I found my own first Martian meteorite sitting in a cabinet in a gem store in Akaroa, writes James Scott. Nasa’s Perseverance rover successfully touched down on Mars this morning, and has already begun beaming back images. But people might be surprised to learn there have been another 48 missions to the red planet so … Read more
Today (NZT) is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the first spaceflight to land humans on the Moon. Astronomer Richard Easther looks back. One of my earliest memories is standing with my father on the balcony of my grandmother’s house in Auckland. “Ma’s House” had a spectacular view northwards, across Auckland’s Hauraki … Read more
You’ve probably seen the image, but have you been secretly wondering why it’s such a big deal? NZ cosmologist and physicist Professor Richard Easther explains. Mathematically, a black hole is empty space. It is not so much that a black hole has mass; rather, the black hole is a pucker in the fabric of space, … Read more
Will humans ever have a colony on Mars? If we do, some cutting edge technology of today could help us get there. If humans ever want to achieve the outlandish, science fiction sounding goal of a colony on Mars, our species will get there in part thanks to virtual reality. That’s one of the goals … Read more