Exoplanets

This animated clip explains how planets outside our solar system are difficult to see because they get lost in the glare of the star they orbit. The clip briefly mentions Doppler shift, dimming through transit as detection techniques that enable us to infer what the planet is made of, and explains what the...

space:uk - Summer 2012, Issue 35

This special space:UK issue from the UK Space Agency, celebrating 50 years of the UK’s expansion into space, looks into stories about the first British satellite, and its demise, and the latest of innovative ideas such as a European spacecraft designed to fly closer to the sun than ever before. Articles in this...

space:uk - Winter 2012, Issue 36

This edition of space:UK, from the UK Space Agency, includes a focus on satellite navigation, ESA ministerial meetings and six pages dedicated to social media. Articles include: - Recent news: Reports from the ESA Ministerial meeting, success for new weather satellite and space stamps celebrate UK achievements -...

Aerogels

This Catalyst article investigates the nature of aerogels, which are among the least dense solid materials, not much denser than air. Aerogels were made as the result of a bet and ended up going into space to capture comet dust. They are the lightest solids which exist and have some unusual features.

The...

Gaia's Mission: Solving the Celestial Puzzle

This film documents the mission to create the largest, most-accurate, map of the Milky Way in three dimensions, which will revolutionise our understanding of the galaxy and the universe beyond. On 19th December 2013, a rocket blasted into the sky from a launch site in French Guiana and travelled 1.5 million km to...

Defying Gravity

The 2013 Institute of Physics Schools Lecture - Defying Gravity: Laura Thomas, an independent science communicator with a background in astrophysics, talks about the physics of space flight. She explains how studying physics and mathematics could...

space:uk - Spring 2013, Issue 37

This edition of space:UK, from the UK Space Agency, looks at the new developments at Harwell, in Oxfordshire, new spacecraft that will get closer to the Sun than ever before, and how space-borne technology is helping archaeologists. Articles include: *Recent news: Smartphone in space, UK plans for Jupiter, go-ahead...

space:uk - Summer 2013, issue 38

This edition of space:UK, from the UK Space Agency, includes a focus on Clyde space, the satellite company based in Glasgow, the upcoming JUICE mission – and its goal of studying Jupiter’s icy moons, and astronaut Tim Peake’s preparation for his mission to the International Space Station, in 2015. Articles include...

space:uk - Winter 2013, Issue 39

This edition of space:UK, from the UK Space Agency, looks at the Rosetta mission to land on Comet 67P, how Inmarsat satellites provide broadband internet across remote areas of the globe, and a profile of European missions designed to investigate our changing planet. Articles include: *Recent news: including Europe...

space:uk - Autumn 2014, Issue 41

This edition of space:UK, from the UK Space Agency, looks at the possibility of a spaceport in the UK, a report on the increasing market for small satellites in the UK, and meets some of the winners of the Great British Space Dinner Competition. Articles include: *Recent news: Countdown to comet landing, British...