BIO
Dara Ó Briain Ó Briain is an Irish comedian, science communicator, TV host and author. He studied mathematics and theoretical physics at University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland, before pursuing a career in comedy. His career has seen him co-host the BBC’s Stargazing Live with Brian Cox, and he has written a trifecta of space books aimed at young adults, the most recent one being Is There Anybody Out There?
During the several months of lockdown and social restrictions throughout 2020, have you been able to get stuck into any observing?
Yeah hugely, because now, from what I’ve gathered from talking to the many specialist telescope shops, I’ve been slowly building up my store of small black metal tubes.
It became a very huge thing, because the lockdown had seven weeks of clear skies, so I very quickly took to it. I had a couple of ones [telescopes] that were very small, you know, ones that I’ve had for years, and I thought, let’s just get a proper eightinch CT [Cassegrain telescope] and see what we can see. It was because Venus was up, I think, initially, and then there was the Saturn-Jupiter thing that was a big thing for a while. But I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of doing deep-space stuff now, and that’s a whole other world of pain. But it’s been great. It’s been lovely – to the point where I’m packing up this stuff at three in the morning – and one night, I went: “Oh my God, I’ve got a hobby. I haven’t had a hobby in years.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 111-Ausgabe von All About Space.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Issue 111-Ausgabe von All About Space.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED