Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University
I completed my PhD in 2010 looking at the interaction of the Sun with the upper atmosphere of Venus. Since then I have held six postdoctoral contracts, covering medical imaging, solar physics, the Earth's radiation belts, lightning in tropical cyclones, X-ray astronomy, and X-ray observations of the Earth's magnetopause.
I currently teach at Nottingham Trent University, where I am responsible for astrophysics lectures, laboratory supervision, tutorials and student projects. I am very strongly interested in space science outreach, encouraging students and the public to take an interest in how our planet interacts with the solar system.
Privatised Moon landings: the two US missions set to open a new era of commercial lunar exploration
Jan 04, 2024 04:37 am UTC| Business
Two commercial spacecraft are scheduled to launch to the Moon early in 2024 under a Nasa initiative called the Commercial Lunar Payload Service CLPS. This programme is intended to kickstart a commercial transportation...
Earth has many objects in orbit but definitely only one Moon – despite what some people think
Nov 10, 2023 14:37 pm UTC| Science
Big Brother has always chosen its contestants for entertainment value rather than for intellectual debate. This was recently highlighted in a discussion started on the programme by dental therapist Chantelle, who suggested...
Nasa's Psyche mission is set for launch – here's how it could unveil the interior secrets of planets
Oct 15, 2023 04:07 am UTC| Science
Its unlikely to be a bad omen, but Nasas mission Psyche is currently due to launch on Friday 13 October. Lifting off at 10.19 EDT on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, it faces a perilous journey and isnt scheduled for arrival...
Chandrayaan-3: India hopes to land a rover on the Moon for the first time
Aug 22, 2023 04:20 am UTC| Science
On Wednesday August 23, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission Chandrayaan-3 will deploy its lander and rover to the surface of the Moon. As the name suggests, this is the third mission in a programme of...
Scientists have started steering lightning with lasers – here's how
Jan 24, 2023 07:36 am UTC| Science
Lightning may look beautiful but every year it kills thousands of people, does huge amounts of damage to buildings and infrastructure, and causes power outages. The only protection we have is lightning rods, which were...
Oct 19, 2022 08:52 am UTC| Science
Virgin Orbit, a US company which provides launch services for satellites, has announced that the first orbital space mission from the UK will blast off from Cornwall. The rocket, which will carry nine satellites, along...
Ax-1: why the private mission to the International Space Station is a game changer
Apr 05, 2022 11:57 am UTC| Science
Its not long since billionaires were competing to get to the edge of space. Now, the first set of private citizens are getting ready to take a SpaceX shuttle up to the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike the short...