Interesting challenges with my new iOptron CEM60 mount. All setup in observatory but last job was to polar align it. Polar alignment is an essential task that aligns the mount with the Earth’s axis of rotation so that a motor drive can easily track objects across the sky. Powered it all up to start polar […]

No stranger to public speaking, Mark is embarking on perhaps the most ambitious live science show ever undertaken. In October 2015 Mark will be presenting his 24 Hour Space Spectacular at the Royal Institution in London! The event, which is being arranged in aid of Marie Curie will take audiences on an ambitious and fascinating […]

Comets have been in the news a lot lately especially with the excitement of the Rosetta mission to Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It seemed nothing could top the succesful landing of the Philae probe on the comets surface to whip up some celestial excitement among the public until Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy started to make an appearance.

Christmas is a great time of year, more so for young children. I get quite annoyed when I hear do-gooders ranting on about how it is terrible to perpetuate the lie about Santa, is there really anything wrong about conjouring a wonderful magical memory for children to grow up with? If you like me, love […]

You may well recall the Mars Renaissance Orbiter which is studying the red planet. Well MRO-II is not entirely related to the NASA mission that cost $720 million and I hope at least, that it will come in a little cheaper. MRO-II is a slightly less ambitious project to setup my telescope system at a […]