ASTRONOMY SPECIAL
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Celebrate the International Year of Astronomy with a FREE poster on the life and death of stars! Plus, bizarre planets made of diamond and iron; and a look deep inside the Sun. COSMOS also reveals new research on how a man’s lifestyle can affect the health of his unborn children; why a carbon tax is better than an emissions trading scheme; and how scientists are battling to prevent the world’s wheat supply from collapsing.
WEIRD WORLDS
Could planets made of diamond and iron exist? While hundreds of exoplanets have already been discovered, astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell reckons it’s just a matter of time before we find the truly bizarre ones.
WEBS OF DARKNESS
Why has star formation abruptly ended in some of the biggest galaxies, but continues at a frenetic pace in smaller spirals? As Ron Cowen discovers, it takes a little mud wrestling to find the answers.
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Chile’s vast and barren Atacama Desert was once plundered for its mineral riches. As Ivan Semeniuk discovers, today it’s rich in a completely different kind of resource: telescopes.
BLACK HARVEST
A global scourge is spreading that could devastate food supplies and plunge nations into mass starvation. Out of retirement to deal with the crisis comes the man who saved the world once before – and needs to do so again, reports Elizabeth Finkel.
THROW OF THE DICE
Pregnant women have a long list of rules to follow if they want to protect the health of their child. But, as Emma Young finds, there is startling evidence to suggest the lifestyle choices of fathers should be called into question too.
SNAPSHOT: SPACE JUNK
There are more than 300 million pieces of space junk orbiting Earth, weighing in at over 6,000 tonnes. An inside look at our planet’s halo of garbage.
GALLERY: VIOLENT STAR
The Sun controls night and day, brings warmth and light, and makes life possible on Earth. But it is far from benign. A pictorial tribute to the only star within our reach.
Hear what our readers have to say, and see some of the interesting places they’ve been reading Cosmos.
A famous talking parrot, a guide to better decision making and other reviews of the latest science books.
He may shirk the limelight, but his mastery of reproductive science throws Alan Trounson into the centre of public debate. And while he’s been wounded before, now his time is at hand, as Helen Pitt discovers.
Why create a complex new market for emissions trading, asks Alan Finkel when a carbon tax would be simpler, fairer and deliver immediate benefits for the environment?
