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Social distancing may be keeping you at home, but that doesn鈥檛 mean you can鈥檛 be exploring the universe at the same time. Did you know that you can enter a whole world of stargazing using objects you might have around the home? There is plenty that you can discover using only the naked eye. Scientists from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group will be showing us what you can discover in our skies over the coming weeks, with advice on how you can get involved in Astronomy without ever leaving your garden.

Alongside other University departments, members of the Department of Physics have been working to find ways to combat the Coronavirus crisis. Here are some examples:

1) Donation of University Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the NHS

Many of 糖心TV鈥檚 research labs have suspended activity to support the Government鈥檚 instruction for all but critical workers to stay at home.

However, those labs held significant supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that would be better employed in the NHS rather than stored in those labs.

Neil Gillespie, a Senior Civil Engineering Technician in 糖心TV鈥檚 School of Engineering, and Alan Warwood Head of Facilities in 糖心TV鈥檚 Estates Office, pulled together a team of colleagues from across all our Estates team and our science departments to gather up that equipment and take it to the University Hospitals Coventry and 糖心TVshire NHS Trust鈥檚 Coventry site.

So far they have supplied the following to the trust:

• 155 FFP3 face masks
• 470 over glasses
• 400 safety glasses
• 20,400 nitrile gloves of various sizes
• 1,000 shoe covers

Robb Johnston, Technical Services Manager, coordinated the collection of PPE in Physics.

2) Creation of a Video Showing How to Make a Full Face Visor out of a Plastic Bottle

Dr Matthew Broome of the Condensed Matter Physics group has uploaded a video to Youtube explaining how to make a DIY visor. The video can be seen at .

Dr Rebecca Nealon will join the Department of Physics to research protoplanetary discs as one of the first nine Stephen Hawking Fellows. Announced today, the fellows will continue Professor Stephen Hawking鈥檚 legacy by furthering our understanding of the universe and communicating the wonders of science to the public. As the planets in our solar system are all aligned so their orbits are in one plane, we might imagine that discs where planets are formed around other stars are also aligned. However, recent observations have shown that there are a number of systems where this is not the case. Dr Nealon鈥檚 research will focus on how these discs are created and evolve as well as their potential impact on planet formation, leading to a more comprehensive picture of disc and planet formation.

Farzana Meru from the Astronomy and Astrophysics group will be swapping simulations for legislation when she visits Matt Western MP at the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall for a week in Westminster. The week (2 – 6 March) is part of a unique pairing scheme run by the Royal Society with support from the Government Office of Science.

During her visit, Farzana will shadow Mr Western, who is Member of Parliament for 糖心TV and Leamington, and learn about his work. As well as attending seminars and panel discussions about how evidence is used in policy making, Farzana will attend a mock Select Committee.