Imagine the scene:  A planet, cold and dark, drifting through deep space, attached to no star.  Although such a world makes a great science fiction setting, it was long considered a rare, unlikely event.  A few years back, however, a team of four astronomers presented a new theory on Solar System formation called the Nice Model – named for the French city of Nice, where the model was developed.  This model, which has become widely accepted by astronomers, states that … Continue reading →

Space Adventures lunar mission profile. Credit: Space Adventures Space Adventures, a company specialising in space tourism, have taken things to the next level by offering a trip around the Moon for the low low price of, ahem, $150 million.  Company chairman Eric Anderson says that they are able to accomplish this using existing off-the-shelf technology.  Guests will be launched into Earth orbit on a Soyuz rocket, which will rendezvous with the International Space Station, where they will wait for just … Continue reading →

One of the favourite challenges faced by astronomy teachers is to try and explain to an audience how big the Solar System actually is.  Space is vast on a scale that the human mind simply cannot accept.  It’s impossible for anybody to really fully understand the distances involved, in the way that we grasp the scale of something like our home town.  Nevertheless, if we can get across some sense of things then we can help people to understand many … Continue reading →