Science angst: On hunter-gatherers and science

(with a nod to Carl Sagan) Why are people so afraid of science? Or are they? As a scientist, or, in fact, as a curious human being, I cannot but notice that science is treated differently from other aspects of life. To give just one example, a car mechanic can point towards his experience and […]

In-betweeners

Sometimes we toss comments, more than discussing, about leaving Earth for another planet. Well – That would be a kind of a journey. Freja, a space engineer student at Luleå tekniska universitet, wrote an essay that might give you some perspective on a journey to a planet, orbiting another star. In-betweeners – by Freja Andrea Dyrbye […]

Combining imagination and mathematics improves understanding

Loading new images of a full Moon rising over the Ostrobothnia countryside fueled my imagination. What would I see in the sky if I could make the planet Trappist-1d change places with the Earth? In the compact planet system around the ultra-cool brown dwarf star Trappist-1, the neighbour planets are almost within reach. Ok. Not exactly […]

Why bring space into the classroom?

The first answer coming to mind is simply “Why not?”. But – There’s a lot more to it. First of all, teachers should be updated on space science. We all should. It’s not an easy task, though. Just reading the news about space science and space technology takes time. Understanding the basic concept often takes […]

Magnetars: On the boredom induced by magnetic fields

Everybody remembers them from school, surely, the little pieces of iron on a surface that align in weird shapes when you put a magnet on them. We all remember that – as boring, why-do-I-have-to-learn-about-this-boring. As follow-up to my last text where I ended up mentioning our trip to Abisko, I thought I would get a […]

How about visiting another world

The Mars Pathfinder robotic Rover, Sojourner, was the first vehicle landed to explore another planet. That happened July 4th, 1997. Until today, four rovers have successfully been operated on the surface of our red neighbour planet. March 10th, 2016, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had kept a close eye at Mars for ten years. March 14th, 2016, the ExoMars […]

Feynman’s Flower

The Sober Scientist. What an excrutiatingly weird concept to me. I am one myself, a scientist, I mean; and I know how much I have to force myself to not feel but think when it comes to science. Now, don’t get me wrong. I know where the image of the sober scientist comes from. It […]