
I have published a new opinion piece concerning the woeful under-funding of UK physics and astronomy on the New Scientist Space blog:
“The British National Space Centre (BNSC)'s new UK Civil Space Strategy document is at best a case of the left hand of government not knowing what its right hand is doing and at worst a joke in the poorest possible taste.
Around two months ago, the UK government emasculated astronomy and physics research funding in the country. Now, the BNSC has produced a 42-page document talking about the future role of the UK in world-leading space initiatives. What planet are they on? It is certainly not Earth. …”
You can read the full blog entry for free here
You can read the BNSC’s Space Strategy document here.

13 February 2008
Predicting the radiation risk to ESA’s astronauts
I have a new story published by ESA:
“European scientists have developed the most accurate method yet for predicting the doses of radiation that astronauts will receive aboard the orbiting European laboratory module, Columbus, attached to the ISS this week.
The new software package accurately simulates the physics of radiation particles passing through spacecraft walls and human bodies. Such techniques will be essential to use for calculating the radiation doses received by astronauts on future voyages to the Moon and Mars. …”

To read the full story for free, click here.

7 February 2008
The Sun Kings Wins Major US Book Award
What a pleasure to report that my book The Sun Kings has won the 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award for Excellence in the Cosmology and Astronomy category.  Thanks to everyone, especially at Princeton University Press, who contributed to its success.

5 February 2008
ESA presents Mars in 3D
I have a new story published by ESA:
“Mars is about to come into 3D focus as never before, thanks to the data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). A new high-resolution Digital Terrain Model data set that has just been released onto the Internet, will allow researchers to obtain new information about the Red Planet in 3D. …”

Read the full story here.

23 January 2008
The Cold Cosmos
I have a new feature article in February’s BBC Sky At Night magazine.
“There’s a secret Universe waiting to be explored, and it’s rather chilly.  Stuart Clark investigates the submillimetre realm – astronomy’s new frontier.”

Read the full story in the February 2008 issue of BBC Sky At Night. Visit them online here.

22 January 2008
Milky Way's antimatter linked to exotic black holes
I have a new story posted over at newscientist.com:
“Legions of tiny black holes created during the big bang may lurk at the centre of the galaxy, creating a prodigious antimatter factory, a new study suggests. The work could explain where the Milky Way's antimatter comes from – one of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics.”

Read the full story for free here

21 January 2008
Has Messenger revealed lava flows on Mercury?
I have a new story published over at newscientist.com:
“Images from NASA's Messenger spacecraft hint at the presence of solidified lava flows on the surface of Mercury. If confirmed, they should provide crucial clues to unlocking the planet's history. …”

Read the full story for free here

18 January 2008
Are we alone in the dark?
I have the cover story on BBC Focus’s February issue.
“Where in the Universe are the conditions just right for extraterrestrial life to exist?  Astronomers are realizing it’s a rough old neighbourhood out there, as Stuart Clark discovers.”

Read the full story in the February 2008 issue of BBC Focus.  Visit them online here.

16 January 2008
Probe returns first image of Mercury's unseen side
I have a new story published over at newscientist.com:
“NASA's Messenger spacecraft has taken its first look at the unseen side of Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun. It has revealed the full extent of Mercury's gigantic Caloris Basin, one of the largest impact craters in the solar system and discovered its first Mercury mystery: unusual dark-rimmed craters. …”

Read the full story for free here.

14 January 2008
The Edinburgh International Book Festival
Exciting news! I’ve been invited to take part in the 2008 Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Festival runs this year from 9–25 August.  The date of my appearance has not yet been finalized but I’ll post it on here as soon as I know. Visit the festival website here.

11 January 2008
Europe’s next ride to the Moon: Chandrayaan-1
I have another new story posted over at ESA.
“Excitement rises as ESA is in the final stages of preparation for the first collaborative space mission with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chandrayaan-1 will study the Moon in great detail and be the first Indian scientific mission leaving the Earth’s vicinity.” Read the full story for free here.

9 January 2008
Integral discovers the galaxy’s antimatter cloud is lopsided
I have a new story posted over at ESA.
“The shape of the mysterious cloud of antimatter in the central regions of the Milky Way has been revealed by ESA’s orbiting gamma-ray observatory Integral. The unexpectedly lopsided shape is a new clue to the origin of the antimatter.”Read the full story for free here.

