The sky was no limit for physics and engineering students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) after they sent a high-altitude balloon into near space. The balloon reached about 30 km or 100,000 ft above the surface of the Earth, which is more than three times the height reached by an average aeroplane, Read More …
JHI to join the School of Engineering and Computing
UCLAN’s new School and Faculty structure that takes effect from 1st August 2023 will find JHI within the School of Engineering and Computing. The School of Natural Sciences had its final meeting on Wednesday 29th June, with the Head of School and JHI Director Prof. Derek Ward-Thompson taking a trip Read More …
JHI researcher identifies origin of supernova discovered only last week
A University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) researcher has identified the star at the origin of a supernova detected only a week ago in a neighbouring galaxy. Astrophysicist Dr Joanne Pledger knew that when the supernova, designated SN 2023ixf, was discovered on the 19 May in what is commonly known as the Pinwheel Galaxy, she Read More …
JHI Director Derek Ward-Thompson made Councillor of Royal Astronomical Society
Professor Derek Ward-Thompson was appointed to the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) this May. The RAS was established in 1820 to encourage and promote the study of astronomy, astrophysics and the solar system. Today, the RAS includes almost all professional astronomers in the country, including PhD and postgraduate Read More …
“Living With Our Star” outreach lecture
Join Robert Walsh, Professor of Solar Physics, on a journey to explore our nearest star. Our Sun may appear tranquil and constant, but it is in fact a seething ball of million-degree electrified gases! Recently, the view of our closest star has been transformed due to dedicated, space-based observatories. Using Read More …
JHI astronomer attends Buckingham Palace Garden Party
On the afternoon of May 3rd, JHI astronomer Dr Megan Argo attended a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, held to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III. Megan received her invitation in recognition of her volunteering with Girlguiding during the 2021 Covid lockdown when she organised a programme of virtual Read More …
“Horrox”: a play about Jeremiah Horrocks at the Cambridge festival
JHI Director Professor Derek Ward-Thompson recently attended a performance of a new play about Jeremiah Horrocks, simply called ‘Horrox’. The play was excellent and focussed on Jeremiah’s Cambridge connection, but it was fair to his whole life, or what we know of it. In addition, it had a parallel strand Read More …
UCLan to send out signal to E.T. : Our April fool’s day joke got people excited about Aliens!
A mix of reality and fantasy from Dr Megan Argo and our JHI/UCLAN team got many people fooled! Read the whole story at UCLAN’s press release. We didn’t completely pull your leg – we really do work with NASA on projects and on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration and Read More …
Prof Derek Ward-Thompson (JHI Director) and Simon Ebo (PhD student) attended a careers event at Westholme School.
On Thursday 23rd March, Prof Derek Ward-Thompson (JHI Director) and Simon Ebo (PhD student) attended a careers event at Westholme School. The pictures show pupils at the JHI stand trying out the Virtual Reality headsets of simulations of work carried out within the JHI. Prof Ward-Thompson also gave a 20-min talk Read More …
The Venus-Jupiter conjunction on 1st March
Venus and Jupiter appeared very close on the night sky giving a spectacular conjunction at the beginning of March. As Venus, Earth and Jupiter rotate around the Sun at different speeds, their relative positions change with time. As a result of this cosmic dance, Jupiter and Venus sometimes appear very Read More …