Dr Garry E Hunt: ‘People expected me to fail because I was doing something odd'
As a broadcaster he has worked on many TV programmes, including co-presenting the BBC's The Sky at Night with Patrick Moore for more than 20 years from 1973. Hunt received an OBE for his services to space science and business
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
7 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Stunning space snap hides rare ‘one-in-a-thousand' secret – and it may be the first time it has ever been seen by humans
The phenomenon could help prove a popular theory IN THE STARS Stunning space snap hides rare 'one-in-a-thousand' secret – and it may be the first time it has ever been seen by humans Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A STUNNING photo has captured a rare secret among the stars - and it could be the first time the phenomenon has ever been seen. Astronomers believe they have photographed the first ever birth of a supermassive black hole. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up While experts have gained an understanding of what these supersized giants are, they previously didn't know how they were created. A supermassive black hole weighs millions, to tens of billions, of Suns, and form the centre of almost every galaxy. It forms the gravitational centre for everything else - including stars and planets - to revolve around. However, scientists now believe they have seen a supermassive black hole being formed for the first time ever. 1 Three supermassive black holes can be seen in a newfound discovery Credit: NASA This could provide valuable insight into the space wonder. The process was captured in a pair of galaxies whose light has travelled for 8.3 million years according to Science Alert. The discovery was made by a Yale-led astronomy team, in a galaxy they've called "Infinity". Its name comes from its figure-eight shape, as three supermassive black holes can be seen as the galaxies collide. Within each galaxy a supermassive black hole can be seen at its nucleus, with a third glowing at their overlap. The team used a James Webb Space Telescope to observe the two recently-collided galaxies. CLOSE CALL 'It was a sign' - Clare girl, 10, spots surprise comet that 'shines brighter than Venus' Within the cloud of gas at its centre, they identified a supermassive black hole. Unusually, the black hole was not located at the nucleus of the vast galaxy, but rather in the middle of where they were colliding. This gave them an indication that they might be witnessing an unprecedented event. Yale astonomer Pieter van Dokkum said: "We think we're witnessing the birth of a supermassive black hole - something that has never been seen before." There are currently a number of theories regarding the formation of black holes. This includes the "light seeds" theory, in which small black holes are believed to have been formed when stars' cores collapsed and exploded. These smaller black holes are believed to have then merged into the supermassive versions. However, this theory has been somewhat debunked by research that found supermassive black holes that were born too early for this long-term merging to have taken place. Instead, the "heavy seeds" theory has been favoured by some astronomers. This argues that larger black holes can form when large clouds of gas collapse, although typically this is known to form stars. The Infinity galaxy could support the "heavy seeds" theory by showing how, in extreme conditions, a gas collapse could create a black hole. The team is pursuing ongoing research to confirm the findings.
Telegraph
7 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The tax raids that mean your holiday beers are cheaper than British pints
British beer drinkers have been hit with bigger tax raids than anywhere else in Europe over the past six years, The Telegraph can reveal. At 61p per pint of lager, beer excise duties in the UK are among the highest in Europe, and are 9p more than in 2019, according to data from the Tax Foundation. The rate is three times higher than in France, Italy and the Netherlands, which both tax around 19p per pint, and Germany, where consumers pay just 4p. The tax raid contributes to the typically much lower prices holidaymakers will pay for beer on the continent this summer. Whilst the UK has increased duties considerably, most of Europe has kept theirs effectively frozen, with Portugal increasing levies by 4p and France by just a single penny. Exemptions made for draft pints served in pubs reduced duties to around 55p per pint, still almost three times the EU average. Hospitality business leaders warn the combined cost of beer taxes, VAT and Labour's employer National Insurance hike could ultimately see the cost of a pint soar further. The industry has lost 84,000 jobs since the 2024 Autumn Budget, according to the trade body UK Hospitality. Kate Nicholls, the chairman of UK Hospitality, said: 'Beer duty in the UK has been among the highest in Europe, along with our 20% VAT rate for hospitality. 