Blog

Back to the trickiest problem....

Have you ever noticed when Hollywood seems to produce two similar movies at the same time? Armageddon and Deep Impact. Mission to Mars...

TRUE Limits of Humanity

I don't have to tell you that there are good and bad science channels on youtube. Kurzgesagt is one of my favourites, always informative...

How Does Light Actually Work?

Oh my - I've realised that I have neglected this blog. This year has zipped along at high speed, and we are already into the second half....

Best Cosmology Books of All Time!

I'm happy to announce that my book with Luke Barnes, "The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang)", made it to...

The only thing that isn't moving at the speed of light is light itself!

A repost from 2013! Relativity purists will grumble over some of what is written here, but it address the key point. You are always...

"Readers curious about cosmology...

... will find this a good place to start.” A new review of my new book in Publishers Weekly. You can read the full review here.

Publication Day! Where did the universe come from?

An exciting day as new book is published in the US. "Where did the universe come from? And other cosmic questions" the the result of an...

A RARE AND ANCIENT HYPERNOVA DETECTED IN THE MILKY WAY GALAXY

Back in lockdown, and it's been a little while since I posted, but I've got a new article in Space Australia on the recent discovery of...

Journey to the Far-Side of the Sun

Things are busy at the moment, as teaching has started, which occupies a lot of time. Not just lecturing, but the prep and then online...

Science and the Laconic If

There is a tale that Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, once threatened the city state of Sparta. He told them: “You are...

Why does E=mc^2 ?

I provide an answer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald's Examine!

On the matter of matter!

Where did all the matter in the cosmos come from? This is an intriguing question as we know we live in a universe that has only existed...

Searching for the multiverse: Fine-tuning and the future of cosmology

I wrote an article for the Institute for Art and Ideas on the multiverse. Always a controversial topic, you can read the article here.

Nuclear Fusion: Mass into energy?

I'm a big fan of Dan Carlin and his Hardcore History, where he pulls apart a topic in history in all of its gory details. I am toying...

Falling into a black hole: Just what do you see?

Another blast from the blog past! 2017 this time, and the question is "what do you see when you fall into a black hole?" There is a lot...

Cold Case: Andrew McKellar and the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background

Along with death and taxes, one other thing is certain: The history of science is always messier than the textbook presentation. A little...

What shape is the ocean on a cubical planet?

Here's a repost of something I wrote almost a decade ago, wondering what shape an ocean would take on a non-spherical planet. I do hope...

The Brightest Objects in the Universe

A new chat with Dr Karl on Shirtloads of Science! Listen here

Finding the Youngest Galaxies

I wrote an article for Space Australia on how you find the Youngest Galaxies. Check it out here. Gravitational lensing works through...