8 January 2008
US physics begins to crumble under budget strain
I have a new story posted over at New Scientist.
“The reality of the US budget cuts to particle physics has hit home. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in California, US, has just announced a trio of painful consequences: the end of work on the International Linear Collider, the imminent closure of its BaBar antimatter experiment, and the layoff of 125 workers…”Read the full story for free here.

XMM-Newton gives new insight into neutron stars
Also today, I have a new story published over at ESA.
“XMM-Newton has given astronomers and physics a valuable new insight into the most exotic stars in the Universe. Known as neutron stars, the composition of these extremely dense stellar objects has always been something of a puzzle. Now, XMM-Newton has revealed that they almost certainly resemble over-sized atomic nuclei.”Read the full story for free here.

5 January 2008
Unlocking Mercury's secrets
New Scientist issue 2637
I have the cover story of New Scientist’s first issue of the year.
“OF ALL the planets in our solar system, Mercury is an enigma. The chimeric planet has a face like the moon, yet conceals a metal heart larger than that of Mars; while all of the major planets go around the sun in more or less the same plane, Mercury opts for a jaunty angle; while Earth's orbit is essentially round, Mercury prefers an ellipse; and let's not forget the magnetic field that it shouldn't have. Clearly, the closest planet to the sun is trying to tell us something.
    It even had a famous fan: Albert Einstein. Mercury's odd motion around the sun was impossible to explain with Newton's theory of gravitation alone. The puzzle remained until Einstein used it as the first convincing evidence for his general theory of relativity.
    Now astronomers think it holds another secret: how the solar system itself was formed. Ralph McNutt, a planetary scientist at ...”

The complete article is 2762 words long and is available here.
(a subscription is required).

21 December 2007
Science cuts may harm UK's international reputation
I have one last piece about the UK physics budget cuts published over at New Scientist.  It is only short, so I’ve reproduced it in its entirety here:
“Does the UK quit when the going gets tough? That's how it looks to scientists across the world.
    Last week the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) horrified scientists when it announced cuts in contributions to a range of major collaborations after an £80 million squeeze in its physics budget. Among the casualties is the International Linear Collider - a $6.7 billion particle smasher intended to probe dark matter and search for extra dimensions. The UK was to be a major partner along with the US, Japan and Germany and has already invested £30 million. It will now withdraw its support.
    "We know this is damaging to our international reputation," says Keith Mason, chief executive of STFC. The U-turn could stymie its ambitions to host major international physics facilities.”

19 December 2007
US budget cuts a 'body blow' to particle accelerator
I have a follow-up story to the UK physics budget cuts over at New Scientist.
“There is nothing but bad news for particle physicists at the moment. The US has now slashed funding for the International Linear Collider (ILC), just over a week after the UK pulled out of the project because of an £80 million shortfall in its budget.”

Read the full story for free here.

17 December 2007
UK researchers reel from budget cuts
I also had a opinion piece published by New Scientist in their blog about the UK astronomy and physics budget cuts.
“There cannot have been too much astronomy and physics research performed in the UK's universities in the past week. Instead of unpicking the workings of distant galaxies and ghostly particles, astronomers and physicists have been trying to make sense of the bombshell that £80 million must be removed from their research budget without delay.”

Read the full story for free here.

15 December 2007
Science Fiction Symposium at Gresham College
Gresham College in London has announced a afternoon symposium to discuss science fiction as a literary genre.  It takes place on 8th May 2008 and features the keynote speaker Neal Stephenson.  See you there!  Further details can be found here.

13 December 2007
UK pulls out of key physics and astronomy projects
The UK is pulling out of a number of physics and astronomy projects as a result of the cost of running large new physics facilities. Researchers in the UK say the cuts will discourage students from pursuing careers in the physical sciences.

Read the full story for free here

12 December 2007
Planetary scientists close in on Saturn’s elusive rotation
Somewhere deep below Saturn’s cloud tops, the planet rotates at a constant speed. Determining this interior period of rotation has proven extremely complicated. Now, with new Cassini results, a team of European scientists have taken an important step forward.

Read the full story for free here

11 December 2007
Mars Express watches a dust storm engulf Mars
This summer, Mars suffered a titanic dust storm that engulfed the entire planet. The dust storm contributed to a temporary warming effect around Mars, which raised the temperature of the atmosphere by around 20-30°C.

Read the full story for free here

Archive index

December 2007 - February 2008

September - November 2007

June - August 2007

March - May 2007