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Space-Based Solar Power
Another amazing concept, like space elevators, with a long pedigree in science fiction and scientific speculation. From Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short story, Reason, to Gerard K O’Neil’s The High Frontier, space-based solar power satellites provide the emotional drivers and scientific background that can’t be kept down. The University of Southampton’s recent exciting new publication, Space…
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Space elevators
Who doesn’t love the concept of a space elevator?! Simple and cheap access to space – and eco-friendly. Once built its self-sustaining. Once the investment is made, everything else is free (or virtually)! Interest in space elevators is growing – see this article from 2021 and this opinion piece from Scientific American. The British Interplanetary…
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“The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.”
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
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“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos So many quotes to choose from, so much insight. Stargazing is the gateway to astronomy, whether amateur or professional: “It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.…
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“Watch the stars in their courses and imagine yourself running alongside them.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.47[Holiday, Ryan; Hanselman, Stephen. The Daily Stoic (p. 131). Profile. Kindle Edition.]
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Science fiction
Guessing what the future will look like is the art of science fiction – whether next year (as in Years and Years, from the BBC) or the distant future as portrayed in Star Trek. Looking at what science fiction can tell us about tomorrow.
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The future of humanity in space
The Moon and Jupiter together in the early evening sky in November 2022, from Cyprus. In the not-too-distant future, you or your children will go there, will live there. To learn more about the potential, keep coming back to this site.
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The solar system and exoplanets
Learn about the planets, asteroids, comets, meteors, visitors to the solar system, Kuiper objects and planets around other stars.
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Stargazing for everyone
so I asked other kids what they were…. They said things like “they’re lights in the sky, kid.”
Stargazing Guy
Connecting people to the Stars
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“Distribution Is Survival. Expansion Is Progress.”
– Alex Ioskevich (LinkedIn) Alex Ioskevich, of (amongst other things) Quantum Propulsion Technologies Ltd, goes on to state that “every scalable system distributes its load. Biological life spreads across ecosystems. Digital systems distribute across networks. Resilient economies diversify across geography.Civilization is no different. ___________________________________________________________ His insight to this simple and insightful observation is full of…
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“Science Fiction Is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.”
– Peter H. Diamandis, Metatrends substack, 17 July 2026 Why are people so pessimistic about the future – and view the past as some form of pastoral utopia? On these pages we promote hope – not cope or mope. Hope lives here. An interesting insight is from Peter H. Diamandis in his substack, where he…
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“I believe in evidence.”
– Isaac Asimov, The Roving Mind (1997), (2 January 2 1920 – 6 April 1992) Scientist and science fiction author Asimov’s output of novels and books popularising and explaining science was prodigious. As a rationalist he often railed against superstitious and pseudoscientific beliefs that tried to pass themselves off as genuine science and had this…
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What is a light-year?
A light-year is a measure of distance – not time (or anything to do with Disney’s Toy Story). It’s used to indicate the distance to stars and galaxies. It’s the distance light travels in one year in a vacuum, which is about: – 4.2465 light-years OR 5.88 trillion miles OR 9.46 trillion kilometres Light travels…
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How far is that star?
Basically, far! The Sun is the closest (and brightest) star. It is about: – 93 million miles – 150 million kilometres The next closest star (Proxima Centauri) is invisible to the unaided human eye and you need to be in the Southern Hemisphere to see it with a telescope (it’s too dim to see with…
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Death rates from disasters have fallen over the last century.
Good news. Recent data indicates that natural disasters are NOT going to kill us all. The global death rate from all natural disasters (drought, floods, storms, earthquakes, wildfires, extreme temperatures, etc.) has fallen by more than 90% over the last century. The total number of deaths has fallen substantially, despite there being four times as…
Stargazing Guy 