I recently decided what I want to do after my PhD, which is a career in outreach/science communication. There are so many things you can do within this. You can talk to the public about science, write for a magazine, newspaper or website, create media to explain science like podcasts of videos, etc. I'm trying to check out as many of these areas as possible to get experience and find out what kind of things I like. This has basically resulted in me trying to do so many things at the moment!
Alongside this blog and my Youtube channel, which are ongoing projects, I'm getting involved with a few other outreach things. First, I'm giving a science talk in a months time in Bristol on 'What is it like to fall in to a black hole'. I'm enjoying coming up with ideas for this as it's to the public, so I can explain it at a really beginner level without having to get in to any horrible maths. All the fun without any of the complications. I'm also trying to come up with a project that I hope to apply for funding for via the UK government. They have a scheme to fund projects that communicate what the UK space industry does to the public. I'm planning to make a sort of card game that teaches people what they do as well as teaches them about different areas of astrophysics. I have a couple of months before the deadline for this, so lots of time to think about it.
Other than that I have a few little ideas in my head, so I have lots of things to take up my spare time. I have a fun couple of months ahead I believe!
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Thursday 21 August 2014
Rosettas comet conundrum
At some point in your life you've probably experienced the holiday headache. Where should we go this for our summer getaway? The south of France, Disney land Orlando, the Great Barrier Reef? Wherever you go, at least you know you will have a great time. The risks involved are pretty small.
The team behind European Space Agencies mission Rosetta aren't have such an easy task though. Rosetta made contact with the comet 67P-C/G this month. An incredible mission that will study a comet in close detail. It will hope to learn more about what comet structure and composition is as well as learning about the early solar system. It is currently orbiting around the comet, studied the outside of it. But the really exciting part of the mission will happen in November when the lander part of the mission Philae will land on the comet to study its surface.
We don't know much about the surface of comets, but what we do know is very general and is likely to vary from comet to comet. This is worrying for the team that has to land and attach Philae to the comets surface. They would like to land it somewhere stable enough for the lander to remain for the entire mission, somewhere it is unlikely to get damaged, somewhere where it can access the surface of the comet and look as deep in to the centre as possible. The amount of sunlight the lander receives is also vital, ruling out many areas of the comet already due to its spin and unusual shape. This is not your usual holiday headache of where do you go, this is a comet conundrum!
The surface of the comet has been studied for the last couple of weeks since Rosetta has been orbiting the comet and scientists will officially announce in the next week the landing site they have chosen. We will then all keep our fingers crossed for a successful landing in November for what will be an incredible feat for space exploration.
You can read more about this on the ESA website:
http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/08/21/landing-site-selection-the-race-is-on/
The team behind European Space Agencies mission Rosetta aren't have such an easy task though. Rosetta made contact with the comet 67P-C/G this month. An incredible mission that will study a comet in close detail. It will hope to learn more about what comet structure and composition is as well as learning about the early solar system. It is currently orbiting around the comet, studied the outside of it. But the really exciting part of the mission will happen in November when the lander part of the mission Philae will land on the comet to study its surface.
We don't know much about the surface of comets, but what we do know is very general and is likely to vary from comet to comet. This is worrying for the team that has to land and attach Philae to the comets surface. They would like to land it somewhere stable enough for the lander to remain for the entire mission, somewhere it is unlikely to get damaged, somewhere where it can access the surface of the comet and look as deep in to the centre as possible. The amount of sunlight the lander receives is also vital, ruling out many areas of the comet already due to its spin and unusual shape. This is not your usual holiday headache of where do you go, this is a comet conundrum!
The surface of the comet has been studied for the last couple of weeks since Rosetta has been orbiting the comet and scientists will officially announce in the next week the landing site they have chosen. We will then all keep our fingers crossed for a successful landing in November for what will be an incredible feat for space exploration.
 |
| Artist impression of Philae on the surface of 67P/C-G. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab |
You can read more about this on the ESA website:
http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/08/21/landing-site-selection-the-race-is-on/
Wednesday 20 August 2014
Science card game and Nintendo nostalgia
I was pointed to a funding opportunity by the UK government this week. They are funding projects to help the public get interested in the UK's role in space and I've decided I want to give it a go. I've been picking my brain at what to do and have come up with the idea of making a card game that teaches people about all the cool projects the UK space agency is involved in. I've not quite got the game play down yet, but I have some cool ideas. If I get it funded hopefully I can get a graphic designer to make the cards look good and help spread the word about them. I'd like to release them for free online so that people and schools can print them out and play them, enabling lots of people to be able to play. The deadline isn't for a while so I can have some time to plan. Fingers crossed!
I've also decided to relive my childhood. I have bought a Nintendo 64, a game console that was the peak of gaming in my childhood. I remember many a long afternoon round friends houses playing on games such as Goldeneye, Super Mario and Mariokart. I never had one so I'm making up for it now by buying one. It is now sat alongside my Super Nintendo and Sega Mega drive on my shelf of classic gaming. I plan to have a few nostalgic gaming evenings with friends soon, which is bound to be good fun. The addition of a couple of beers will surely make it even better!
I've also decided to relive my childhood. I have bought a Nintendo 64, a game console that was the peak of gaming in my childhood. I remember many a long afternoon round friends houses playing on games such as Goldeneye, Super Mario and Mariokart. I never had one so I'm making up for it now by buying one. It is now sat alongside my Super Nintendo and Sega Mega drive on my shelf of classic gaming. I plan to have a few nostalgic gaming evenings with friends soon, which is bound to be good fun. The addition of a couple of beers will surely make it even better!
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| Goleneye on the N64. http://i2.cdnds.net/12/42/300x225/gaming_goldeneye_n64_1.jpg |
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Long time no Blog
Yeh yeh, OK, so I've not been good with keeping up with this blog. But this will change! I really enjoy doing these blog posts, but I just need to find the time. But anyway, expect more blog posts from me as I get back in to the swing of things.
So, me update: I'm now over halfway through my PhD. Which should mean I've done half the work for my final thesis, but that's never the case. Lots of data analysis, programme creating and thesis writing left to do.
I'm now also keeping an ear to the ground to find potential jobs for the future. I fancy myself as a science communicator of some sorts, but there are so many options and opportunities. I guess that shouldn't be a bad thing...
I've also started a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/UKAstroNut) where I'm posting videos answering different scientific questions. For example, 'What is a Supermoon?', 'What is an atom?' and 'How do we discover Exoplanets?'. I'm finding this pretty fun, but also time consuming, part of the reason this blog has slowed down I suspect. Check it out if you like and maybe drop me a physicsy question you would like answered.
Anyway, I'll keep this post short and sweet. Please come back and check my blog as I promise I will nurture and care for it as I rightly should from now on!
See you guys soon!
So, me update: I'm now over halfway through my PhD. Which should mean I've done half the work for my final thesis, but that's never the case. Lots of data analysis, programme creating and thesis writing left to do.
I'm now also keeping an ear to the ground to find potential jobs for the future. I fancy myself as a science communicator of some sorts, but there are so many options and opportunities. I guess that shouldn't be a bad thing...
I've also started a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/UKAstroNut) where I'm posting videos answering different scientific questions. For example, 'What is a Supermoon?', 'What is an atom?' and 'How do we discover Exoplanets?'. I'm finding this pretty fun, but also time consuming, part of the reason this blog has slowed down I suspect. Check it out if you like and maybe drop me a physicsy question you would like answered.
Anyway, I'll keep this post short and sweet. Please come back and check my blog as I promise I will nurture and care for it as I rightly should from now on!
See you guys soon!
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