In the Beginning

This is Anna’s fault. Or rather is Caroline’s. Or rather it’s mine.

Anna is a teacher. She teaches stuff to small kids. She’s really good. Caroline is a scientist. She agreed to write Anna a lesson plan on some cool Science stuff. I thought I’d do this too, as I know some really cool stuff about space, the planets, the universe and stuff. And I can explain it to my 7yo nephew and answer his questions.

Writing a lesson plan, with links to videos and stuff would be easy… right. Oh dear.

So instead I thought I’d take a step back and look at all the cool stuff I know (or think I know), put it somewhere I could access easily if I needed to explain things, let others see it too, and of course put here all the things I learn and cool things that I find out about from time to time.

Reminders for myself of cool science stuff that has happened or will be happening through out the year (eg Comet ISON). And I have a sieve of brain and until the lottery comes in no PA to remind me of important stuff!

And If I can try and explain stuff or put in links to places that explain the complex in simple terms, , then maybe I will remember & understand them a bit better as well - Higgs-Boson, Quantum theory, Light speed, gravity & space-time, big bang vs big crunch, Fermi principle, Einstein-Rosenberg bridges (worm-holes to you and me), why E does not =Mc²  etc etc.

Don’t for one minute think this is going to be a guide in order explaining the universe. (I think the BBC & Prof Cox) have that covered if you want that). I’ve read a few book and most of them are pretty good. (for example) and there are some other pretty good resources on the web (e.g. Sixty Symbols)

So let’s start with something simple. Something pretty. And possibly the best link on the web (IMO) – Nasa's Astronomy Picture of the Day 15 years of photos, graphics, videos and other things showing and explaining pretty and very cool things in the universe.

In the Shadow of Saturn 
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110904.html

 It’s from Nasa and edited by one of Astrophysics great heavy-weights, Robert Nemiroff, with whom I’ve bounced some very interesting emails, about some gravitational lensing I spotted in one their photos.

 So each week I will try and put up something cool that is happening in the Universe or about Space, amazing science and “stuff”.

If you've got any thoughts or ideas on things you'd like me to post about, then feel free to leave comments below (please no conspiracy theories...)