Loss of the Night
A while back I used the fictitious city of Trantor in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy to describe the concept of no night. Trantor was not just a city, it was the entire planet, made into one obscene ball of light, with no
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Helium Stars get Extreme
Our universe is full of quirky critters. Face it, given 13.8 billion years to work with mother nature has had plenty of time to conjure up interesting stuff. Enter helium stars. While hydrogen is the most abundant element and stars usually spend
The Moons of Mars
Mars has two satellites and they are so small they were not discovered until 1877. Phobos and Deimos, Mars’ little warrior twin children are named after Greek god of war Ares’ sons. So, we use the Roman name Mars but the Greek
Let’s Launch Our Own UFO
Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) are a fact. I think everyone I know has seen at least one so why deny it? Of course, the problem with UFO sightings is in the evidence, or lack of it. The best evidence produced so far
Solar Cycles
Solar cycles. You probably studied them in science class, boring! Something about 11 years blah, blah, blah, sunspots, yada, yada, yada, snore. Solar cycles, boring as they may appear, help us understand the long-term impact our star the Sun has on the
Discover the Night
Coming from Houston I can say my night sky in Canyon Lake is orders of magnitude better than Houston’s. But that’s not much considering Houston’s night sky sucks. In big cities night sky is an oxymoron because for most there essentially is
A Cosmic Mystery
Funny how once you get away from the rote nature of learning, e.g., high school, your mind can open to the larger questions. What is it all about, do I have purpose, why? It’s all a cosmic mystery, an enigma, no? Oh,
Is Betelgeuse Going to Blow?
Short answer, not yet. Maybe not yet, but it will sometime, maybe soon, maybe not. What’s going on with Betelgeuse? Betelgeuse is a Red Super-giant Star, with a mass somewhere between 8 and 40 times that of the Sun. That is a
Planets Everywhere!
In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey Dr. Dave Bowman gasps “my God, it’s full of stars!” as he gets pulled into the Monolith orbiting Jupiter. The mantra of astronomy and our existence…it’s all about stars because without stars there is no
How did the Asteroid Belt Form?
Discovering the asteroid belt started an ongoing debate. It continues today albeit with somewhat less controversy. This debate centers on the formation, dynamics, and stability of planetary systems. Well, discussing that would require a series of articles. I’ll stick to how the
Gauging Night Sky Quality – part 2
Last week I presented two classic methods of determining sky quality for a given evening, called seeing and transparency. This week we’ll look at more methods. It’s all about the Bortle? There have evolved other scales that help us understand how good
Gauging Your Night Sky Quality – 1
I have written about how light pollution is reducing our enjoyment of the night sky. I have not written about how to determine night sky quality. There are fancy gadgets (meters) that can tell you about night sky brightness and then there
Perseverance is the Word
When will life, or signs of life be found somewhere other than Earth? I use the word when because I believe the word if is out of the question. Life is out there. Maybe I will be lucky, and signs of life
Fast Radio Burst Update
In 2019 I wrote that astronomers were collectively scratching their heads over a phenomenon called Fast Radio Bursts. To recap: Fast Radio Bursts are extremely energetic and short lived (milliseconds) signals coming from extreme distances (millions to billions of light years away).
The Milky Way Blows Bubbles
I think seeing our Milky Way galaxy in a dark sky is a most moving experience. Knowing its immense proportions and our place in it gives me pause, it’s humbling. Then I find out the Milky Way blows bubbles! Just try to
Politics, Personality, and Progress
The early-to-mid 20th century was a time of great advancement in astronomy, no doubt with the aid of technology. Behind the scenes struggles stimulated innovative design and technology. Upstairs, the movers and shakers had meltdowns and out-of-body experiences, mostly due to personality
SN1987A
Do you remember anything about February 24, 1987? I don’t. Maybe if I had been south of the equator… On that day in the Large Magellanic Cloud a star burst forth so bright it could be seen with the naked eye. I
Established Science?
