Historical astronomical events, and people who were born this month and have influenced our understanding of the cosmos. 18th May 1991 Helen Sharman becomes the first British citizen to go into space in a mission to the Soviet space station Mir. Sharman received a degree in chemistry from the University of Sheffield in 1984. In November 1989 she responded to a radio advertisement for astronauts and was selected from more than 13,000 applicants to be part of Project Juno,

Presented by Dr Tayyabar Zafar on Monday 2 May, 6:30pm. One percent of the material in interstellar space is in the form of tiny dust particles that regulate the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets. Interstellar dust affects every astronomical observation by absorbing and scattering starlight. Dust, together with gas, forms stars in galaxies and gives birth to planets. Only dust is in the form of condensed matter in the universe. Dust is critical in the processes of sta

So, what is a dwarf planet …… Dwarf planets share many of the same characteristics as planets with one significant difference … a planet has cleared other objects in the area of its orbit while a dwarf planet has not. At present there are 5 officially recognised dwarf planets in our solar system – Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris. However, there are many more candidates for dwarf planet status like Gonggong, Orcus, Quaoar, Sedna, and Salacia. There may be as man

24th April 1957 The first edition of The Sky at Night a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy is shown on British television by the BBC. It featured Sir Patrick Moore, (pictured left in a screenshot taken during the first few episodes) who presented the programme until his death in December 2012. The monthly programme began at the start of an exciting period of space exploration, less than six months before the launch of the Sputnik satellite. Over its l