The first newspaper I read in the morning is Florida Today (www.flatoday.com/news/space/), which covers Cape Canaveral and other space science stories. The next paper I read is the New York Times (www.nyt.com/), for their brilliant science pages, and, of course, I never miss the Irish Times science page, edited by my good friend Dick Ahlstrom.
Coverage of space science is changing. It is no longer just space shuttle launches, space travel and astronauts. Now it is much more about cosmology, and that is much more complex to explain. For example, take a question like is there a black hole in the centre of the galaxy? Communicating these issues to the public is a challenge.
Science journalism in general is now dealing with much more complex issues. Look at the biological sciences. Once journalists were describing plants and trees, now the focus is on genetic issues and can become horrendously complicated in terms of the issues that need to be dealt with.
I still get big stories. At the moment, I'm looking at the Mir space station, which is scheduled to crash to earth on March 6th. I am keeping in touch with experts around the world who are monitoring the craft.
For research, the Internet has made a big difference. When I started writing about space 30 years ago, I had to write, in longhand to the American space agency, asking them to send pictures. It took a month for them to arrive. Now it has completely changed. If a picture is taken in space, I can have it on my desk a half-an-hour later.
The Internet has other advantages. You are not wasting people's time any more. The researcher will send a scientific paper by e-mail and by the time you talk to them, you are only seeking clarifications. It saves time and you are more informed.
I don't have a degree in astrophysics, so I don't pretend to be an expert. As a journalist, I interpret what scientists say, turning it into conversational English - but I check with the scientists that my interpretation is correct.
Because I specialise, there are several technical journals I have to read. And there is a broad range of Internet news groups to which I subscribe.
A lot of what I do is commentating on events as they happen, such as launches and landings. That's where the reading comes in - when you're speaking in front of a television camera for two hours without stopping, it's essential.
The public are often perplexed by the speed of scientific change, because they have not had time to absorb what's happening. The big challenge for the science journalist, now and for the future, is to interpret what is happening for them.
I find Irish people to be more noticeably interested in everything around them than people in other countries. People who work in professions which have nothing to do with space science often stop me in the street to have a discussion about black holes!
In conversation with Declan Fahy
