by Gordon | Jun 29, 2012 | Solar system
When the Cassini spacecraft swung past Saturn in 2006, it found the sun eclipsed by the planet’s disc and the sun’s rays shining through the planet’s rings, a spectacular effect caught on camera. Planet Earth can be seen as a pale blue dot to the left at 10 o’clock...
by Gordon | Jun 29, 2012 | Interstellar space
As summer arrives, the most spectacular seasonal event in our night skies occurs as the central hub of our galaxy wheels into view. Viewed from the Earth, our galaxy appears as a glowing band arcing across the night sky, the Milky way. As we orbit round the Sun, our...
by Gordon | Jun 29, 2012 | Solar system
After sundown, there is still enough light to pour your gin and tonic and sit on a desert rock and gaze at a glowing landscape, for the Sun’s disc is just below the horizon and its light is scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere. Cat thieves and burglars do not yet merit...
by Gordon | Apr 24, 2012 | History
The Israelites, children of Jacob and their descendants, first settled in Egypt under the protection of Joseph, Jacob’s favourite son, who had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers only to rise to the position of Grand Vizier of Egypt through his ability to...
by Gordon | Apr 1, 2012 | Culture and astronomy
As the sun sets in the south-west, the Great Bear rises in the north-east, though it’s hard to see a bear and most will see only a big dipper, the English like to see a plough. To get the bigger picture, you need to go beyond the seven bright stars of the dipper and...
