When ‘Oumuamua (oh-moo-ah-moo-ah) was discovered in 2017, it became the first known object to travel from a different solar system to our own. It’s also quite weirdly-shaped, and it’s possible that these facts are linked. Most space-rocks, such as asteroids and comets, can be roughly described as potato-shaped – somewhat round, but definitely not spherical. … Continue reading How ‘Oumuamua got its shape
The amazing electric bacteria: power out of thin air
When looking to invent a new technology, often the best approach is to copy or steal from nature. This even applies to electronics, as shown by researchers from America. They’re using bacteria to generate electricity out of the air itself. The Geobacter variety of bacteria produces a type of protein ‘nanowire’ that is able to … Continue reading The amazing electric bacteria: power out of thin air
Rhinos use bird-lar alarms
Rhinos have a unique relationship with oxpeckers. These small birds live on the backs of large mammals, eating the parasites that infest their skin. However, they also provide another vital service – protection from hunters. Rhinos have incredibly poor eyesight; anything more than a few metres away gets very blurry. Generally, they use their senses … Continue reading Rhinos use bird-lar alarms
Secrets of the best smell in the world
Okay, I’ll admit this is just my personal opinion, but the smell of rain on dry ground is by far the greatest smell in existence. I assume that at least some of you agree, and humans aren’t the only ones. This smell is known as petrichor, and it’s caused by several factors. One of these … Continue reading Secrets of the best smell in the world
Meet the dwarf planets
What is a dwarf planet? There are three rules something has to follow to be called a planet: It must orbit the Sun.It must be round.It must have “cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit”. This means that there can’t be any other objects sharing the orbit, unless they are controlled by the planet’s gravity (for … Continue reading Meet the dwarf planets
Butterflies are blacker than black
Butterflies are famous for their impressive colours. Their wings can come in the brightest shades of blue, green, red, yellow and more. Surprisingly though, the most spectacular butterfly colour is black. The wings of black butterflies are covered in the darkest material found in nature. They absorb more than 99.9% of all the light that … Continue reading Butterflies are blacker than black
The unusual shapes of stars
We can’t tell from Earth, but the Sun isn’t a fixed shape. Instead, like an ocean, the flow of its plasma causes constant movement. The changeability of stars can result in some interesting shapes, including one that’s just been discovered looking like a teardrop. HD 74423 is a binary system, where two stars orbit around … Continue reading The unusual shapes of stars
It’s not easy seeing green
For most of us, red and green are incredibly different colours. However, many people with colour-blindness find them almost impossible to tell apart. This is the problem that a new design of contact lens is aiming to solve. The most common type of colour-blindness is called deuteranomaly (dyoo-ter-an-om-al-ee), commonly referred to as red-green colour-blindness. People … Continue reading It’s not easy seeing green
Happy Pi Day!
Today is a very special day for maths nerds around the world. The 14th of March every year (3.14 as the Americans put it) is recognised as Pi Day. But what is pi, and why do we care? Pi is a number that refers to the amount of times the diameter of a circle (the … Continue reading Happy Pi Day!
Dogs sniff out warmth
Dog noses are pretty spectacular. Their sense of smell is between ten thousand and a hundred thousand times better than ours. This means they can detect pretty much anything we train them to, including drugs, endangered animal poo and cancer. If that wasn’t enough, we now think they can even ‘smell’ heat. Scientists gave dogs … Continue reading Dogs sniff out warmth
Lachlan Writes Science 