Williamina Paton Fleming (1857-1911) This year is the 125th anniversary of the discovery of the Horsehead Nebula in Orion, one of the great achievements of one of many women in science. It came at a time when a woman’s role was chiefly that of housemaid and mother, and it is in this exact role that [...]
July 2, 2013
Allison Kirsop
People and Ideas
In the 1920s, astronomers knew that the universe was not static, but expanding. Most, including Einstein himself, assumed that the Universe had started in a form similar to what we now see. One unlikely voice bucked the trend – in May 1931, a Belgian Catholic priest published a paper in Nature suggesting that the expansion [...]
June 30, 2013
Gareth Leyshon
People and Ideas
Scotland’s airline, Loganair, has celebrated 50 years of operation. It is a remarkable story of survival, character and skill. The company’s origin is linked to the development of the Islander, one of the most versatile – and one of the most successful – aircraft ever built. And the story of Loganair and the Islander goes [...]
March 16, 2013
Howie Firth
People and Ideas
A Caithness photographer has won two awards in a national astronomy competition. Maciej Winiarczyk had two pictures in the top six of the Stargazing Oxford competition run by Oxford University’s Physics Department. He was the winner of the Astro Phenomena category with his photograph Aurora over Sinclair Bay and a runner-up in the Astroscapes category [...]
March 10, 2013
Howie Firth
People and Ideas