BIMS members, (from left to right) Graham Ensor, Kieron Heard, Martin Goff and Matt Smith, visiting the PSSRI clean meteorite storage facility (Image: Martin Goff). It was a great pleasure earlier this month to welcome Matt Smith, Kieron Heard, Martin Goff and Graham Ensor of the British and Irish Meteorite Society (BIMS) to the Open…

Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on the way to the launch of Vostok 1 0n 12 April 1961. Gagarin’s flight lasted just under two hours and he made one orbit of the Earth. (Image: NASA) Well, here we are at the start of 2011. While it looks like being a fairly tough year, there is still plenty…

  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…

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…