Looking Up - 22 December 2017

Fast Radio Bursts: can we ever see them? What are they? Masters student Kira Hanmer is among the first in the world ever to go looking for these unexplained phenomena in the optical realm.

There will be a solar eclipse on 8 April visible over Mexico, the southern and eastern United States, and part of Canada. It will not be visible over this continent. There are all manner of nutty things being said about it on the Internet. Enjoy!

So many satellites: how do we stop them colliding with each other? space.com reveals the data.

Kechil spent a blissful weekend recently at a star-gazing event at Leeuwenboschfontein Observatory, and you can too! Here are some links which will take you there: https://www.leeuwenboschfontein.co.za/pages/lbf-astronomical-observatory/ https://www.facebook.com/LeeuwenboschfonteinObservatory/ The children of Bellville North Primary School joined for a few hours of observing, and you can hear their reactions. Eddy Nijeboer…

Landing on the Moon is tricky - you try it! Kechil unpacks the latest in a crop of difficult endeavours, this time from a private company.