This video from Arecibo observatory has been doing the rounds on the interwebs. It shows the increasing number of known asteroids in the Solar System over the period 1980 to 2010. It gets very pretty around the 2:00 mark, which roughly coincides with the year 2000 (see the time ticker in the lower left corner).
A taste of morality
August 28, 2010 By
Something radically new is in the air: new ways of understanding physical systems, new ways of thinking about thinking that call into question many of our basic assumptions. A realistic biology of the mind, advances in evolutionary biology, physics, information technology, genetics, neurobiology, psychology, engineering, the chemistry of materials: all are questions of critical importance with respect to what it means to be human. For the first time, we have the tools and the will to undertake the scientific study of human nature. — Edge.org
In late July, Edge organised a conference on the science of morality, gathering together a number of scientists, philosophers, psychologists, to talk about the new ways that we’re studying human morality, and the questions we face in this difficult but important discipline.
Optics cheat sheet for iPhone
August 25, 2010 By
SPIE, the somewhat bizarrely acronymed International Society for Optical Engineering, is a household name for astronomy instrumentalists. Organiser of the biggest global conference on telescopes and instruments, SPIE publish a number of decent journals and some very useful books. I’m a particular fan of their Field Guide series, which are small spiral-bound quick-reference booklets on topics like adaptive optics, spectroscopy or optical testing. I recently saw that SPIE have now released a free iPhone app for their Field Guide to Geometrical Optics
The Culture of Science (Thoughts on the Decadal Survey)
August 16, 2010 By
The global astronomy community is buzzing this week after the publication at last of the Decadal Survey for Astronomy & Astrophysics by the US National Academy of Sciences, which will serve as a roadmap for US astronomy for the coming decade. Following a flurry of tweets and live blogs during the presentation of the report by the Chair of the review, Prof Roger Blandford, which was broadcast live on the web, I’m sure the report will be read, chewed over, and discussed at length online in the weeks to come (see e.g. here, here, here, here); if you’re interested, the report is publicly available here, all 225 pages of it – happy reading.
It’s also worth noting that the European astronomy community produced a similar document, the Astronet roadmap, in 2008. The report, equally beefy, is available from the Astronet website.
I just finished reading In Bluebeard’s Castle
Want to build cool stuff for telescopes?
August 11, 2010 By
For over three years now I’ve been working here in Leiden’s instrumentation group. My time here in Leiden is coming to an end – I’m sad to leave but such is the life of a postdoc, and I’m excited about new things ahead (more about that later). I’ve written here about my own work on a few occasions, here’s a few examples:
Future facilities: Coming quite close now actually
If my work sounds like fun to you, and you have a PhD and experience in working on instrumentation projects, why don’t you apply to join the group?
I’ve enjoyed my time in Leiden immensely, both from a personal and professional perspective. The Observatory sets a high standard to its staff and students, but is very open and inclusive with a great “can-do” attitude. So if you’re passionate about your science, it’s great place to push the limits of your skills and creativity. If you’re interested, check out the ad on the AAS register and apply!
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