INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT
BBC Sky at Night Magazine|May 2022
Georgina Dransfield visited Antarctica to search for exoplanets and filmed her time there for the April episode of The Sky at Night
Georgina Dransfield
INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT

АIthough it might seem unlikely, jealousy can be a healthy motivator. In my previous life as a secondary school physics teacher, I was often jealous of my students. They'd attend my lunchtime Exoplanets Club, or come to my Astronomy Olympiad prep sessions, or even spend weekends with me at the UK Space Design Competition. Watching them get so excited about space science, and seeing how it was shaping their ambitions and future plans, was really what led me to say, "I want to do that too".

So that is what I did and four years later, I was celebrating the arrival of 2022 at one of the world's most inhospitable places: Antarctica's Dome C. Why was I there? My task was to install some software on a telescope's computer at a remote research station.

This story is from the May 2022 edition of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May 2022 edition of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BBC SKY AT NIGHT MAGAZINEView All
Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Could We Find Aliens by Looking for Their Solar Panels?- Designed to reflect ultraviolet and infrared, the panels have a unique fingerprint

Researchers searching for life beyond Earth spend a lot of time thinking about what telltale signs might be detectable astronomically. Forms of unambiguous evidence for the presence of life on another world are known as biosignatures. By extension, techno signatures are indicators of activity by intelligent, civilisation-building life.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Antimatter- In our continuing series, Govert Schilling looks at antimatter, the strange counterpart to most of the matter filling our Universe

Particles and corresponding antiparticles are very much alike, except they have opposite electrical charges. For instance, the antiparticle of the electron - known as the positron - has the same tiny mass, but while electrons carry a negative electrical charge, positrons are positively charged.

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2024
Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Where Have All The Milky Way's Early Stars Gone?- Our Galaxy has a curious lack of pristine stars

The Big Bang produced a Universe filled almost exclusively with hydrogen and helium; all other elements - what astronomers call metals - were produced by stars, supernovae and everything that happens later. So if you can pick out a pristine star with no metals polluting it from among the billions in the Milky Way, then you are likely to have a star dating from our Galaxy's earliest days.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Inside The Sky At Night - Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST

Two years ago, exoplanet scientist Hannah Wakeford received some of the first data from the JWST. In July's Sky at Night, we discovered what she's learned since then.

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
How to stack DSLR data in Siril
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

How to stack DSLR data in Siril

Easily combine multiple frames to boost detailin your astro photos

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Lunar occultation of Saturn
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Lunar occultation of Saturn

You'll need to strike a balance on 21 August to capture the Moon covering the ringed planet

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
How to plot a variable star light curve
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

How to plot a variable star light curve

A rewarding project to chart stars that change brightness

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Smartphone photography with a telescope
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Smartphone photography with a telescope

Mary Mcintyre explains how to get impressive night-sky images using your phone

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
Once-a-century solar storm is overdue
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Once-a-century solar storm is overdue

If a Carrington Event struck today it would be catastrophic, says Minna Palmroth

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2024
The new era of human spaceflight
BBC Sky at Night Magazine

The new era of human spaceflight

There's been a step-change in crewed space missions since the dawn of the 21st century. Ben Evans charts its course and looks ahead to future horizons

time-read
9 mins  |
August 2024