The Edge of the Sky | Oir Nan Speur
The Edge of the Sky | Oir Nan Speur is a beautiful new ‘analogue theatre show’ in which two astronomers try to unravel a story from the past following a cataclysmic event. It will premiere on February 18th, 2022 at the Hebridean Dark Skies festival, on the Isle of Lewis. Performed in English and Gaelic, it is a uniquely […]
Why Society Needs Astronomy and Cosmology
A public lecture given as Guest Professor at Gresham College London on March 15th 2016. “One day, Sir, you may tax it!” In 1850 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, reportedly visited Michael Faraday’s laboratory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Faraday’s reputation as one of the greatest scientists of his time was […]
Why Society Needs Astronomy and Cosmology: a Gresham College Guest Lecture
This is the text accompanying a Gresham College Guest Lecture I gave on March 15th 2016. Audio recording of the lecture: Video of the lecture available here “One day, Sir, you may tax it!” In 1850 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, reportedly visited Michael Faraday’s laboratory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. […]
Butchery or beauty? Explaining complex science using only the most common 1,000 words in English
A version of this post appeared on the British Council’s VOICES blog on Nov 12th 2014 Would you try and cross the South Pole wearing only flip-flops? Or row across the Atlantic on an inflatable swimming pool? Or describe the beauty and mystery of the Universe using only the most common 1,000 words in English? As a […]
14 yr old aspiring writer wins #upgoer5 Mr Santa competition!
In the run-up to Christmas and in collaboration with Imperial Fringe, I set up a competition for the best letter to Mr Santa written using only the most common 1,000 words in English, the idea behind my book, “The Edge of the Sky”. Among many excellent entries, one stood out: It was inspired, poetic and […]
My job using only the most used ten-hundred words
I study tiny bits of matter that are all around us but that we can not see, which we call dark matter. We know dark matter is out there because it changes the way other big far-away things move, such as stars, and Star Crowds. We want to understand what dark matter is made of […]