Just got off a Facebook session with relatives about Covid vaccines. The term “established science” was used and then immediately challenged due to its “politicization”. I put my 2 cents in and got out. What about established science? Believe it or not,
2021 – Looking Forward?
Will 2021 develop into a good year? I hear a lot about letting 2020 go and welcoming in a new year. But the year 2021 is a fabricated measure, like any year, month, day, hour, minute, second… Maybe one of the unique
It’s Aether or Not
I hope your Christmas day was a good one, considering… Did you get to see the Great Conjunction on the 21st? Or did you get clouded out? We were ready, big binoculars and a telescope set up. Had a few neighbors stop
A Star Under One Sky
Friends, family, neighbors, everyone is asking if I know about the Christmas star event coming on December 21st. Then the say “of course you know, you study that stuff”. By the way, December 21st is Winter Solstice. The long night. If you
Solar Cycle Mania
We’ve experienced four solar cycles of ever lower solar activity, that is, thermal irradiation and sunspots. The Sun’s output has been steadily decreasing ever so slightly over 44 years. This might sound scary…are we headed for a “mini-ice age”? What is a
Amazing or Marketing?
If you are still searching for an astronomy related Christmas gift and feeling stressed, you are the market segment target for DCOM. Dubious Claims Optics Marketing, I just made that up, has been around for, well, a long time. Seems every year
The Big Dish is Dead: RIP Arecibo
The thing about astronomy is, once you’re into it you become addicted to the utter ginormousness of it all. I guess it’s a natural thing, considering the vastness of our universe. There are amateur astronomers with 40” telescopes, maybe bigger, and guess
The Universe is not Lumpy
When I was a field rep Thanksgiving was my happy time. I planned my schedule to allow a road trip into northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana the week of Thanksgiving. OK, I know it’s just Monday through Wednesday and a lot of
Night Sky Month Success!
October was the Hill Country Alliance’s first annual Night Sky Month celebration and was so successful I know it will become a tradition. Some of the highlights: Night Sky Month Proclamations – Twenty five hill country jurisdictions, including counties (Comal county too),
There’s a Tarantula in the Sky
New Zealand is considered an astronomer’s paradise, of course when away from its few large cities, especially on the South Island. So, last year (2019) when Nancy and I made the trip I was pretty pumped. The southern hemisphere sky has treats
Discovery of the Oort Cloud
Saying discovery is premature. No one has seen an object within the Oort cloud yet so we cannot be sure it exists. The beauty of science…prediction, calculation, observation, experimentation, and continue until evidence supports or refutes the prediction, the hypothesis. The asteroid
Discovery of the Kuiper Belt
How far can you get in 43 years traveling at 38,000 miles per hour? Far enough to make it through the Kuiper belt. Both Voyagers 1 and 2 have passed through the Kuiper belt but to be clear, their trajectories took them
Discovery of the Asteroid Belt
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter, wait…what, asteroid belt? Yes, our solar system has an asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. Like detritus on the ocean shore, asteroids appear to be remnants of events that went awry. Tycho Brahe was
All That Glitters…
…is not gold. From the Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare gave us a vision that Led Zeppelin later crafted into song. Not all that glitters is gold, but what makes gold special? Part of gold’s appeal is its longevity; it stays brilliant
Night Sky Month and Bright Mars
On October 1st, The Hill Country Alliance kicked off its first annual Hill Country Night Sky Month and here are some of the activities and events planned. October 14, 1-4pm: Conservation of the Night, a virtual conference. Hosted by Hays County Master
Look at the Moon Tonight
Tonight, September 26 is International Observe the Moon Night. Just go outside and contemplate it – it’s an amazing thing. You will be seeing the same Moon as many around the world. NASA is streaming it live and NASA’s website also has
Planetary Smell Test
When I was younger a friend started a conversation about steak. He was related to the owner of a local restaurant noted for its steaks. The gist: You need to age steaks well before cooking to get the best from them, and
Planet 9 Where are You?
