Top Eleven: Edwin Hubble

The next experiment in the Top Eleven is a set of observations, not an experiment. Who: Edwin Hubble (1889-1953), an American astronomer, and the guy the Hubble Space Telescope is named after. When: He was nominated for two related but different discoveries which were announced in 1924 and 1929. What: Hubble’s most famous work concerns… Continue reading Top Eleven: Edwin Hubble

Accentuate the Positive

Via Kieran Healy an example of the happy coexistence of science and religion: The Vatican Observatory. I particularly like Kieran’s comment regarding the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope: I think that’s just fantastic–like something out of Phillip Pullman. Is it too much to hope for the Vatican Superconducting Supercollider, which would once and for all resolve… Continue reading Accentuate the Positive

A New Life Awaits You in the Off-World Colonies

Some interesting astrophysics news this week, from Nature: scientists have used “microlensing” to discover a extrasolar planet only five times Earth’s mass: Planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb looks much more like home. It lies about 390 million kilometres from its star: if it were inside our Solar System, the planet would sit between Mars and Jupiter. It takes… Continue reading A New Life Awaits You in the Off-World Colonies