I drive past the radio telescopes at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory almost every day. Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects by means of the natural radio waves they emit. It tells us about the Solar System, our own Galaxy (the Milky Way), radio galaxies, quasars and cosmology (and I copied this from their website, to make sure I didn't show my ignorance by getting it wrong!).
The parabolic dishes are a familiar sight, as they gaze up past the clouds and into space. Scientists here are trying to answer the big questions - like how do stars die and what are the earliest galaxy clusters formed in the Universe. I think of that as I drive by, my mind focussed on the small questions, like whether I have time to get home and put the potatoes in the oven while Will is at band practice and whether I've remembered to feed my neighbour's cats.
