Friday evening, I received a press release from NASA. The reason? The twenty-fifty anniversary of Voyager 2’s closest encounter to Uranus. Voyager Celebrates 25 Years Since Uranus Visit Jet Propulsion Laboratory January 21, 2011 As NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft made the only close approach to date of our mysterious seventh planet Uranus 25 years ago,Continue reading “On 25 Years Since Voyager 2’s Uranus Encounter”
Category 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 a Book Everyone Should Read
I have read a lot of books in my time. I have owned a lot of books in my time. More of either than I would care to admit. 😉 I could tell you what my favorite books are. (My favorite book of all time, by the way, is The Hound of the Baskervilles byContinue reading “On a Book Everyone Should Read”
On a Decade of the International Space Station
Today, the second of November, is not just Election Day. It’s the tenth anniversary of human habitation of the International Space Station. NASA issued a press release this morning marking the event: NASA ADMINISTRATOR STATEMENT ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF CREWS ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WASHINGTON — On Nov. 2, 2000, the first crew arrivedContinue reading “On a Decade of the International Space Station”
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 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 Carl Sagan’s Birthday
The Writer’s Almanac tells me that today, the 9th of November, is Carl Sagan’s birthday. He would have been seventy-five. Said Garrison Keillor of Sagan this morning: “[He] published a number of books that helped regular people understand ideas about the universe, including Dragons of Eden: Speculations of the Evolution of Human Intelligence (1977), whichContinue reading “On Carl Sagan’s Birthday”