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Ian Whittaker

Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University

I completed my PhD in 2010 looking at the interaction of the Sun with the upper atmosphere of Venus. Since then I have held six postdoctoral contracts, covering medical imaging, solar physics, the Earth's radiation belts, lightning in tropical cyclones, X-ray astronomy, and X-ray observations of the Earth's magnetopause.

I currently teach at Nottingham Trent University, where I am responsible for astrophysics lectures, laboratory supervision, tutorials and student projects. I am very strongly interested in space science outreach, encouraging students and the public to take an interest in how our planet interacts with the solar system.

Space Science Series

Privatised Moon landings: the two US missions set to open a new era of commercial lunar exploration

Jan 04, 2024 04:37 am UTC| Business

Two commercial spacecraft are scheduled to launch to the Moon early in 2024 under a Nasa initiative called the Commercial Lunar Payload Service CLPS. This programme is intended to kickstart a commercial transportation...

Space Science Series

Earth has many objects in orbit but definitely only one Moon – despite what some people think

Nov 10, 2023 14:37 pm UTC| Science

Big Brother has always chosen its contestants for entertainment value rather than for intellectual debate. This was recently highlighted in a discussion started on the programme by dental therapist Chantelle, who suggested...

Space Science Series

Nasa's Psyche mission is set for launch – here's how it could unveil the interior secrets of planets

Oct 15, 2023 04:07 am UTC| Science

Its unlikely to be a bad omen, but Nasas mission Psyche is currently due to launch on Friday 13 October. Lifting off at 10.19 EDT on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, it faces a perilous journey and isnt scheduled for arrival...

Space Science Series

Chandrayaan-3: India hopes to land a rover on the Moon for the first time

Aug 22, 2023 04:20 am UTC| Science

On Wednesday August 23, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission Chandrayaan-3 will deploy its lander and rover to the surface of the Moon. As the name suggests, this is the third mission in a programme of...

Scientists have started steering lightning with lasers – here's how

Jan 24, 2023 07:36 am UTC| Science

Lightning may look beautiful but every year it kills thousands of people, does huge amounts of damage to buildings and infrastructure, and causes power outages. The only protection we have is lightning rods, which were...

Space Science Series

The UK is about to have its first space launch – but Cornwall is unlikely to become a new Cape Canaveral

Oct 19, 2022 08:52 am UTC| Science

Virgin Orbit, a US company which provides launch services for satellites, has announced that the first orbital space mission from the UK will blast off from Cornwall. The rocket, which will carry nine satellites, along...

Ax-1: why the private mission to the International Space Station is a game changer

Apr 05, 2022 11:57 am UTC| Science

Its not long since billionaires were competing to get to the edge of space. Now, the first set of private citizens are getting ready to take a SpaceX shuttle up to the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike the short...

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Economy

UAE Central Bank Probes Banque Misr Over Iran Links

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has launched an urgent investigation into Banque Misrs UAE branches following a U.S. move to restrict the lenders access to the dollar clearing system over alleged financial...

Canadian Dollar Slides as Fed Rate Hike Bets Boost US Dollar

The Canadian dollar weakened on Friday and was on track for its sharpest weekly decline in more than two months, as a stronger U.S. dollar overshadowed surprisingly robust Canadian economic growth. The loonie traded near...

Bessent Defends US Yen Intervention Over Treasury Market Risks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has defended Washingtons decision to support the Japanese yen in late July, arguing that severe currency volatility could threaten global financial stability and ultimately push U.S....

US Dollar Hits Two-Week High After Hawkish Fed Speech

The U.S. dollar climbed to a near two-week high on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivered a hawkish message at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, strengthening expectations for a September...

Oil Prices Slip as Venezuela Supply Prospects Weigh on Market

Oil prices edged lower on Friday as traders assessed reports that the United States was nearing a deal for long-term access to Venezuelan crude reserves, potentially opening the door to billions of dollars in investment...

Politics

King Haakon VIII Honors Late Father Harald in First Address

King Haakon VIII of Norway paid an emotional tribute to his late father, King Harald, in his first address to the nation since ascending the throne, praising him as a devoted parent and a monarch who championed unity and...

Iceland Counts Votes in Close EU Membership Talks Referendum

Iceland began counting ballots late Saturday after voters took part in a closely contested referendum on whether the country should reopen European Union membership negotiations, reviving a decades-long debate over...

South Korea Leveraged Chip ETF Trading Plunges After New Rules

South Korean retail investors are rapidly retreating from leveraged exchange-traded funds linked to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix after regulators imposed stricter trading requirements, Bloomberg reported Sunday....

Finland’s Stubb Says Russia Unlikely to Attack NATO

Finland President Alexander Stubb has played down concerns that Russia could launch an attack against a NATO member, arguing that Moscow would have little reason to challenge the worlds most powerful military alliance....

Nepal Declines Foreign Rescue Aid After Deadly Flash Flood

Nepal has said it does not currently require foreign search-and-rescue assistance following a devastating flash flood that killed nearly 500 people and left hundreds of foreign nationals missing. The disaster struck...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Pinterest Stock Falls as CFO Julia Brau Donnelly Resigns

Pinterest Inc. (NYSE: PINS) shares fell sharply in after-hours trading on Friday after the social media company announced the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Julia Brau Donnelly, prompting investor attention on the...

PayPal Shares Sink as $50 Billion Takeover Bid Collapses

PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) shares plunged in extended trading after a consortium led by private equity firm Advent International and payments giant Stripe reportedly ended its pursuit of the digital payments company....

Nvidia Pauses AI Cloud Financing Deals Amid Antitrust Concerns

Nvidia has temporarily halted some deals tied to a recently introduced financing program for artificial intelligence cloud companies, amid internal concerns that the arrangement could attract greater antitrust scrutiny,...

Google Changes EU Spam Policy Amid Antitrust Scrutiny

Google has revised its spam policy in Europe after concerns from European Union regulators raised the possibility of a significant antitrust fine for Alphabet, the search giants parent company. The company said Friday that...

U.S. Probes Apex Logistics Over Nvidia AI Chip Shipments to China

The U.S. government is investigating Singapore-based Apex Logistics over allegations that the freight company helped transport Nvidia AI chips and computer systems to China despite U.S. export restrictions, Bloomberg...