I have a new story published on my Across the Universe blog over at The Guardian.

“The European Space Agency has approved the first of its small science missions. Don't let the description fool you, there is nothing small about the goals of Cheops. It's a step towards finding habitable planets

Cheops stands for CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite and although its science goals are written in typically conservative scientific language, this mission aims high. At the end of its 3.5 years of operation, it will have built a list of planets around other stars (exoplanets) that astronomers could subsequently analyse for extraterrestrial life.”

Read the full story here.

I have a new story published on my Across the Universe blog over at The Guardian.

“The Royal Mail's latest stamps feature close-up views of alien worlds captured during European Space Agency missions

Royal Mail celebrates Britain's contribution to space exploration with its latest set of commemorative stamps. Due to be issued on 16 October, the six stamps all feature images from European Space Agency missions.

I was approached earlier this year by Royal Mail to write the presentation packs to be issued with these stamps. Seeing the images together made me appreciate that they represent more than just scientific value. They are also works of art.”
Read the full story here.

I recently wrote for The Guardian about the space debris problem.

Shortly afterwards I was contacted by The Pod Delusion to talk about the article and the problem of space debris. They even created the amusing graphic (left) to illustrate the interview.

You can listen to the podcast here.

I can't tell you how pleased I was to be invited onto the Radio 4's Museum of Curiosity. I was one of three guests. My partners were the orchid collector Tom Hart Dyke and comedian Jo Brand. John Lloyd was the presenter and the guest curator was Jimmy Carr.

The format is that each guest donates a item (virtually) to the 'museum'. In the process you talk about it and say why you think it is so important to the history of ideas and knowledge. I donated Kepler's first model of the Solar System because it represents the first time a human had made a serious attempt to mathematically understand why the planets were arranged as they are. And also because Kepler wanted to turn this model into a drink dispenser (no kidding).

I've been enthralled with Kepler and his work for years. He lived in the 16th and 17th century and was the main character in my novel The Sky's Dark Labyrinth. However, as soon as I began talking about his amazing model on the programme, I realised the mountain I had to climb. It is a nested arrangement of hemispheres, each one held apart from the other by a different geometrical shape. These geometrical shapes are calculated to hold each planet at a precise distance away from the next, and the pipework to make the shapes would be hollow to contain the beverages. Oh, you know what? Here's a picture. Now imagine it filled with booze.

The programme is broadcast at 18:30 on Radio 4 today. F0r a limited time afterwards, you can also listen to the programme here via the BBC website.

As part of my research for The Day Without Yesterday, the third volume of The Sky's Dark Labyrinth trilogy, I have become fascinated by Einstein's fractious relationship with the Nobel Institute. This week, the 2012 prizes are awarded and it afforded me the opportunity to write about Einstein's Nobel Prize for my Across the Universe blog for The Guardian.

"Nobel prizes often attract controversy, but usually after they have been awarded. Albert Einstein's physics prize was the subject of argument for years before it was even a reality

There was a lot riding on Einstein winning a Nobel prize. Beyond his academic reputation, and that of the Nobel Institute for recognising greatness, the wellbeing of his former wife and their two sons depended upon it.

In the aftermath of the first world war, defeated Germany was being consumed by hyper-inflation. The government was printing more money to pay the war reparations and, as a result, the mark went into freefall against foreign currencies. Living in Berlin, Einstein was naturally affected by the crisis.

He had divorced Mileva in 1919, several years after she had returned to Switzerland with the boys, Hans-Albert and Eduard. As part of the settlement, Einstein pledged any eventual Nobel prize money to her for their upkeep. As the hyper-inflation bit ever deeper, so he needed that cash. ..."

Read the full story here.