UPDATE:  Unisa, who hosted the first leg of the tour which I write about below, have released their own report on the event here. Earlier this month, South African audiences were treated to a series of public lectures by Professor Charles McGruder, Dr Robert Williams and Dr Jeffrey Hoffman.  I attended the first lecture which was presented in the Great Hall of the University of South Africa on Monday 9 November 2010.  The event was well attended by university staff, … Continue reading →

In a little more than 24 hours time (at 03h38 UTC, on 22 December 2010) the Sun will reach it’s southernmost point in our skies and begin moving back North.  Or, to put it in a slightly less geocentric way, the Earth will pass through the point in it’s orbit where the south end of its polar axis will come closest to pointing at the Sun.  This is called a Solstice.  The December solstice marks the official beginning of Winter in the Northern … Continue reading →

Ice Volcanoes on Titan, as imaged by Cassini. Credit: NASA Sounding like an attraction on one of The Doctor‘s tours of space and time, the Ice Volcanoes of Titan have recently been discovered in radar images taken by the Cassini orbiter.  Titan is a gigantic satellite around Saturn, and is the largest moon in the Solar System.  Scientists studying Titan have been puzzled for some time by the presence of Methane in its atmosphere, because solar radiation from the Sun actively breaks it down.  They needed some … Continue reading →