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Stuart Atkinson

Stuart Atkinson

United Kingdom

Proposed name: space enthusiast and amateur astronomer

United Kingdom

Proposed name: space enthusiast and amateur astronomer

Stuart Atkinson is a lifelong space enthusiast, amateur astronomer and frustrated martian. He writes about the daily adventures of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at his Road to Endeavour blog. You can find his homepage here and his Twitter here. He participates at unmannedspaceflight.com under the name "Stu."

He is an astronomy outreach educator and author of 14 children’s astronomy and spaceflight books.  He has written for many magazines, newspapers and websites, and also runs his town’s astronomical society, the “Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal”.

Stuart broadcasts regularly on his local BBC and independent radio stations, making regular appearances on BBC Radio Cumbria in which he talks about topical astronomical and spaceflight stories.

Latest Blog Posts

Outcrop Ahead for Opportunity!

Posted 2012/09/07 01:12 CDT | 1 comments

Oppy is opening an exciting new chapter in her adventure at Cape York. Having driven down to, over and past Whim Creek, she has now explored halfway down Cape York, to a promising fin-like ridge of dark rock.

Three Thousand Sols

Posted 2012/07/02 11:18 CDT | 0 comments

Earlier today, unnoticed by the vast majority of the world, Opportunity reached and then silently passed a major milestone in her great adventure on Mars. At just before 3am, UK time, Opportunity began her 3000th sol, or martian day, on Mars.

Oppy close to the edge…

Posted 2012/06/05 10:00 CDT | 0 comments

Since you last visited, Opportunity has continued to drive downhill – well, what passes for ‘downhill’ on Cape York! – and is now not far at all from the northern edge of the Cape. From where she is now she sees the Meridiani desert stretching away to the north and west, the eastern hills on her right, and the Cape itself behind her. And around her? lots and lots of Homestake-like gypsum veins.

Older blog posts »

Latest Processed Space Images

Marquette Island, Opportunity sol 2087

Marquette Island, Opportunity sol 2087

Posted 2013/03/01 | 0 comments

From a distance scientists at first thought Marquette Island was another meteorite. Now, they think it was hurled up from deep beneath Mars' surface by an ancient impact. Since it may be harboring Martian secrets of the planet's environment at Meridiani Planum a long, long time ago, Opportunity took a break from its long journey to Endeavour crater and spent two months checking it out.

How big is Santa Maria?

How big is Santa Maria?

Posted 2013/03/01 | 0 comments

A team effort by three members of unmannedspaceflight.com helps to give a sense of scale to the crater "Santa Maria".

Rodrigo de Escobar (Opportunity sol 2549)

Rodrigo de Escobar (Opportunity sol 2549)

Posted 2013/03/01 | 0 comments

This is one of the pictures that Opportunity took of the strange looking boulder the team dubbed Rodrigo de Escobar, after a member of Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria crew. It is located south of Santa Maria Crater.

More pictures processed by Stuart Atkinson »

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