The Open University

Exomoons: astronomers report first ever discovery

8 October 2018

In Star Wars VI we first meet the Ewoks living on the Forest Moon of Endor. The planet Endor itself is a gas giant, but the Forest Moon is a habitable world, peopled by small furry sentient creatures. While we may not be living in the Star Wars universe, astronomers have now found the first […]

Photograph with background of Milky Way and silhouette of person

Want to try your hand at being an astronomer? Here is your chance

7 September 2018

Ever gazed at the night sky and wondered what’s up there? With more stars in the Universe than there are grains of sand on all of the beaches in the world, astronomers at The Open University (OU) are searching for a troop of volunteers to help them identify millions of mysterious stars. A team of […]

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins physics prize

6 September 2018

One of The Open University’s early female physics tutors has received the Breakthrough Prize for the discovery of radio pulsars. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell intends to donate the £2.3m prize money to help women and under-represented ethnic minority students to become physics researchers. The money will be given to the Institute of Physics to fund […]

A classical composer. A geoscientist. And 100 years in-between

5 September 2018

What would The Planets, the famous suite by English composer, Gustav Holst, sound like if it were created in the modern day? Celebrating 100 years since its first performance, The Open University’s Professor David Rothery has joined a group of UK-based scientists and composers who are combining music and science to develop an alternative musical […]

An iceberg floating in the Antarctic Ocean

One trillion tonne iceberg spins out to sea

5 September 2018

One of the world’s largest icebergs – four times the size of London – has broken away from Antarctic shores and started spinning towards the open ocean. Scientists are trying to predict where it’s heading, and Professor in Polar Oceanography at The Open University (OU), Mark Brandon, is one of those tracking its progress. “Spectacular […]

An artist impression oF the surface of the Planet Mars four billion years ago

Scientists discover evidence of a water cycle on ancient Mars

29 August 2018

Scientists from The Open University (OU) have discovered a series of large fan-shaped sediment deposits on the surface of Mars. These suggest that Mars once had large seas on its surface and a water cycle similar to Earth. The research also shows when Mars’ climate went from being hospitable to the cold desert it is […]

Apples in a grid pattern with bright background

Curious Kids: how does gravity pull things down to Earth?

20 August 2018

This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children of all ages. The Conversation is asking young people to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome: find details on how to enter at the bottom. How does gravity pull things down to Earth? – Gabriel, age four, […]

Back to the future: what we said about education and Astronomy

6 August 2018

In 2009, in celebration of the Open University’s 40th Anniversary, we asked academics from around the University to predict what the future would look like in their areas of study. Now, as we approach the OU’s 50th Anniversary, we asked the same academics to revisit their predictions, reflect on their accuracy, and reset them for […]

OU’s research offers new-generation online police training

1 August 2018

Technology is being used more and more for training purposes in all walks of working life, to reach a younger more tech-familiar audience. The Open University’s award-winning Child Witness Interview Simulator, a game-based online learning programme helping to train next-generation police officers, is among such innovations. Developed by the OU’s Centre for Policing, Research and […]

We know there is water on Mars – what next?

31 July 2018

The age old question of whether Mars has ever supported life is the focus of the latest research from scientists at The Open University (OU). With over half a million pounds of funding from the UK Space Agency, they will be exploring the chemistry of the martian environment to determine if life has ever existed, […]

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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology