Dr Bruno Letarte addressed this question at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town 9th April 2011. Background Have you ever wondered what the stars are made of, or if it is possible to figure this out using the tools that we have access to? Two hundred years ago the accepted scientific consensus … Continue reading How do we Know what the Stars are Made of?
Saving the Southern African Large Telescope
I recently attended a talk by Dr Darragh O'Donoghue hosted by the Royal Society of South Africa on their 134th anniversary. Dr O'Donoghue holds a Phd in astronomy from the University of Cape Town and is currently the Southern Africa Large Telescope (SALT) instrument director with extensive research interests and activities across the world, including … Continue reading Saving the Southern African Large Telescope
Oral History
Half a year ago I started a second semester postgraduate Linguistics course called Linguistic Approaches to the Study of Narrative. One of the more interesting reading discussed in the course was Portelli, A. 1991. The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories: Form and Meaning in Oral History. I find what Portelli has to say … Continue reading Oral History
My Homeopathy Overdose
Last Saturday, the 5th of February 2011, skeptics from all over the world gathered in their nearest towns and cities to stage a mass suicide on homeopathic products. 10 countries joined the protest, with over 23 cities participating, and a total of more than 1000 skeptics overdosing on homeopathic remedies. Homeopathy is based on several … Continue reading My Homeopathy Overdose
The Evolution of the Eye
Charles Darwin, author of the groundbreaking On the Origin of Species, is frequently quote-mined for a variety of reasons. One of the most popular Darwin quotes frequently used by Creationists is: To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and … Continue reading The Evolution of the Eye
Eerie Sounds of Saturn’s Radio Emissions
From Nasa.gov. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia07966.html Please follow the link just below the picture on the website to download the small sound file of 717 KB (734,972 bytes). Saturn's radio emissions were detected by Cassini (the primary spacecraft continuously orbiting Saturn and updating Earth's astronomers on its findings) when it was 374 million kilometers away from Saturn. These … Continue reading Eerie Sounds of Saturn’s Radio Emissions
