Monthly Archives: January 2011

Sailors, Ships, and Splashdowns

Posted on January 14, 2011 by

I’ve previously posted on some of the main reasons why splashdowns were not a long-term solution to the problem of how to bring men home from space. One of the factors that incited NASA to pursue a land landing system … Continue reading →

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Longitude ups and downs

Posted on January 13, 2011 by

The Longitude Project blog is now taking off nicely and, even at this early stage, it is demonstrating how the, possibly stale-sounding, topic of the history of the Board of Longitude reaches into all sorts of interesting areas in Georgian history … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Institutions | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Only three days to submit

Posted on January 12, 2011 by

Due to lots of school holidays, public holidays, work and unexpected awards I have been neglecting my Giants’ Shoulders duties. The Giants’ Shoulders #31 will be hosted at Morning Coffee Physics on 16th January which means you have just three days … Continue reading →

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Two Sides of the X-15

Posted on January 10, 2011 by

I recently published a two-part post exploring the X-15′s dual nature. It was at once the first space plane and a research aircraft. First proposed in 1954, the X-15 program’s primary goal was to gather data on the aerodynamics, structural … Continue reading →

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Sketch of UK Agricultural Research and Education

Posted on January 9, 2011 by

I have posted a quick outline sketch of trends and institutions in UK agricultural research and education here. Also, a recent post at the Board of Longitude project blog got me thinking a little bit about the idea of a … Continue reading →

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Spotting the spots.

Posted on January 8, 2011 by

As I have commented on more than one occasion Galileo was not the only European astronomer to point a telescope at the heavens in the first years after its invention in Holland in 1608. In fact all of the telescopic … Continue reading →

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Congratulations!

Posted on January 7, 2011 by

Congratulations to our very own Thony Christie for winning the “Best Individual Blog” Award at the 2010 Cliopatras. The awards were announced last night at the AHA Meeting. Thony’s blog is – if you don’t already know - Renaissance Mathematicus.

Posted in Administrative | 3 Comments

The Ibis in myth, science and palaeontology

Posted on January 6, 2011 by

“Every one has heard of the Ibis, the bird to which the ancient Egyptians paid religious worship; which they brought up in the interior of their temples, which they allowed to stray unharmed trough their cities, and whose murderer, even … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Geology | Leave a comment