Last evening I caught sight of the International Space Station passing over my house. Fortunately the skies were clear. As I looked at this light passing overhead, I noticed that it didn`t have the flashing lights, which are seen on passenger jets. It had to be the ISS.
The ISS has large solar panels which reflect the sunlight and that is what makes it so bright.
I went indoors and checked the Heavens Above website which confirmed that it was the ISS and what is more the website told me that it was due to pass again an hour later, which it duly did!
If you are looking for something to do these summer holidays then try and capture the ISS passsing over with a digital camera.
To do so you`ll have to log onto the Heaven`s Above site and enter your longitude and latitude. This can easily be done by looking up Google Maps or Wikepedia.
There is a table showing you the times the ISS passes over.
The last thing you need is clear skies.
Best of luck in capturing the ISS.
The summer holidays of 2008 are now under way. If you are a bit bored with your psp or laptop and the rain is getting you down, well here is a fantastic site to get you active in science experimentation.
This professor has been a find! He is so enthusiastic about his science that he makes videos about science. These videos can be found at his website and are brilliant.
They show everyday materials being used to show dazzling science experiments. I can guarantee that you will enjoy these videos and learn at the same time. Cool!
Enjoy your summer holidays!
In this Podcast Mr Mallon takes alook at heat and temperature; is there a difference?
Did you know that the world nearly missed the first moonlanding in 1969? Mr Mallon revues the movie that tells the story of the near miss in the movie called The Dish.
Granny Physics tells us what science book she will be reading this summer and Daniel McDade and Kallum Shields of St Andrew`s High School Coatbridge share some science facts with us.
Finally there is an update on Phoenix, the Mars digger!
Watched live on Nasa TV the landing of the Phoenix Lander on Mars . What excitement as the lander touched down at 12.53pm last night.
It was amazing to hear the spacecaft`s velocity reducing from 21,000 kilometres per hour (13,000 mph) to touchdown on the planet`s surface after a journey of 10 months covering a distance of 680 million kilometres ( 423 million miles).
Perhaps one day we will be witnessing the landing of humans on the surface. In the meantime it is up to robot like craft to explore the surface.
Phoenix will not rove about the Martian surface rather it will dig holes into the Northern landscape peeling away layers of soil down to the frozen layer where instruments will check for water and habitable conditions…maybe life itself.
Good luck Phoenix.
If you want to see how it landed click here
In this show Mr Mallon tells the story of the atom from Democritus right the way up to Neils Bohr. Great revision for your Higher Physics.
Granny Physics hands over to Cassie McDonald and Chloe Selkirk where they review a cracking good science book.
And finally Mr Mallon poses the question of UFOs and visiting aliens.
A common problem in Higher physics is to find the tension in the rope that tows a caravan or broken down car.
In this physics class Mr. Mallon explains how you can calculate the tension in the rope.
In this show Mr Mallon takes a look at how vital it is to reduce speed on the roads, it is pure physics and saves lives.
Mars is being invaded as we speak… by us! In the spacezone we look at the mission to mars which is looking for water.
A surprise guest makes a comeback! Yes she is back: the one and only Granny Physics.
Ever wanted to fly through the universe? Well this is one exciting free, yes free program that you can download.
The program is called Celestia. Even if you only download it to see the Earth you will be so impressed.
Let your teacher know about it so that he/she can set it up using a projector. Turn off your lab lights, draw the curtains and you`ll be flying through deepest space.
In this show Mr Mallon gives advice on what to do with the grades you have achieved in your physics exams.
In the SpaceZone look out for the King of the Planets and a shower from space this August.
Mr Mallon talks about the physics books he has read this summer.
