Some units used in astronomy ~ Roger Wood

Roger takes us on a a gentle walk through some of the units commonly used in astronomy with definitions and a bit of history

Cerenkov Radiation & Gamma Ray Astronomy ~ Tony Baxter

A signature of Cherenkov radiation, produced from the interaction of gamma rays in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, enables ground-based detection of rare events at high energies. By employing an array of telescopes to image such emissions, stereoscopic reconstruction of the incident directions can be achieved opening up a new window for astronomy. A very large International collaboration (CTA) is now underway to introduce “3rd generation” capabilities in the northern and southern hemispheres, to come on stream be the end of this decade.

Various News Items (dependent upon time) ~ David Pulley

           What’s the matter with Dark Matter?

The last quarter has seen results from three leading experiments chasing the elusive WIMPs.  But did they find any?

Proxima 1b, our new neighbour

In late August ESO announced that a planet had been discovered orbiting our nearest star, Proxima Centauri.  At 4.5 light years distant, and with current technology, we can get there in 70,000 light years.  Not an ideal holiday venue.

The speed of light

So what units do we use?