David Yong, Australian National University and Gary Da Costa, Australian National University
The discovery of an ancient star in the Milky Way’s halo is providing evidence for another source that would have produced the galaxy’s heavy elements.
It’s 60 years since Gagarin’s world-first return from space. The cosmonaut never did make it to Australia, but his huge feat was celebrated here by many, despite tensions with the USSR.
Australia was a significant global space player during the 1950s and 1960s. Now we’re one of only two OECD countries not to have a space agency. What happened?
Launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, Sputnik 1 became the world’s first artificial satellite – a “simple” battery-powered radio transmitter inside an aluminium shell about the size of a beach ball. This…