New Zealand born photographer Max Alexander has taken a truly fantastic set of portraits of a number of astronomers. These are just two of them -- go to his website and have a look at the rest!


With thanks to Astropixie for the link!

This has been stuck in my head all day long. How strange! It's on my current ipod playlist. I even feel compelled to pick up my ukulele and learn how to play a cover of it -- which is rare occurence for something that came from the depths of YouTube.

In other words, this is probably the best tribute I've ever seen to the greatest astrochemist of all time. The world needs more people like you, Carl.



A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the Milky Way

Invader Xan is going to Mars! Well... That's not to say that I'm going to Mars (given the option, I prefer not to talk about myself in the third person). More that my online alias is going to Mars. Once again, NASA are collecting names to be sent into space. This time to another planet. A microchip, containing the names of thousands of people is going to be sent aboard the Curiosity rover (formerly known as the Mars Science Laboratory). Yeah, ok. I know it doesn't really mean much, but there's still something kinda cool about it.

To send your own name, just go to their website and fill out your details. You get a little certificate and everything!



As cool as it would be to actually go to Mars, for now, this will have to do. Ah, c'est la vie.

I've heard people say in the past, how certain things in astronomy (like planet hunting) can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but this is taking that metaphor quite literally. In my random meanderings on the internet I found this scale replica of Jodrell Bank's Lovell Telescope made from hay bales. And rather impressive it is too!



The creator of this fantastic little sculpture is Park Farm in Cheshire. Makers of the mouthwatering Snugbury's Ice Cream and accomplished straw sculptors.

Original image from Leslie Platt's Photostream

Well that's interesting. With his journey scheduled for September 30th, the seventh space tourist is going to be Guy Laliberte, acrobatic billionaire and founder of the famous Cirque du Soleil. Booked to hitch a lift with the Russian Federation to spend 12 days aboard the ISS, Laliberte booked his trip via the US company Space Adventures. So they say, one of those tickets costs in the region of $30 million!

Seemingly, it isn't just fun and games either. As well as fulfilling a childhood dream, Laliberte has a humanitarian mission behind his excursion -- to raise awareness of worldwide water issues. To get his message heard and help people across the planet get better access to clean water, Laliberta plans to read "a poem to planet Earth and its inhabitants in regard to the situation with water," written by himself and a friend. I have to say, I rather like that idea, given that water is certainly at a premium aboard the ISS, and yet it affords the best view you could have of Earth's oceans. As the quote goes, 'water, water, everywhere...'

I have to wonder though... seeing as Laliberte is a retired acrobat, what might he make of microgravity? I'd imagine a lot of fun could be had! Interestingly, Laliberte's trip ties in quite well with some of the planned Japanese work as part of JAXA-EPO (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency - Education Payload Observation), intended to captivate the public's interest with artistic activities in microgravity. I haven't heard much about it, but I know that EPO was planning to explore the poetic and artistic sides of human spaceflight, even recording traditional Japanese dances in weightlessness. I remember reading about how the Japanese Kibo module featured some kind of dance studio facility, but not much news has surfaced about it since.

Perhaps people are coming to realise that space travel isn't purely the domain of scientists. It would be wonderful to see more artists get involved!

I would like to bid an official welcome to our new gelatinous overlords, who have announced their presence by etching their image into wheat. This method of communicating with us puny Earth monkeys is time honoured amongst any and all passing extraterrestrials as any nutcase UFO enthusiast will happily tell you.

Seriously though, this is perhaps the most amazing crop circle I've ever seen. Having been created entirely overnight in a field in Oxfordshire (UK), at around 600ft long, it's really quite an achievement.

There's a little more on various news websites, like The Telegraph.

Crop circles, in my opinion, are one of the most innovative types of graffiti in recent times. Either that or they're made by aliens*.



*Note: They're probably not made by aliens.

So yesterday evening, before heading to a barbecue, I stopped off at the Student's Union for a quick beer, and discovered something rather delightful! Being something of a fan of both astronomy and real ale, when I saw a beer called Super Nova I really couldn't stop myself. It's a crisp pale ale, light and refreshing, with a fruity aftertaste. Very nice for a warm Summer evening!

Actually, I'd heard of the Black Hole Brewery before (at the Nottingham Beer Festival last year) but hadn't managed to sample any of their ales. Based in Burton-on-Trent, the Black Hole Brewers make a selection of beers with names like Stargazer, Red Dwarf and Milky Way. Which makes my inner geek rather happy!

In the future, I'm definitely going to look out for more of these in pubs!



Caution: Beer can cause time dilation, temporal displacement, non-linearity and other quasi-relativistic effects.

I've been pondering the whole scientific tattoos thing. Because let's face it, it's just a really cool idea. Astronomy, Chemistry and Physics contain some pretty damn amazing concepts and visuals, but obviously I wouldn't want a tattoo of something I'm going to find trivial and rubbish in a few years time. So I've been... mulling.

I have a shortlist of a few which I think would be pretty sweet. As with anything permanent, I figure it's got to be a dumb idea to rush out on a whim. So these are a few ponderings of mine. Any and all feedback is more than welcome!



Radiation pressure is, in my opinion, one of the coolest concepts in physics. Pressure exerted by light itself. In massive stars, radiation pressure on condensing dust grains is the driving force for a stellar wind of around 2000 kilometres per second. I think this one might make a good upper back tattoo.



Dopamine is a phenylethylamine derived neurotransmitter. It plays a lot of roles in the brain, from learning and memory to pleasure and excitement. I'm not quite sure where would be best for this.



The Pleiades. My favourite star cluster, and probably one of the most widely known in human cultures, from Norse to Maori. A shoulder tattoo, perhaps?



Corona Borealis. A cool little constellation, which is home to a number of interesting objects, including a few variable stars, at least one solar twin, some exoplanets, a couple of circumstellar disks... And the small red star marks the location of R Coronae Borealis, a particularly interesting variable star with some interesting chemistry. I've written something about it before. This might look good as an outer shin tattoo.


So these are all still just ideas. One day, if I can find a good enough tattooist and don't mind spending the money, maybe...