The Open University

Advance preview: Scientific telescope aims to be a blockbuster

23 May 2016

The world’s astronomers – including scientists from the OU – are creating a telescope which they hope will uncover the mysteries of space. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be the world’s largest digital camera and is expected to capture the biggest and best images from the universe for all to see. The OU is among a […]

Mars: Boiling water could be carving slopes into surface

3 May 2016

Features on Mars which had been attributed to flowing salty water could be caused by an altogether more explosive reason, according to new research published this week in Nature Geoscience. Scientists at The Open University used a unique Mars simulation chamber to conduct experiments and found that the streaks and slopes on the planet’s surface […]

Mercury Transit gets its own show on OU campus

29 April 2016

Members of the public are being invited to join scientists on the OU’s campus in Milton Keynes to experience a once-in-a-generation celestial event. The Transit of Mercury will see Mercury pass directly across the Sun’s face on May 9th. The Open University is throwing open its doors to schools and budding astronomers to come and […]

The Last Man on the Moon – a moving tale that’ll bring out your inner astronaut

5 April 2016

“Dream the impossible – and go out and make it happen. I walked on the moon. What can’t you do?” These are the final words spoken by Eugene (Gene) Cernan in the documentary film The Last Man on the Moon. They are a challenge, spoken by an man in his 80s, not just to his […]

Saturn’s moons may be younger than the dinosaurs – so could life really exist there?

31 March 2016

Saturn is home to more than 60 moons – from the massive Titan and the crater-riddled Phoebe, to Enceladus with its geysers. Enceladus in particular has been put forward as a good candidate for harbouring microbial life, thanks to its warm internal ocean. After all, if intelligent life could evolve on Earth in a few […]

Gravitational waves, scientific theories and wobbly bits

15 February 2016

In a style all of her own, Professor Monica Grady took part in a radio panel discussion covering everything from gravitational waves and scientific theories to wobbly bits. On Broadcasting House, the Radio 4 magazine style programme on Sunday mornings, Professor Grady was joined by fellow scientist Professor John Butterworth from University College London. They […]

OU research student names ridge on planet Mercury

8 February 2016

PhD student mapping features on the planet’s surface Large ridge is as long as distance from London to Liverpool In May you can observe Mercury yourself as it transits the Sun A large ridge on Mercury, the length of the distance between London and Liverpool, has been named ‘Unity’ after the ship which took Edmond […]

30 years on: what the Challenger disaster meant for our race into space

28 January 2016

It was one of those moments you’ll never forget. Thirty years ago, the Challenger space shuttle exploded 73 seconds after launch. In an instant, a dream became a tragedy – and all because a small, simple seal had failed in the right solid rocket booster. I remember the event well. I had a dark cubbyhole […]

Open University women honoured in Royal Astronomical Society portraits

18 January 2016

100 years ago women finally won the right to be elected to fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society. To celebrate this anniversary, the society has commissioned 21 portraits of leading women in contemporary astronomy, which includes three academics from The Open University – more than any other institution represented. […]

The magical Solar System discoveries we made in 2015

24 December 2015

It has been a busy year for Solar System exploration – and particularly our galactic neighbourhood’s small icy bodies. Comets, asteroids, Kuiper Belt Objects and planetary satellites have all been in the news – from stunning images of comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko at the start of the year, to the recent close-up of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, […]

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