Destination Moon! – the title of our April talk by member Laurence Anslow. I arrived expecting a talk about the space race of the 1960s but it was much more than that, as the gentlemen in the audience of a certain age anticipated because “Destination Moon!” is also the name of a science fiction film. …
Category: Past Talks
Rainbows and astronomy
It is an unusual person who, on seeing a rainbow, does not take a moment or two to stop and admire it. I know I always look up at one and following our March talk from David Whitehouse entitled “Rainbows and Astronomy”, I am now more aware of what I am actually seeing. David Whitehouse …
One-way ticket to Mars?
Anyone up for a one-way ticket to Mars? Over 200,000 people around the world have said “Yes” to the chance of a one-way ticket to Mars. A Dutch entrepreneur was planning a mission of 4 people to set off in 2022 and, when a request was put out for applicants, there was this huge response. …
About black holes
About black holes – making the unbelievable believable As far as black holes are concerned, my mind is not unlike a black hole. It can swallow up information about them without any real glimmers of understanding emerging. I must confess that I have been rather sceptical about their existence, particulary the idea that there is …
UKMON research on meteors
Where do meteors come from ? Two members of FAS aim to find out. “Where do meteors come from?” At one level that is an easy question to answer. Most meteors are produced by particles of dust left behind by a comet and they become visible as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. We get meteor …
Cosmic inflation
Our July talk was on “Inflation and the origin of cosmic structure”. Our speaker patiently presented a non-mathematical description of how in the early stages of the Universe (a fraction of a second only), it grew at an incredible rate before reaching the size of a pea and has since then has just been expanding …