Light and Mirrors Card Match
Telescopes Quiz
Telescopes are used to magnify distant objects. They are a vital tool for astronomy. Over the last few hundred years, scientists and engineers have built bigger and better telescopes, revealing the mysteries of the Universe. But how much do you know about telescopes on Earth and beyond?
Jan Eldridge
Early Life
Jan read and watched lots of science fiction when they were a child. She liked how the science was a part of the story. However, she didn't think about going to university until a career advisor suggested it.
Research Areas: Numerical Modelling, Stellar Evolution, Binary Stars
Timeline of Astronomy
Did you know that our understanding of science and space had gradually been built over thousands of years? Discover the people from the past whose observations and experiments helped us understand our
Wanda Díaz-Merced
Early Life
Wanda was born in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. She used to play games, pretending to fly a spacecraft to another galaxy. Wanda won a prize at a school science fair. This experience made her feel like she could pursue a career in science.
Wanda started to lose her sight when she was a teenager. She lost her sight completely while studying for a degree in physics at the University of Puerto Rico. Wanda decided to keep studying at university, although it was difficult. She repeated classes until she got her degree. It took her six years.
Research Areas: Sonification, Black Holes
"I have to study, study, study. I am very determined. If I can do it [science], anyone can."
Alan Turing
Early Life
Alan was born in London, UK. From a young age he was interested in codes and ciphers and spent lots of time creating and solving puzzles. He studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge and got a PhD in mathematical logic from Princeton University.
Year born: 1912
Research Areas: Computer Programming, Artificial Intelligence
"May not machines carry out something which ought to be described as thinking but which is very different from what a man does?"
Alice Bunn
Early Life
Alice grew up in Shrewsbury, UK. She specialised her studies in maths, physics, and chemistry at school. Alice took a gap year after school. She travelled and worked as an au pair in Italy. Alice then studied Metallurgy (the science and technology of metals) at the University of Leeds. She spent one year of her degree studying in Finland. Alice got a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1998. A company sponsored her PhD, so it was quite hands-on.
Research Areas: Materials Science, Satellites
"That’s the exciting thing about these scientific missions – you don’t know what you’re going to find."
Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Early Life
Maggie grew up in a working-class family in London, UK and wanted to be an astronaut but her teacher was not very encouraging. Maggie studied sciences and maths at school anyway. She went on to achieve a degree in physics and a PhD in mechanical engineering. She was not sure what to do when she left university. Maggie’s first job was working for the Ministry of Defence. She worked on systems to warn and protect aircraft from missiles and to detect landmines.
Year born: 1968
Research Areas: Mechanical Engineering, Satellites
"I like to try and translate some of the complexities of science into a simple format for everybody to understand."
Computers
Interferometers use a network of antennas, over a wide area, to create a virtual much larger single telescope. It would be impossible to build such instruments without powerful computers. Signals from different antennas must be added together with atomic-clock precision. Software must separate real signals from background noise and then produce a result that is useful for astronomers.