Last night was the 48th NFL Superbowl over in America – and, inspired by the “Superb owl” internet meme, and also the fact that the winners of this year’s game, the Seattle Seahawks have an Augur Hawk called Taima as their mascot, I thought I’d share a couple of videos on the theme of “flight”.
The first is a good explanation of how wings work, thanks to Veritasium on Youtube.
The second talk is from the IOP North East lecture programme, and features Jim Matthew looking at the life and times of Yorkshire flight pioneer George Cayley. This is quite an in-depth lecture, so might be one to set aside for a rainy day.
I hope these help you understand a little more about the mysteries of flight!
Newcastle: Art exhibition
I have been asked by my IOP and School Visit partner Helen Schell to highlight an art exhibition which she is hosting in Newcastle next weekend. As well as being an artist, Helen is an ESERO Space Ambassador, and so her work often draws in links from deep space. Her latest exhibition, titled “Another Planet: The Human Spaceship” will be on show in the NewBridge Project Space (16 NewBridge Street West, Newcastle) on the 7th and 8th February, between 11am and 6pm. On show will be research and ‘projects in progress’ about current endeavours to colonise space, primarily the Moon, Mars and space stations. For more information about Helen and her work, please visit her website.
Reminder: Chris Lintott visits Durham tomorrow!
As I mentioned last week, Chris Lintott (BBC / Oxford University) will be giving a public talk for Durham University Astronomical Society. This will be held tomorrow, 4 February, in the Durham University Physics Department, and will start at 7pm, with refreshments from 6.30. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Young Scientist’s Journal
The Young Scientists Journal is unique in that it is written both for and by young people aged between 12 and 20. The latest issue, which contains some very interesting articles submitted between June and December 2013, can be read online via ISSUU, or downloaded as a rather large pdf.
And finally – radioactivity workshops
So far, not many people have remembered to sign up to my Radioactivity workshops in Durham. With less than a month to go, you really need to fill in the web form at http://mallard-days.com/what-i-do/workshops/ as there is a very real danger that the workshops will need to be cancelled due to lack of interest.