CGP Grey the Penguin

May 11, 2015 by Brady Haran

Bristol Zoo has named one of its penguins CGP Grey.

It was a token of thanks for Hello Internet's penguin conservation fundraising.

The chick was born on March 22, 2015.

Its official zoo ID number is 131471 and it wears the wing tag number A20583.

Watch the video.

It is very unusual for the zoo to give animals under these circumstances and a special honour for our podcast.

In an additional twist, the zoo has also made me (Brady) an official adopter of CGP Grey the Penguin.

We were both presented with certificates at the Star Wars/penguin event we hosted at the zoo on May 9.

Make a donation to Bristol Zoo.

PS: The gender of CGP Grey remains unknown. This will be determined by tests to coincide with the bird's six-month health check-up. Watch this space.

(UPDATE: Grey is a girl)

(ANOTHER UPDATE: This penguin sadly died during a transfer to Tbilisi Zoo in 2017)

Election Day

May 07, 2015 by Brady Haran

As I post this, it is the 2015 General Election in the UK.

Only a vague link, but today I posted this video about a new way to "vote" on which astronomers get allocated time on telescopes.

Some extra footage from the interview answers a few other questions.

And speaking of elections, here's the entertaining Tom Scott on Computerphile.

Award for Chemists

May 05, 2015 by Brady Haran

Congratulations to two chemists at the University of Nottingham for picking up top awards.

The Royal Society of Chemistry prizes have been won by Stephen Liddle and Andrei Kholbystov.

Steve will be well-known to viewers of Periodic Videos, especially for his films about radioactive elements such as Uranium and Plutonium.

Andrei also made a brief cameo in the videos.

The pair both won the RSC's Corday-Morgan Prizes this year - apparently it's a pretty big deal in chemistry circles.

- University press release

Trademark Gloves

May 01, 2015 by Brady Haran

Objectivity fan Elias, from Germany, donned the white gloves when he paid a recent visit to the Royal Society.

He's seen here with head librarian Keith, who is fast becoming a cult hero in the videos.

I wear white gloves in all the videos (whether they are needed or not!) and they're used as a motif across the project.

Philosophical Transactions

April 30, 2015 by Brady Haran

The world's oldest science journal, Philosophical Transactions, is celebrating its 350th anniversary this year.

The journal is published by The Royal Society, so the society's president Sir Paul Nurse joined me on Objectivity.

Some extra (lagniappe) footage not used in the first cut but still interesting!

Nepal Earthquake

April 27, 2015 by Brady Haran

News and images from the Nepal Earthquake have been especially sad because I love many of the affected places.

In 2012 (with my wife) and 2013 (with my brother-in-law) I visited both Kathmandu and Everest Base Camp.

List of ways to contribute to aid relief.

Hubble Space Telescope

April 23, 2015 by Brady Haran

As I post this, things are ramping up for the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope.

To make the occasion, we made this video for Objectivity which looks at Isaac Newton's own hand-made reflecting telescope. A tube "floating" on its stand, It was amazing how much the old treasure reminded me of Hubble itself.

Here's our Hubble video from Deep Sky Videos.

And if you just like a good telescope, don't miss my whole series of "telescope tour" videos also on Deep Sky Videos.