An image of a Meteorite, Desert Fireball Network, Dr Luke Daly Lecture

By Ciara Wilson

From knowing very little about anything space related, Dr Luke Daly’s talk inspired a new interest in me that I had never given much consideration before.

During the first talk from the new Lockdown Live Lounge: Science Seminar Series, Dr Daly in his talk entitled "Where do Space rocks come from?" shared some research that he himself had taken part in, and which is currently ongoing within the Space Science field.

An example of the research which he is currently involved is the UK Fireball Network, which has stemmed from the success of the Desert Fireball Network, based in Australia. Their objective is to plant cameras across the UK to record the sky, in order to track meteorites that fall across the country. This comes with a variety of difficulties, of course, one of which is birds deciding to perch on these cameras, obscuring the view!

No one has found a meteorite in the UK for over 30 years, but we all have the potential to change this. By downloading the Fireballs in the Sky app, we can easily submit our own sightings and become an integral part of this worthwhile research – no matter whether we are currently housebound or not.

Before attending the talk, I was apprehensive. Since I knew very little about this particular field of science, I was worried I might be overwhelmed with complex terminology and concepts. However, to my relief, Dr Daly made it incredibly accessible and engaging for all students – even if the graphs and figures appeared daunting at first.

The first Lockdown Live Lounge event was absolutely worth viewing, and I’m confident that the rest to follow will be just as captivating. Admittedly, I initially decided to watch the event because it was, conveniently, online. If it turned out to be something that I personally didn’t enjoy, I could leave with a simple click.

So, why not give it a shot? I underestimated how interesting the talk would really be. We have a valuable opportunity to learn more about the research that has been undertaken by staff at our own UofG, so why not take the opportunity to learn more? Why not discover something completely new? There may be something that you never thought you would enjoy.

Even if you know very little about the weekly chosen topic, the talks are an excellent starting point for broadening your knowledge.

As we are all scattered across the globe at the moment, it is important that we connect with one another in every way we can.

For all those reasons, I would highly recommend attending at least one of the Lockdown Live Lounge talks. You can even enjoy them from the comfort of your bed!

Dr Luke Daly's Lockdown Live Lecture was recorded and can be found here.

First published: 8 October 2020

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