'These taxes and other recently increased business costs, such as the change to employer NICs, will mean that the price of a pint will stay high and potentially become higher, and pubs and bars will have no choice but to pass on costs to customers.' In the Autumn Budget, Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers pay towards National Insurance from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent. The price of a pint has soared by over 28 per cent across the UK since January 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics, with a variety of factors to blame, including inflation and tax. The average price of a pint now stands at £4.83, but this would be just £4.22 without alcohol excise duties, or £4.28 if served in a pub. The figures also hide extreme regional variations, with the average price of a pint in west central London now topping £7.32, according to CGA, a market research company specialising in hospitality. In the EU, minimum beer excise duties are set by Brussels, but the vast majority of EU member states chose to go above this. In Finland, consumers pay roughly 90p per pint of 5 per cent-strength lager, by far the highest in Europe. This is followed by the UK on 61p, Ireland on 55p and Sweden on 48p. At the bottom of the list are Spain, Luxembourg, Germany and Bulgaria, which all charge 4p per pint. The Tax Foundation has monitored duties levied by states since 2019 and just seven states have increased taxes at 1p or higher over the period. Alcohol duties were reformed in 2023, basing them on the strength of the alcohol. This meant tax on certain drinks, such as wine and spirits, increased considerably. Taxes on draught pints were not changed in an attempt to keep prices below supermarket levels. Ms Reeves also cut duties on pints in pubs in the Autumn Budget by 1.7 per cent. But bottled beer served in pubs or bought at supermarkets has not been exempt from tax changes, according to the Tax Foundation's analysis. A spokesperson from HM Treasury said: 'Beer is more affordable in the UK than in much of Europe and in last year's Budget we supported pubs by cutting 1p off duty on draught pints.'
Telegraph
7 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Reeves abandons inheritance tax raid on grieving military families
Rachel Reeves has abandoned plans to impose new inheritance tax changes on the grieving families of military personnel. The Chancellor has dropped a proposal to tax death in service payments, which are tax-free lump sums given to the families of deceased Armed Forces members. Changes unveiled in the October Budget would have made off-duty death in service payments subject to inheritance tax for the first time, if not going to a spouse or civil partner. It would have meant that children or partners of unmarried servicemen and women would have had to pay death duties on the benefit from April 2027. The Treasury has been forced to abandon the proposals after pressure from Armed Forces organisations, which said the move would have a 'corrosive' effect on trust among servicemen. The Government said that following its consultation, it had decided not to go ahead with the reform. 'Another U-turn' by Labour Mark Francois, the shadow Armed Forces minister, told The Telegraph that he welcomed the decision, 'even though it represents another U-turn by this Labour Government'. He added: 'It was always unfair that married partners of service personnel would be exempted from these changes to inheritance tax liabilities, while unmarried partners, in long-term relationships, would not. 'We highlighted this to ministers, on behalf of service families on multiple occasions and I am pleased for their sake, that common sense has now finally prevailed.' It comes after Ms Reeves's department had to water down proposals to scrap the universal winter fuel payment and reforms to the welfare system. The Government said: 'From 6 April 2027 all death in service benefits payable from registered pension schemes will be out of scope of Inheritance Tax, regardless of whether the scheme is discretionary or non-discretionary.' The HMRC document said that the new plans were 'in line with the broader policy objective of removing inconsistencies in the Inheritance Tax treatment of different types of pension benefits'. Labour 'standing up' for service personnel? Death in service payments are usually a lump sum paid to named beneficiaries of a worker who dies while on the company payroll. It is typically the equivalent of four-times the late individual's salary. For members of the Armed Forces, these are paid whether or not the individual was 'on duty' at the time of their death. Those who die 'on duty' were to continue to benefit from a separate tax-free arrangement on their death in service payments from 2027. But a military worker who dies while technically 'off duty', such as by sudden illness or accident, would have been stung by the proposed inheritance tax rules. Maj Gen Neil Marshall, the chief executive of the Forces Pension Society, told The Telegraph in January that military servicemen and women are unable to put the payment into trust, because they are part of the Armed Forces pension scheme. Labour sought to shore up support from the Armed Forces community at last year's general election, declaring the party would be 'standing up' for service personnel and veterans. The party was successful in winning over voters from military backgrounds, most notably winning in Aldershot, the site of a major garrison, for the first time in more than a century.
