Want to go to space? Small satellites and “rideshare” rocket launches are putting space within reach of private companies, universities, and even do-it-yourself hobbyists.
Category: The Conversation
The slippery science of Olympic curling: we still don’t know how it works
Scientists are still not sure what puts the “curl” in curling.
Slip, slop, slurp! The surprising science of sunscreen, sand and ice cream
Ahh, summer at the beach! The sun on your face, sand between your toes, an ice cream in your hand. For scientists young and old, a trip to the beach is also a perfect opportunity to explore the peculiar properties of some fascinating fluids.
Doritos, duckies and disembodied feet: how tragedy and luck reveals the ocean’s hidden highways
The grisly discovery in February of a disembodied foot on a New South Wales beach was a tragic twist in the mystery of missing Sydney woman Melissa Caddick. But how did her remains wash up on a remote beach 400 kilometres away?
The story of a wave: From wind-blown ripples to breaking on the beach
As summer temperatures soar, we flock to the ocean to splash, swim, surf, paddle, and plunge in the waves. But where do those waves come from? How do they form, and why do they break? As it turns out, what we see at the shore is just the last few moments of an epic journey.
The ozone hole is both an environmental success story and an enduring global threat
The headlines in recent months read like an international eco-thriller. At Mauna Loa Observatory, perched high on a Hawaiian volcano, researchers measure unusual levels of CFC-11 in the atmosphere. But the identity of the environmental super-villain remains a mystery.
‘Einstein of the Ocean’ Who Helped Surfers Catch the Perfect Waves Turns 100
As dawn washes over Bondi Beach, you can see the surfers beyond the break, gently rising and falling on their boards. They gather like this when the surf forecast tells them a big swell is rolling in, carrying energy from a ferocious Antarctic storm thousands of kilometres away.
Shane Keating 