On our quest to discover more about space, our solar system, and the universe, we’ve looked at what N-body simulations do, and how they can help us understand some of the forces at play in the universe. An n-body simulation in one sense is a mathematical model of a grouping of objects under the influence of a force such as gravity. The simulation we’ve constructed in the Unity game engine is that of a simple single star system with a small grouping of planets and moons.

We learned some interesting facts about the earth’s atmosphere recently. At first it seems like there is not much to say about it, but there is quite a lot going on. For a start, the atmosphere is really just a thin layer of gases that surround our planet. It doesn’t seem like much, but this layer around the earth is key to our survival. What gases form the atmosphere? The Earth's atmosphere is made up mostly of nitrogen (around 78%).

We built a cardboard telescope ourselves. We were quite impressed at how sturdy it is once it was pieced together. The cardboard shapes and cutouts were well designed and form a very solid structure. It took a while for a nice clear night to come along, but once it did we got the telescope out and set it up in our conservatory. Being a clear night in Winter, it was very cold, so we faced it out the door and tried to keep as warm as possible.