Our writer enlists an astronomer to get to grips with negotiating the stars – and the 300-square-mile Dark Sky Park in Galloway, Scotland, the first such place in Britain
Murray's Monument, in Galloway Dark Sky Park.
20.10.13
negotiating the stars
Stargazing in Scotland: a holiday where dark skies are welcome
Our writer enlists an astronomer to get to grips with negotiating the stars – and the 300-square-mile Dark Sky Park in Galloway, Scotland, the first such place in Britain
Murray's Monument, in Galloway Dark Sky Park.
Our writer enlists an astronomer to get to grips with negotiating the stars – and the 300-square-mile Dark Sky Park in Galloway, Scotland, the first such place in Britain
Murray's Monument, in Galloway Dark Sky Park.
17.10.13
bushfires
October 25, 2013
Night watch: firefighters on the spot after dark
Monday 21 October 2013
Australian bushfires: NSW premier calls a state of emergency – in pictures
Blazes continue to burn through the state as rural fire service chief warns three big fires could join together, endangering the entire Blue Mountains
Air quality: 'hazardous' rating for parts of New South Wales as bushfires rage
Residents urged to stay indoors when possible and people with asthma and damaged lungs warned to be extra careful
Worst NSW fires in a decade 19 Oct
As 100 fires burn across NSW a total of 34 remain uncontained and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. A man has died while trying to defend central coast home and the historic central coast village of Catherine Hill Bay has been severely damaged.
Australia bushfires: smoke over Sydney - in pictures
Bushfires on three flanks of Sydney, fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm weather, sent thick plumes of smoke and ash across the city.
Night watch: firefighters on the spot after dark
Monday 21 October 2013
Australian bushfires: NSW premier calls a state of emergency – in pictures
Blazes continue to burn through the state as rural fire service chief warns three big fires could join together, endangering the entire Blue Mountains
Air quality: 'hazardous' rating for parts of New South Wales as bushfires rage
Residents urged to stay indoors when possible and people with asthma and damaged lungs warned to be extra careful
Worst NSW fires in a decade 19 Oct
As 100 fires burn across NSW a total of 34 remain uncontained and hundreds of homes have been destroyed. A man has died while trying to defend central coast home and the historic central coast village of Catherine Hill Bay has been severely damaged.
Australia bushfires: smoke over Sydney - in pictures
Bushfires on three flanks of Sydney, fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm weather, sent thick plumes of smoke and ash across the city.
3.10.13
紐約巨石陣
紐約巨石陣
2013年05月31日 美國紐約有所謂的「曼克頓巨石陣」(Manhattanhenge)景象，意指日落位置剛好與街道平行，令太陽看來被夾在摩天大樓群之間。此美景每年有兩次觀賞機會，分別為5月底及7月中，但去年7月因天氣欠佳，夕陽黯然，今年則天朗氣清，吸引民眾拍照。(路透社)
"Manhattanhenge" occurs when the setting sun aligns itself with the east-west grid of streets in Manhattan, allowing the sun to shine down all streets at the same time.
People take pictures of the sunset on 42nd street in New York City, during the biannual occurrence named ''Manhattanhenge'', May 29, 2013. ''Manhattanhenge'', coined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, occurs when the setting sun aligns itself with the east-west grid of streets in Manhattan, allowing the sun to shine down all streets at the same time.
2013年05月31日 美國紐約有所謂的「曼克頓巨石陣」(Manhattanhenge)景象，意指日落位置剛好與街道平行，令太陽看來被夾在摩天大樓群之間。此美景每年有兩次觀賞機會，分別為5月底及7月中，但去年7月因天氣欠佳，夕陽黯然，今年則天朗氣清，吸引民眾拍照。(路透社)
"Manhattanhenge" occurs when the setting sun aligns itself with the east-west grid of streets in Manhattan, allowing the sun to shine down all streets at the same time.
People take pictures of the sunset on 42nd street in New York City, during the biannual occurrence named ''Manhattanhenge'', May 29, 2013. ''Manhattanhenge'', coined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, occurs when the setting sun aligns itself with the east-west grid of streets in Manhattan, allowing the sun to shine down all streets at the same time.
gay population
Gay Britain: what do the statistics say?
How many people in the UK are gay, lesbian or bisexual? The Office for National Statistics reckons it's 1.5% while the Kinsey report says it's 10%. Who's right?
We've got the numbers on sexuality in the UK but are they reliable?
For every 100 people in Britain, just 1 will identify themselves as gay or lesbian according to the latest government statistics. The numbers (which include gender, location and age) may come as a surprise - but why?
1.5% of the UK?
In its 'Integrated Household Survey', the Office for National Statistics asks 178,197 people about their sexual identity - and the vast majority of them choose to answer.
93.5% of people said they were 'heterosexual' or 'straight', just 1.1% said they were 'gay' or 'lesbian' and 0.4% said they were bisexual. The small fraction that was left either refused to answer or said they didn't know. Altogether, amounts to about 545,000 homosexual and 220,000 bisexual adults in the UK.
The claim that just 1.5% of people in Britain are gay, lesbian or bisexual will come as a surprise to some - even perhaps those in government. When they were analysing the financial implications of the new Civil Partnerships Act, the Treasury estimated it was 6%. Stonewall, a gay rights charity reckon that 5-7% "is a reasonable estimate".
10% of the US?
Do those figures seem low? One reason they might is that the number one in ten has long-persisted in popular culture as a reliable guesstimate of homosexuality rates...
... One possible explanation
The more detailed breakdown of responses is revealing - it points to a potential problem with the survey. Maybe the huge differences between people's estimates about the size of the gay population and their responses about their own sexual identification is about more than just bad guesses. Maybe it reveals the extent to which taboos persist (particularly for older people and those living in more conservative parts of the country) so individuals remain reluctant to tell the truth - a reluctance that manifests itself in under-estimates about personal sexual identity and over-estimates about other people's.
How many people in the UK are gay, lesbian or bisexual? The Office for National Statistics reckons it's 1.5% while the Kinsey report says it's 10%. Who's right?
We've got the numbers on sexuality in the UK but are they reliable?
For every 100 people in Britain, just 1 will identify themselves as gay or lesbian according to the latest government statistics. The numbers (which include gender, location and age) may come as a surprise - but why?
1.5% of the UK?
In its 'Integrated Household Survey', the Office for National Statistics asks 178,197 people about their sexual identity - and the vast majority of them choose to answer.
93.5% of people said they were 'heterosexual' or 'straight', just 1.1% said they were 'gay' or 'lesbian' and 0.4% said they were bisexual. The small fraction that was left either refused to answer or said they didn't know. Altogether, amounts to about 545,000 homosexual and 220,000 bisexual adults in the UK.
The claim that just 1.5% of people in Britain are gay, lesbian or bisexual will come as a surprise to some - even perhaps those in government. When they were analysing the financial implications of the new Civil Partnerships Act, the Treasury estimated it was 6%. Stonewall, a gay rights charity reckon that 5-7% "is a reasonable estimate".
10% of the US?
Do those figures seem low? One reason they might is that the number one in ten has long-persisted in popular culture as a reliable guesstimate of homosexuality rates...
... One possible explanation
The more detailed breakdown of responses is revealing - it points to a potential problem with the survey. Maybe the huge differences between people's estimates about the size of the gay population and their responses about their own sexual identification is about more than just bad guesses. Maybe it reveals the extent to which taboos persist (particularly for older people and those living in more conservative parts of the country) so individuals remain reluctant to tell the truth - a reluctance that manifests itself in under-estimates about personal sexual identity and over-estimates about other people's.
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