I’M ASTONISHED to see that the Open University has suppressed a comment I left pointing out a basic error on one of its new YouTube videos. Universities are supposed to be about sharing knowledge, not suppressing …Read More
Category Archives: science coverage
Why that was no meteor shower
I was lucky enough to witness the strange fireball in the sky at about 11pm last night, Friday 21 September 2012. It was certainly a spectacular, and initially puzzling, sight – but I don’t think …Read More
Celebrating fakery
The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and Sky At Night magazine, has announced its results. Nearly 800 images, from shots of meteors streaking over the sky to deep-space …Read More
When computer companies can’t count
If I were to write a blog post every time I saw an inappropriate use of numbers in the general media, well, I’d have a lot more blog posts. Innumeracy is rampant, at least partly due …Read More
Shutting the stable door after the embargo has bolted
There is a growing consensus among journalists and editors that the present embargo system is broken and should be abandoned. It is a subject I’ve written about before, both on this blog and elsewhere. It …Read More
Lost in space
I have been known to shout at the television. I know it doesn’t help, but it makes me feel better. I was certainly doing so when watching what I thought would be a fascinating BBC …Read More
Some embargoes are hard to respect
Embargoes are a tricky topic for me, as for many journalists. They exist, ostensibly, to enable us to research a story before it becomes ‘officially’ announced and so provide a better service to our readers. …Read More
Snake Oil makes market comeback
It isn’t April Fools Day, I’ve checked. So the press release this morning promoting a new cosmetic product is, presumably, genuine. It promises a ‘botox in a bottle’ treatment of the sort that I would …Read More
Why ET doesn’t live on GJ 1214b
This looks like being quite a week in the search for extraterrestrial life. Today the European Southern Observatory has released details of the first analysis of the atmosphere of an exoplanet, while tomorrow (Thursday) NASA …Read More