Everyday Units
They are talking on the BBC about an asteroid passing the earth tonight as being the size of an Olympic swimming pool. There’s more here.
Why are objects always Olympic swimming pools, London buses or football pitches?
Incidentally, an astronomer has said that this asteroid is possibly about the size of the one that landed in Tunguska in 1908. Although of course no-one can be sure.
The Man Who Played The Piano, Whilst Einstein Played Violin
Sadly, Sir Patrick Moore has died. This piece is the BBC’s obituary, from where the title of this post comes.
I was lucky to see him once in my last year at school, when he gave a lecture on the connection of the moon to earthquakes at the British Astronomical Association. In those days he was a large man with a booming voice. He was a naturally entertaining and infectious speaker.
This paragraph from another article on the BBC sums him up.
Queen guitarist Brian May, who published a book on astronomy written with Sir Patrick, described him as a “dear friend, and a kind of father figure to me”.
He said: “Patrick will be mourned by the many to whom he was a caring uncle, and by all who loved the delightful wit and clarity of his writings, or enjoyed his fearlessly eccentric persona in public life.
It is such a pity, that there seems to be no possible successor to someone, who may well go down in history as the last great British eccentric.
The Dominions Stick Together
In some ways it’s one of the best pieces of news for Africa in a long time, but the decision of the SKA organisation to site their new radio telescope in remote parts of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, is to be welcomed. The details are here on the BBC’s web site.
Milton Nkosi from the BBC says this about the project.
This decision will help to change the perception that Africa is a dark continent full of death and destruction and where little scientific research is carried out.
The telescope will deliver thousands of jobs and will showcase South Africa’s rich history in astronomy.
The SKA will have 3,000 antennas across a vast semi-desert part of South Africa known as the Karoo. The site is already home to seven massive Gregorian dish antennas that form part of the Karoo Array Telescope, or Kat7.
The only thing history tells us about it, is that the project will get bigger. And it will be joined by other large instruments.
The Moon and the Planets
I was standing outside Carluccio’s in Upper Street tonight, watching a glorious moon with the planet Venus alongside.
A few minutes later, I was outside my house and they had been joined by Jupiter lower down.
Never in my life have I seen all of these heavenly bodies together.
A Glorious Celestial Display
The next few months are very exciting if you are an astronomer or even just someone interested in the stars. This excellent summary from the BBC lays it out well. Last night, I was able to see Venus and Jupiter above the houses at about six, as I walked to the bus to go to Islington. So if I can see it in Central London, the view must be much better, where there is no light pollution.
The article mentions a Transit of Venus in June. I was lucky enough to observe the one in 2004 from Suffolk.
Considering they occur rarely, Iwas very lucky. In 2004, no-one actually was able to watch their second Transit of Venus, as the previous one had occurred in 1882.
Wikipedia says this about their frequency.
Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years.
I’ll try and find the pictures, I took at the time.
Aurora Borealis
This year seems to be the best in my life for the aurora borealis or northern lights in the media.
I’ve only seen it once and that was from a British Airways jumbo, crossing the Atlantic. The pilot spent a long time making sure that everyone who wanted was able to see the wonderful display as we passed down towards San Francisco over northern Canada. I suppose it keeps the passengers busy on a long flight.
I have been though to one of the best places to see the aurora in the UK. And that is in the cab of a train going from Edinburgh to Inverness in the evening. The night I did the journey, the time was wrong and anyway it was cloudy. But the driver had seen them many times, as they climbed over the Drumochter Pass, which at 1450 ft high is the highest railway line in the UK.
To the Geological Society of London for a Lecture
When I went to the exhibition on Soviet Architecture, I saw this lecture being advertised on a poster outside the Geological Society of London. So I applied for tickets and yestersay I was able to see James Jackson of Cambridge University, lecture on Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Modern World. It was fascinating and I learned a lot. I think a video of the lecture will be uploaded at some time.
Years ago, as a sixteen-year-old schoolboy, I went to see Patrick Moore give a lecture on whether there was a link between earthquakes and the moon, next door at the British Astronomical Association.
We do go round in circles.
Last Night’s Lunar Eclipse
I didn’t see the eclipse here in London, but my son saw it in Cairo, where incidentally the BBC showed it on the television this morning. It looked fairly spectacular and extremely beautiful.
Another Missed Eclipse
In 1999, I went to France to see the total eclipse of the sun. But due to an erroneous Belgian weather forecast, I ended up in part of France that was overcast.
Today there was a spectacular partial eclipse that was visible as the sun was rising. I took the North London Line to Gospel Oak and walked up the hill to the spot where Judy Dench picked up Kate Blanchett in Notes on a Scandal.
As you can see from this picture, I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed.
Waiting for the Eclipse
At least I didn’t lug a heavy telescope up the hill.
The Anonymous Widower 