As I left the office Monday evening, the moon, a waxing crescent, held in the sky to the south southwest. There was a planet nearby in the sky, I presumed it was Jupiter, just from its brightness, but I didn’t honestly know. In general, the sky was remarkably clear. Monday had been a brutally windyContinue reading “On Childhood Memories and the Christmas Sensawunder”
Tag Archives: Astronomy
On Moments of Cosmic Awareness
I don't know that I want to live forever. Forever is a really long time. Maybe the Big Rip happens 22 billion years from now or the universe avoids the Big Rip and suffers the Big Crunch many billions of years later or the universe suffers heat death sometime around the year 1 Googol. InContinue reading “On Moments of Cosmic Awareness”
On Winter Reading
I have never read The Sandman. It's a curious lapse in my comic book reading. I generally like Neil Gaiman's other comics work (though I was cold on 1602). The idea of a Lord of Dreams is compelling. I love Wesley Dodds, the superhero Sandman of the 1930s (and I religiously read Sandman Mystery Theatre),Continue reading “On Winter Reading”
On the Origin of Saturn’s Rings
One scientist thinks that the origin of Saturn’s rings has been found. A moon, at least the size of Titan, if not larger, collided with the gas giant in the early years of the solar system. As it was torn apart by tidal forces, its frozen surface spun off and formed a ring system. That’sContinue reading “On the Origin of Saturn’s Rings”
On Venturing Forth to the Moon
Plinky asks today: "If you were offered a free trip to the moon, would you go?" And there's a part of me that wants to say, "Well… duh." 😉 And then there's the part of me that wants to say, "Now that I've gotten the snarky answer out of the way…" Who hasn't dreamt ofContinue reading “On Venturing Forth to the Moon”
On an Asteroid’s Final Adventure
An asteroid approaches Earth, and then has the adventure of its life. Sascha Geddert’s short animated film, “Fallen”… Fallen from Sascha Geddert on Vimeo. It was sad. I got a little weepy.
On Looking Up Into the Sky
I had to go outside and put the car windows up. So I trodded outside, barefoot as is my wont, and walked around my grandmother’s car and up to mine, avoiding as much as possible the pine needle-infested grass in the dark. Yes, I’m a silly person. There was a light breeze and, despite theContinue reading “On Looking Up Into the Sky”
On Cosmic Thoughts
Seeing a picture of a planet, orbiting a star hundreds of light years away, puts things into perspective — the universe is vast, unknowable, unimaginable. I mention this, because the Gemini Observatory has released a telescopic photograph of an extrasolar planet. A planet! Orbiting another sun! We’ve known for two decades that they exist, butContinue reading “On Cosmic Thoughts”
On Telescopes and Temptation
I thought, seriously, of blowing my paycheck on a reflecting telescope. A couple of us had gone to Sam’s Club on our lunch break. One of the writers in the department needed to pick up some bulk food for a Christmas party. We wandered the cavernous building, and I felt somewhat exposed and endangered; IContinue reading “On Telescopes and Temptation”
On Galileo’s Birthday
Four hundred and forty-five years ago today, Galileo was born. One of the leading scientists of the early modern period, Galileo pioneered the use of the telescope, championed the Copernican heliocentric system, and was considered the father of modern science. I received a few days ago a NASA press release 2009 has been namedContinue reading “On Galileo’s Birthday”