Science writer, editor, and presenter
When we last spoke, I promised a short history of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It seems I have only delivered an introduction to the latter two, without really talking about how Life itself came about on this majestic blue marble. The origin of life [...]
Life on Earth wouldn't be possible without Earth and the Sun. The Sun only exists as a product of galaxy formation. You probably guessed what's next: the galaxy [...]
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s footprints on the moon will never fade. Until they get struck by a meteor or the sun expands. Well, we know the sun will expand to engulf the Earth’s current orbit in approximately 5 billion years, but how likely is it that a meteor will wipe one of these footprints …
Continue reading "About As Likely As A Lunar Footprint Getting Hit By Space Debris"
Human eyes can see wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation between 390 and 750nm. Light at the long end of this range (~750nm) appears red while light at the short end (~390nm) appears blue or violet. We call this range the visible spectrum for pretty obvious reasons; it’s the wavelengths of light that are visible to our …
The planet doesn’t care about us. We live on a chunk of rock that follows the bend of space-time around a massive ball of Hydrogen. This rock is home to more species than we can count, and yet it seems the only species that counts is Homo Sapiens. We beat out all the other members …
This week I downloaded an application called Exoplanets onto my iPhone. Not only does it have a list of confirmed extra-solar planets (some 825 and counting in the database), but it also has the ability to plot the discoveries in terms of mass, density, distance, semi-major axis, and many other variables. My favourite feature, however, …
My favourite author of all time is Isaac Asimov: he crafted the wonderful Foundation series, he penned (or type-writered) countless essays on the importance of science literacy and education, and he’s the mastermind behind I, Robot (remember: the plot of the Will Smith movie had very little to do with the original and amazing book …
I saw a video today of a NASA supercomputer’s simulation of the collision of two spiral galaxies. It is less than two minutes long but simulates the passage of nearly 2 billion years. I am amazed at how much the behaviour of these truly giant structures resembles the swirling of smoke from an extinguished candle. …
I like to think of myself as a moderately sized human. I’m almost six feet tall and I weigh 80 kg. I can lift heavy objects and reach the cookies on the top shelf. I’m busy with university reading, homework, music, and all manner of other activities. I think I’m pretty important. Until I look …
Jon Farrow 