The Grave of a 19th-Century Astronomer

Before the world went into its COVID-imposed lockdown, I discovered, quite by chance, while reading about Mary Ann Hall, that a photograph of my great-great-grandfather’s gravesite in Washington, DC’s Congressional Cemetery is on Wikipedia. No one but me would care that, in the background of the photo, is the gravesite of William Gardner, but it’sContinue reading “The Grave of a 19th-Century Astronomer”

Link Round-Up: December 16

Some links for today. We’ll start with Star Wars and go from there. The Best-Case Scenario: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ – There’s a new Star Wars film out this week. It’s a total surprise; I haven’t seen ads or merchandise for it anywhere. Reviews are starting to trickle in, albeit ones light on details.Continue reading “Link Round-Up: December 16”

Link Round-Up: December 15

Our second link round-up! These are things I read today that interested me, with some commentary on what I read and what I thought. BBC World Service: Space – The BBC World Service has begun an occasional podcast series of podcasts on an astronomy/space exploration theme. As of right now, there are four episodes, rangingContinue reading “Link Round-Up: December 15”

Making Spacescapes

For no particular reason, I wanted to make a spacescape. I have graphics editing software (specifically, the GIMP), and I was sure there was a tutorial online somewhere. Google was my friend, and within two minutes I had an article that fit my needs — How to Create Space Scenes Quickly and Easily in Gimp.Continue reading “Making Spacescapes”

On Space and Boyish Wonder

You’d be forgiven for mistaking today for spring even though, by the calendar and by Copernicus, spring is still a month away. Nonetheless, today was gorgeous, and there was nothing prettier than seeing the crescent moon, itself a bare sliver, in the western sky at twilight with Venus and Jupiter shining brightly higher in theContinue reading “On Space and Boyish Wonder”

On 25 Years Since Voyager 2’s Uranus Encounter

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”

On a Winter Night’s Thoughts

Monday night when I left the office, about ten minutes to six, I stepped out of the office building’s glass doors into the early night and there, ahead of me in deep space, was Orion, his mighty belt running from just slightly above the horizon to perhaps a fifth of the way to zenith. TheContinue reading “On a Winter Night’s Thoughts”

On Childhood Memories and the Christmas Sensawunder

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”