Now an author
I should have done this years ago, but the main thing is it’s done. My first book is published and available in all good bookshops...
Open University plays fast and loose
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....
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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’...
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...
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...