Red Wood

While I'm much prefer summer I cant deny that the hues that autumn throws up can be amazing. The reds and oranges are can often be enhanced by the arrival of the low lying winter sun. that makes everything glow as the light passes through it.

After taking a walk on a sunny autumn day I took some pictures which got me thinking about producing something using these colours.

I've also included a couple of photo's I took that served as inspiration for this thought process.

Only 8 months until summer :-(

Rosetta: Two little robots

Today, two little robots completed one of the most complex and ambitious missions ever undertaken by mankind, the prime objective of which is to understand the origins of our solar system.

No pressure then.

Travelling over 6.5 billion kilometres they caught up with the comet travelling at at almost 135,000 mph and landed today at 16:02. With such astronomical speeds and distances this is a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations to all involved.

I understand that once the mission is complete they will land the orbiter onto the comet and shut it down so that the two robots can orbit the sun together, forever.

Your move Wall E.

Godspeed

Michael Tyner Alsbury was killed on Friday, serving as a test pilot on Virgin Galactic's Space Ship Two.

For as long as I can remember I've had a fascination with space and I've watched with great interest as the Shuttle programme came to an end and the next chapter in space travel begun.

Whatever you think about the current drive towards space travel, be it rich man's folly or an unquestionable necessity, it would be foolishly short sighted to declare that 'we're done exploring'.

The benefits from other audacious and ongoing experiments are too numerous to mention and there are thousands of people dying every day for far less worthy causes. Putting your life on the line in the name of science is a cause infinitely more noble than most.

So for those who fall helping us climb, Godspeed.