I spent a really enjoyable morning with Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson, aka the Space Boffins recording their podcast. We talked about Kepler, both the man and the mission named after him. The Kepler space telescope is discovering thousands of planets around other stars. Meanwhile, Kepler the man features as the main character in my novel, The Sky's Dark Labyrinth. The show also featured planetary scientist Sheila Kanani.

You can listen to the podcast here.

I have a new article published over on my Across the Universe blog for The Guardian.

"The Perseids, the year's most spectacular meteor shower for viewers in the northern hemisphere, arrive this weekend

The Perseid meteor display is upon us. Over the course of the next four days, Earth will plough through the debris stream left by a giant comet that has been circling the sun since the birth of the solar system.

Each tiny cometary fragment that hits our atmosphere is usually no larger than a speck of dust. Yet it burns up with an incandescent display that we call a shooting star. If you want to get technical about it: a meteor.

This year, the Perseids will be visible from the northern hemisphere between 11 and 14 August. ..."

You can read the full article here.

I am totally awed today by the success of Curiosity. It was wonderful to be up early this morning and see such a bold mission pay off. It was also fascinating watching the human side of things in mission control. I have a new article to celebrate the landing, over on my Guardian blog:

"The Curiosity rover's daring landing on Mars was all about hard work, attention to detail, and the odd superstition

About an hour before Curiosity touched the Martian surface, Charles Elachi, director of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, stepped outside. He looked up at the red dot of Mars in the nighttime sky and imagined what was about to happen. The dream turned into reality.

At 6:14am (UK time) Curiosity landed on Mars. The riskiest touchdown yet attempted on the red planet had worked. The explosion of joy and the tears of relief in the control room said it all. Deep down many had feared for this landing, and their liberation was palpable.

It is not by accident that space missions succeed. It takes years of planning and expert effort. Today we also learned that it's down to the peanuts. Yes, peanuts."

You can read the full story here.

I have a new article over on my Guardian blog:

"With its Curiosity rover - which is not designed to look for existing life on Mars - Nasa is playing an artful game to maximise scientific returns and secure future funding.

It is difficult not to get excited about Nasa's Mars Curiosity rover. It's the most ambitious exploration vehicle yet sent to Mars. It has more instruments than any previous rover and the scientific harvest from its two year mission inside Gale crater could help reveal the planet's climate history and whether there was once a habitable period.

Scientifically, that's invaluable. Yet, on the question of whether there is present-day life on Mars, there has been a subtle but important shift. ...'

Read the full article here.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of my astronomy blog for The Guardian. Across the Universe will be a mixture of comment, analysis and musings on the ever changing world of astronomy and space science. I also hope to include coverage of astronomy in culture.

I've written for The Guardian a couple of times before (here, here and here for example) and my first posting is all about the upcoming attempt to land Curiosity on Mars.

"Early on Monday morning, NASA's Curiosity rover will attempt a hazardous landing on the Martian surface. It will take seven minutes from the capsule hitting the top of the atmosphere at six kilometres per second to the van-sized vehicle being placed gently on the ground.

A heat shield to withstand heating to 1600 degrees centigrade, the largest and strongest supersonic parachute yet built, and finally a new piece of kit called the Sky Crane will all be used.

The Sky Crane is a retro-rocket platform and has been attracting considerable attention because it's bold and dangerous. Even NASA are calling the entry, descent and landing 'Seven Minutes of Terror' ..."

You can read the full post here. Check back on Sunday for a post about life on Mars, and then again on Monday, when I'll analyse Curiosity's landing - whether it's a success or failure.