As the dinosaurs on the Earth 64 million years ago discovered, comets and asteroids have the potential for unexpected arrival with devastating consequences. The spectacular collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in July 1994 dramatically raised awareness and no doubt a little concern amongst the heads of governments across the planet. Since then, the [...]
The Red Rockets’ Glare – Book Review
Title: The Red Rockets’ Glare : Spaceflight and the Soviet Imagination, 1857–1957 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Author: Asif A. Siddiqi ISBN: 9780521897600 Price: £58.00 [414 pages hardcover] This is probably the most meticulous analysis of the culture of an insecure, troubled and courageous people: the Soviets and those that preceded them, who collectively pulled off [...]
[Continue reading…]Ben Kepes – Future of Cloud Computing
When I speak to anyone in a time zone with a 12 hours difference and in opposite hemispheres it implies we are about as far as two people on the planet can be. You can play or download the recording at the bottom of this page. Ben is known for amongst other things, as the [...]
Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)
The most spectacular comet in living memory was bright, had multiple tails and remained visible with the naked eye for over a year. Hale-Bopp decorated the Earth’s night sky between 1996 and 1997. Discovery of another comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) announced this week, if current predictions turn out to be correct, may exceed the spectacle even of [...]
[Continue reading…]Fireball over Europe
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For a change the sky was clear. I could have seen it but I didn’t. Last Friday a brilliant (magnitude -7) fireball swept across the sky over western Europe. Numerous visual sightings, pictures and video testify to a great night-sky spectacle but no one still knows what it actually was – meteor or space debris. [...]
[Continue reading…]Cloud Computing Security Knowledge (CCSK) from the Cloud Security Alliance(CSA)
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A personal take on current cloud computing security certification. If you have been working in the Information Security field and already hold the certification such as CISSP and CISM and now want to understand the security challenges associated with Cloud Computing which certification should you go for? The Cloud Computing Security Knowledge (CCSK) from the [...]
[Continue reading…]Episode 55: 4 August 2012: Mars Curiosity Rover
Since the mid 1970s six spacecraft (Viking 1 & 2, Sojourner, Opportunity, Spirit and Phoenix) have successfully landed on the surface of Mars. In probably the most audacious, breathtaking and risky space missions, in less than two days, another Mars Curiosity Rover will arrive on Mars. Using a technique never used before, NASA has described [...]
Mars Curiosity’s seven minutes of terror – in less than 3 minutes
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Mars Curiosity landing in a nutshell (less than 3 minutes audio below) by Dr Anita Sengupta from the Entry Decent & Landing and Advanced Technologies group at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Full interview in Episode 55 – tomorrow.
Episode 54: 23 July 2012 – Manchester Interplanetary Society and Stanley Davis
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The August 2012 edition of Spaceflight, the monthly magazine from the British Interplanetary Society carried an article where I discuss the Northwest of England’s contribution in Rocketry during the 1930s. An extended version of that article is available for free download on Astrotalkuk.org – here. So on to today’ episode. In 1937, two teenagers Harry [...]
Gagarin Statue – Update 14 July 2012
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To mark the 50th anniversary of his visit to Britain, a statue of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was installed outside the offices of the British Council near Trafalgar Square in London, one year ago today. The full story was covered in episode 47. At the time the British Council announced that the statue had planning permission [...]
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