Skylark: The unsung hero of British space
- 13 November 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
It's 60 years to the day that Britain launched its first Skylark rocket.
It wasn't a big vehicle, and it didn't go to orbit. But the anniversary of that first flight from Woomera, Australia, should be celebrated because much of what we do in space today has its roots in this particular piece of technology.
"Skylark is an unsung British hero really," says Doug Millard, space curator at London's Science Museum.
"The first one was launched during the International Geophysical Year of 1957, and almost 450 were launched over the better part of half a century. It was the Skylark space rocket that really laid the foundations for everything the UK does in space."
Millard is opening a corner of the museum's Space Gallery to the memory of the Skylark.
The man who keeps venomous monsters
- 31 October 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Those of a fragile disposition should not scroll down this page (spider alert!)
What is the most terrifying creature in the darkest corner of your imagination?
Gravitational waves: So many new toys to unwrap
- 17 October 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Whenever there's a big science discovery, it's always nice to get a historical perspective. And so here goes with the remarkable observation of gravitational waves emanating from the merger of two dead stars, or neutron stars, some 130 million light-years from Earth.
It's 50 years since the existence of these stellar remnants was confirmed (July 1967) by the mighty Northern Irish astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell. It's more than 40 years since we realised neutron stars might occur in pairs, or binaries, as we call them.
Read full article Gravitational waves: So many new toys to unwrap
Plate tectonics: When we discovered how the Earth really works
- 2 October 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Image copyright
The Geological Society, McKenzie Archive
What would you put on your list of the great scientific breakthroughs of the 20th Century?
General relativity? Quantum mechanics? Something to do with genetics, perhaps?
Read full article Plate tectonics: When we discovered how the Earth really works
Are Mexico's two September earthquakes connected?
- 20 September 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Image copyright
AFP
Mexico had barely begun to deal with the aftermath of one big quake before another rocked the country. People will naturally ask: are they related? Did one cause the other?
Seismologists will spend a good deal of time in the coming months debating this issue, but on the face of it they look to be unconnected.
Read full article Are Mexico's two September earthquakes connected?
Sir David Attenborough polar science vessel takes shape
- 30 August 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Image copyright
CAMMELL LAIRD
The 900-tonne block of steel that will form the stern of Britain's new polar ship is being moved into position at Cammell Laird on Merseyside.
The Birkenhead yard received the rear section of the Sir David Attenborough on a sea-barge at the weekend from Northeast subcontractor A&P Tyne.
Read full article Sir David Attenborough polar science vessel takes shape
Walking in Shackleton's footsteps
- 24 August 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Image copyright
Getty Images
Shackleton's escape from the Antarctic in 1916 is well told.
It is without doubt a remarkable story given the many challenges he and his crew had to overcome after losing their ship, the Endurance.
UK wants continued EU Copernicus participation
- 20 July 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
Image copyright
Airbus DS/Max Alexander
The UK has given the clearest statement yet of its desire to stay within the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation programme after Brexit.
EU member states are building the most advanced ever satellite system for monitoring the state of the planet - with Britain playing a major role.
Read full article UK wants continued EU Copernicus participation
Earth is becoming 'Planet Plastic'
- 19 July 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
US scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made and put the number at 8.3 billion tonnes.
It is an astonishing mass of material that has essentially been created only in the last 65 years or so.
James Webb: Swallowing the biggest space telescope
- 11 July 2017
- From the section Science & Environment
The door has closed on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The successor to Hubble has been locked tight inside a giant chamber where it will undergo a series of tests to simulate conditions off Earth.
Read full article James Webb: Swallowing the biggest space telescope
