Category Archives: News and Updates

News about Astronomy and Space Science. Find every news item and update here, in blog format. You can get these updates sent straight to your mailbox by subscribing here, or you can subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the link.

Podcast #6: Building telescopes

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Welcome to the 6th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast. This is the second part of our interview with Chris Stewart, one of the names behind the Amateur Telescope Making class in Johannesburg, one of the organisers of the annual ScopeX telescope and astronomy expo, and director of the Astronomical Society of South Africa’s Instrumentation section. In this part, he talks about the pros and cons of different telescope designs, how to make them, how to select an eyepiece, and … Continue reading →

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Podcast #5: Mercury

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Welcome to the 5th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast! We’re well on our way in the grand experiment of deciding how exactly to format the show, and today we’re trying yet another combination! We’ll start off by answering the question first asked in a classic Urban Astronomer article, one originally written back in 2010 and that’s been consistently popular with our readers:  Will an astronaut explode if they take off their helmet? Our feature item introduces my new co-host, and … Continue reading →

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Carnival of Space #502

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Hi everybody, and welcome to the 502nd Carnival of Space! I’ve become a little spoiled by the past few carnivals, thanks to the tremendous number of articles submitted by space science and astronomy authors around the world for consideration.  By contrast, this week seems almost pedestrian, but don’t be fooled – it’s all quality content.

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Podcast #4: Interview with Chris Stewart

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Welcome to the 4th episode of the Urban Astronomer Podcast!  This episode features news about the discovery of an intermediate mass black hole, and the next in our series of interviews with prominent figures in South African amateur astronomy.  This weeks guest: Chris Stewart.

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Podcast #3: Astrophotography for Mensa

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Welcome to the Urban Astronomer podcast.  For the third time in a row, you’re getting a show in a totally different format from before:  This time, it’s a recording of one of my public lectures on astrophotography. In this case, it’s a talk I gave to the local chapter of Mensa, the world-famous high IQ society.  I had gotten to know one of their officers a few years back when we were on the same pub-quiz team, and she contacted … Continue reading →

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