From Gallifrey to Tatooine, planets with multiple suns feature widely in science fiction, but there are currently only ten real ‘circumbinary’ planets identified by space scientists. Dr David Armstrong from Warwick’s Astrophysics research group considers what we know about planets with two stars – and asks if life could exist there.
Exploring habitability, on our own world and beyond, is a research priority for the University of Warwick. Ares Osborn from Warwick’s astrophysics group, explores one aspect of this topic - growing food on Mars.
In a personal blog, written originally in 2013, Professor Don Pollaco describes the initial awkward moments during the life-changing evening when he met his hero, Neil Armstrong.
Many of the things we take for granted in the modern world rely heavily on satellites in space. But as they become redundant or fail, many become space debris and risk damaging other satellites. James Blake from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group explores the growing need to safeguard satellites against the hazards they face on a daily basis.
We are familiar with the idea that the twinkling pinpricks of light in the sky are stars, like our own Sun, but not all those stars are the same. There are many types of stars, and we can see most of these in the night sky, explains Dr Elizabeth Stanway.
Professor Tom Marsh from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group explains how to make a sundial and what it can tell us about our Sun.
It’s quite easy to see some of the other planets in our Solar system from your garden, balcony or on an evening walk. In fact, you might have already seen them without realising it, explains Dr David Brown from Warwick’s astrophysics team.
The story of how Pluto got dropped as a planet is one of discovery, debate and a momentous decision that explains how we found a whole new class of objects: the dwarf planets, explains Dr Elizabeth Stanway.
Nebulae are birthplaces of stars and spectacular sights to behold. But you don’t need a powerful telescope to experience these ‘Stellar Nurseries’, as postgraduate researcher Jack McCleery explains.
It’s not just stars, planets and meteors that fill our night sky. Our planet is also orbited by spacecraft that you can spot – if you know where and when, explains Professor Don Pollacco, the science coordinator for the upcoming space telescope PLATO.
