Gold Dust

The asteroid Itokawa from which the Hayabusa spacecraft has successfully returned sample material to Earth (Image: JAXA) As you may remember, a couple of weeks back, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that, after all, the Hayabusa spacecraft had collected extraterrestrial particles from the asteroid Itokawa. This came as a bit of a shock…

Keep up the good work

(Image: Wikipedia/Prescott) Back at the end of July two cricket fans were enjoying a pint watching Sussex play Middlesex at Uxbridge when they spotted a rock hurtling towards them. It hit the ground close by, fragmented and a portion bounced up and hit one of these startled witnesses in the chest. The story rapidly gained…

Lost in Translation (or one of our planets is missing)

  True colour image of Jupiter taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The Great Red Spot forms a distinct feature in the planet’s southern hemisphere. (Image: NASA) As each passing day brings news of the discovery of yet another unknown and exotic exoplanet, it is with some regret that I have to report the strange disappearance…

Four decades of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Later this week we will be celebrating four decades of Earth and Planetary Science teaching and research at The Open University. To mark the occasion a full programme of research talks will be taking place on Thursday and Friday (7th and 8th October 2010). Many of the contributions are from past staff and students. (Details…