The Open University

Shooting for the stars (and beyond)

5 May 2019

How did the planets in our solar system come to be? This is just one of the questions PhD student Vincent Deguin, 28, and his fellow planetary scientists at The Open University are exploring. Vincent is working on pioneering research into the earliest stage of planet formation, building and testing equipment that will help to […]

How did the Earth get its water? Asteroid sample gives a surprising answer

2 May 2019

Monica Grady, The Open University writing for The Conversation. Water is essential for life on Earth and is one of our most precious natural resources. But considering how our planet formed, it is quite surprising how much water we still have. The Earth aggregated from a cloud of gas and dust – a protoplanetary disk […]

There are missing objects at the fringe of the solar system – new study puzzles astronomers

1 March 2019

Professor David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University discusses a new method to help see the unseen bodies that are in the Kuiper belt. In the dimly lit spaces of our solar system beyond Neptune’s orbit lies the Kuiper Belt. This a region between about 35 and 50 times further from the sun than […]

Chinese Moon landing: what we could learn from this historic mission

7 January 2019

Last week a Chinese space mission made history when it landed on the far side of the moon and sent back images of this mysterious lunar territory. Here Dr Mahesh Anand, Reader in Planetary Science and Exploration at The Open University explains the significance of the mission and why it could lead to more. Chang’e-4 […]

China goes where no one has gone before – the moon’s far side

3 January 2019

Professor David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University discusses China’s recent successful mission to land its robotic spacecraft on the far side of the moon – the first ever such attempt and landing. In a spectacular few days for solar system exploration – during which NASA whizzed the New Horizons spacecraft past the Kuiper Belt […]

9 ways Open University research helped us understand the world in 2018

18 December 2018

From discovering a new planet to predicting volcanic eruptions; tackling fake news to discovering reading habits of the past, Open University research has been helping us understand more about our world and beyond in 2018. 1. Scientists solved the mystery Amazon methane source A team involving The Open University found that trees growing on Amazon […]

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 […]

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 […]

A journey to Mercury: TEDxLondon talk by Professor David Rothery

17 July 2018

Professor David Rothery spoke at TEDxLondon in July 2018, talking about the upcoming BepiColombo mission, Europe’s first mission to Mercury. Setting off in October 2018, the mission will take seven years to reach its destination, with the spacecraft completing a complex trajectory to reach the planet before examining its surface and magnetic field in detail. […]

Comet or asteroid? Mysterious ‘Oumuamua shows why we may need a new classification system

28 June 2018

Ever since space scientists first spotted the odd, cigar-shaped object known as 1I/‘Oumuamua in the sky, they have been debating what it is exactly. Suggestions have included an asteroid, a comet and even alien spaceship. Now a study, published in Nature, suggests it may actually be a comet – but an unusual one. The fascinating […]

OU News