Brian Cox

Brian Cox is back in town, with a different show to his last visit. He was here about 18 months ago with his Scientific Phenomena show. This time he was focussing specifically on space and the universe. We sacrificed a night at pub quiz to go and see him.

For a quick dinner beforehand, we decided on Bin 44. Mindful of our previous mishap when dining out before a show at the TSB, we booked a table and rocked up at 6:15. This caused a bit of kerfuffle as they were fully booked, and someone had walked in and just sat down at a table, without waiting to be seated, so the staff had to evict them from our table. Bin 44 is more pub grub than fine dining, so we had a burger and pizza. The pizza was enormous so Nicola could only finish half of it (the burger was pretty substantial too) so maybe we’ll just share one next time we go there.

Then it was across the road, and taking our place up on a side gallery in the TSB Arena. Brian came on to huge applause, thanked us for coming out on a cold, windy Wellington night, and said how delighted he was that on such a night 2,500 people are prepared to come out and listen to someone talk about science-y stuff. He then launched into a quick explanation of relativity, time and events, drew some charts, and explained how time can be different for different people. It was quite science-y. From this, he moved into a discussion about black holes and what they look like. To illustrate this he drew on his experience with the people who made the black hole model used in the film Interstellar, and how it was based on real, actual science, not just fancy special effects (although they used some of those as well). He then showed us the famous picture taken a couple of months ago of a black hole, and demonstrated that it looked pretty much as predicted by the model used in the film. 

Black hole from Interstellar

Black hole from reality

Not only that, but that the basis of the model was Einstein’s theory of relativity, showing how this 100-year-old theory was still the basis for astrophysics today. We had a picture of the universe from 380,000 years after the Big Bang, and why it looked like it did, all the way through the formation of planets and the conditions necessary for life to form. He went through some recent discoveries and theories about planets within our solar system that might support life, and once again mentioned the ice fountains of Enceladus.

This all sound like heavy going. How about some light relief? Of course, his old mucker and co-presenter of Infinite Monkey Cage, Robin Ince,  was there alongside him, to provide some comedy and break up the evening a bit. Also to give Brian a rest, as he spoke non-stop for nearly an hour in the first half. Robin amused us with some talk of dressing like a scientist, and how he is mistaken for Brian’s dad (they’re the same age). He also had several requests for his cardigan supplier.

As at the previous talk we went to, he opened up the second half to questions from the audience, and also digressed into philosophy. Once again an enjoyable evening.

Stonehenge Aotearoa

The forecast for Saturday was rainy, so we first headed in to the i-site in Martinborough to check which vineyards would be open. We decided to head out in a direction we’d not been before, to the South along the Lake Ferry Road, where there are three wineries: Murdoch James, Hamden Estate and Hudson. Despite saying they were open, however, only Murdoch James actually was, so we spent a bit of time in there chatting to the manager. He told us about the different vineyards caused by the fault line that runs through the estate, which means that the rocks on one side are very different to those on the other side, and also different to most of the other vineyards in the Martinborough region. This leads to some much drier wines, in particular the Riesling. After tasting, we walked away with a couple of bottles of Trafalgar, a Sauvignon Blanc/Riesling blend intended as an aperitif wine. I’m sure it’ll come in handy in the summer.

We then headed north and dropped in to Alana Estate – a vineyard with a unique sales proposition: they do not sell to supermarkets or wine merchants, only direct to the public in New Zealand, either at the cellar door or by email, subscription, and even newspaper advertising. After chatting to the cellar door manager, we left with a special deal (available to everyone, everywhere) of cleanskin Pinot Noir.

As the weather was showing signs of improving, we then headed to Stonehenge Aotearoa. This is a modern, concrete rendering of Stonehenge, built 10 years ago to the same specification as the one in Salisbury, but calibrated for its location and without being collapsed all over the place. It was built to combine modern scientific knowledge with that of the original builders of Stonehenge, and also incorporates Egyptian, Babylonian, Polynesian and Maori star lore. In addition to the 24 standing stones and lintels, there are a number of other features:

The Sun gate: on the Spring equinox, and standing at the centre of the henge, the sun rises in the centre of these stone pillars.

The Heel stones: these mark the position on the horizon of sunrise and sunset at the summer and winter solstices, and at the vernal and autumnal  equinoxes.

The Obelisk: this has a sighting hole that allows the viewer to locate the Southern celestial pole. Unlike the North celestal pole, which is marked by the Pole Star, there is no Southern equivalent – it is a patch of empty (to the naked eye) space.

The Analemma: this marks the precise time of noon, the current date at noon, and also the solstices and equinoxes.

The Seven Sisters: representing the Pleiades, or Matariki in Maori culture.

Partial Eclipse

As you may be aware, there was an eclipse of the sun visible in the Southern Hemisphere on the morning of Wednesday, 14th November. Totality would be visible in Northern Australia, and partial in New Zealand. Whilst the weather forecast at the beginning of the week was not promising, by Tuesday evening the Met Service was promising sunshine for Wellington and Northland. Wellington would be able to see a 76% partial eclipse.

We went outside from work at around 10am, and stood around in Post Office Square to drink coffee from French Kiss and look at the eclipse through a pair of sun-watching glasses that I'd acquired earlier in the year to watch the Transit of Venus - an event that was a washout for us, obscured by cloud.

I pointed my mobile phone camera over my shoulder, more in hope than in expectation of getting a picture (I also tried taking a picture through the sun glasses, but that didn't work). Whilst it's not possible to see the eclipse in the picture, it is captured in the lens flare under the sun.

Astronomy...

On Saturday we took the Wellington Cable Car http://www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz/ up to the Carter Observatory, as arranged last week at our housewarming party. The planetarium show, which lasted just under an hour, consisted of two parts: the first was about the effects of space travel on the human body, some of the challenges met by astronauts and how they train and prepare for them, including the “vomit comet” method of achieving weightlessness whilst still in the earth’s atmosphere; the second part was a live presentation by our friendly astronomer, guiding us around the Southern hemisphere’s night sky, including the conjunction of Venus, Mars and Saturn currently clearly visible here. All in all, a good show. We met up with the presenter afterwards and had a quick lunch in the café, before finding our way back home – the observatory and Botanical Gardens are right behind our flat, up a hill.

Other things we noticed: lots of tuis. 

We’re still quite excited to see these. This will probably wear off in time.

Nicola took her cello in to the music shop, to check the strings after the air freight journey. Fortunately they seem to have survived the journey, so a retune was all that was required.

...And Gastronomy

As part of our mission to fully discover New Zealand, I’ve been trying the local fish available in the supermarkets and wholesale outlet that we use. There are some familiar types of fish and some that are new to us: so far we’ve tried tarakihi, 

and groper. 

So far I’ve just had it plain grilled with a dash of lemon juice, but tonight I’m going to try it with some Asian herbs/spices on noodles, and see how that works.