BBC Science Focus
ALBIE HEWITT, RIPON HOW RADIOACTIVE IS MY HOUSE? (DO I NEED TO WORRY?)
Pedantically, we could say that your house is literally bathed in radiation day and night, since visible light is radiation, and so are the infrared wavelengths coming from your radiators and the 2.4GHz frequency radio waves from your home Wi-Fi and mobile phone. But what you're probably referring to is ionising radiation - the kind powerful enough to knock electrons out of atoms and thereby cause cancer and, at very high doses, radiation poisoning and burns.
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SPLENDID PERSEIDS WHEN: EARLY-LATE AUGUST
The Perseid meteor shower shows activity from mid-July through to late August. Generally the meteor rate is low, but between 10-16 August, rates are higher, reaching a peak in the early hours of 13 August.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
HOW DO VARIFOCAL GLASSES WORK?
Varifocals are lenses that allow you to see close-up, far away and somewhere in between, all through the same pair of glasses.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SHEEPSHEAD FISH
Someone slap a lawsuit on the dentist who fitted this fish with the freakishly human teeth... What's that you say? Evolution did this. By natural selection? What was it thinking! The sheepshead fish, aka the lovechild of Billy Bass and my granny's dentures, is a scaly, sparkly swimmer that can be found in the shallow waters of the western Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to Brazil. It's a euryhaline species, which means it can tolerate a wide range of salinity.
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
CHRIS PACKHAM VERSUS THE WORLD
After conquering wildlife programming, presenter Chris Packham is taking on the planet in Earth, a BBC series that sheds new light on the history of our home. He talks Noa Leach through the show's surprising science and his guilty conscience
7 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Five of the best outdoor speakers
A good outdoor speaker needs to be portable, offer great audio and be able to stand up to all types of weather. The BBC Science Focus team picks their faves
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Ideas we like...
Our pick of the month's smartest tech
2 min |
August 2023
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
THE LAB
Three things to make and do
3 min |
Issue 64
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
Should disposable barbecues be banned?
Some people think it's time to say goodbye to these single-use sizzlers.
3 min |
Issue 64
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
Who invented music?
Singing along is fun, but when did it all begin?
3 min |
Issue 64
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
James Stewart
Meet the man trying to spread a positive message about our planet.
3 min |
Issue 64
The Week Junior Science+Nature UK
HERE COMES TROUBLE!
Look out! Isabel Thomas goes in search of nature's naughtiest animals and asks if they are misbehaving or just misunderstood...
7 min |
Issue 64
All About Space UK
"We knew that this would be a historic comet"
Astronomer David Levy was immortalised for his co-discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 – its impact with Jupiter 29 years ago held the world in awe
8 min |
Issue 145
All About Space UK
New Tatooine-like exoplanet discovered orbiting twin suns
For decades, astronomers wondered if planets with twin Suns like Luke Skywalker’s fictional home world of Tatooine were only science fiction.
2 min |
Issue 145
All About Space UK
WHAT'S THE STRANGEST THING SENT INTO SPACE?
From LEGO to pizza, this list of space oddities proves that almost anything can make its way into the cosmos
6 min |
Issue 145
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Askar 130PHQ flatfield apo refractor
If you've got the budget, this hefty refractor's got fine views and a deluxe feel
3 min |
August 2023
All About Space UK
JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE FINDS A GARGANTUAN GEYSER ON SATURN'S MOON
Scientists are longing to go back to the moon to sample the plume material for signs of life
1 min |
Issue 145
All About Space UK
BEYOND PLUTO
From Planet X to objects frozen in time – what truly lurks outside the Solar System’s chaotic frontier
8 min |
Issue 145
All About Space UK
12 AMAZING JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE BREAKTHROUGHS
Webb is peering across the universe to discover new things about planets, galaxies and other cosmic objects
10 min |
Issue 145
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
The great American eclipses
In a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, two solar eclipses are about to cross over the USA. Jamie Carter has the details
2 min |
August 2023
All About Space UK
A new Pentagon-funded hypersonic test vehicle could fly in summer 2024
A new experimental hypersonic cruise vehicle could be flying as soon as next summer under an initiative from the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
1 min |
Issue 145
All About Space UK
CAN SPACE EXPLORATION REALLY BE ETHICAL?
More than 60 years after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere, human exploration and exploitation of space isn’t just a matter of technological innovation… it continues to raise many ethical issues
10+ min |
Issue 145
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
THE BIG THREE
The top sights to observe or image this month
4 min |
August 2023
All About Space UK
THE FORGOTTEN FORCE
A seemingly weak magnetic entity could have made all the difference in our universe’s evolution
7 min |
Issue 145
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT
In the latest episode of The Sky at Night, Arik Kershenbaum considers whether it's inevitable that intelligent alien civilisations are out there
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Catch Saturn's ring before they disappear
Jane Clark explains the gear, software and techniques beginners need to capture Saturn on camera before its famous rings vanish from view
7 min |
August 2023
All About Space UK
Earth is getting hotter at a faster rate despite pledges of government action
Average global temperatures are rising at an ever-faster rate despite pledges by world leaders to tackle climate change.
2 min |
Issue 145
All About Space UK
Scientists beam solar power to Earth from space for the first time
A space solar power prototype has demonstrated its ability to wirelessly beam power through space and direct a detectable amount of energy towards Earth for the first time.
1 min |
Issue 145
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Create your best image of Saturn
Great pictures of the ringed planet start as video, before stacking and processing
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
What does space smell like?
From rum to rotten eggs, Jonathan Powell turns his nose to heaven's scents
2 min |