We’re still looking for the elusive body, we think it’s out there, lurking in the Kuiper Belt. Refresher: The Kuiper Belt is far-far away, at the edge of our solar system, composed of asteroids and some Dwarf Planets. Remember Pluto? Pluto is
A Parade of Planets
I hope you saw Mars and the Moon get close last night. It was even more spectacular if you were in mid-South America, north Africa, or southern Europe. The Moon occulted Mars from those vantage points. An occultation is basically an eclipse
Break-ups, Mergers, Re-orgs
“It’s business, not personal”- says the new VP as your entire group is eliminated from the “new company” business plan. Could be a break-up, re-organization, spin-off, maybe a merger or take-over. This is the world of business. How funny, this is how
You Don’t Miss Your Stars Until…
Nancy and I spent four days in Fort Davis last week, to celebrate my birthday. What a treat! Yeah, I know Fort Davis is a tiny town in dusty west Texas. No nightlife, and only a few restaurants. Also, unfortunately, Fort Davis
August 16, 2020 – The Sun, a Quiet Dynamo Part 2
Here we are, at the Sun’s photosphere. What a vision! Seeing it through special filters we witness a vast plum of plasma shooting up and arching back to the photosphere. A prominence! Several Earths could fit into the arch. Above us we
August 9, 2020 – The Sun, a Quiet Dynamo Part 1
Sunrise, sunset. It’s been going on for billions of years. Artists of all sorts rely on seeing and recording light. Good light is ethereal, difficult to master in art but when done well, draws us into the work. This light, this source
August 2, 2020 – Clouds in my Coffee
Maybe milk in my tea? It’s deep summertime with warm evenings and the Milky Way spilling out of the teapot. Like steam rising, the Milky Way’s presence is prominent in Sagittarius and its famous Teapot asterism. Not familiar with the Teapot? It
July 26, 2020 – Mars, a Popular Destination
Let’s go to Mars! Mars has become an important target of several nations. In 1971 the USSR became the first to successfully land a craft (Mars 3) on Mars. Its mission was cut short (lasted 14.5 seconds) by a massive dust storm,
July 19, 2020 – Great Comets
2019 and 2020 have been blessed with the presence of numerous comets. You might ask, WHERE?! Me too. Unless you have a telescope at least 8” in diameter they are just dim smudges and even in an 8” they aren’t anything to
July 12, 2020 – Sahara Dust? Try Living on Mars!
Oh, the Sahara dust plume will be mostly done by the time you read this. We had hazy skies, our allergies got pumped up, and it of course exacerbated serious respiratory health issues. Weather forecasters had a fun couple of weeks with
July 5, 2020 – Big, Bad-A$$ Stars!
In the early 20th century two astronomers separately developed diagrams to identify classes of stars based on parameters such as luminosity and surface temperature. They got together and a unified diagram, called the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram came into being. It makes a
June 28, 2020 – Winds of Pluto
Pluto, the little planet discovered at Lowell Observatory by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 and named by British schoolgirl Venetia Burney. It became our solar system’s ninth planet, yea! Pluto, the Roman mythological ruler of the underworld. Makes it seem a little creepy.
June 21, 2020 – The Night Sky is Suffering
But you can help heal it! It’s a fact, cannot be argued, the night sky above us is getting lighter and lighter. The cause is indisputable, it comes from outdoor lighting. It’s not liberal vs conservative, or my scientist says this, and
June 14, 2020 – Stellar Family Hierarchy
Like in a kinship chart, stars get placed into historical context and this helps us see how the universe progressed from the big bang. We are star stuff. Most everything around us is star stuff. Yet, stars didn’t exist until about 200
June 7, 2020 – Pick a Moon
Technically there is only one Moon, Earth’s Moon, also called Luna. Most planets have their own “Moons”, or satellites. Only Mercury and Venus are without a known satellite. Why is that? Let’s look at how planets get their satellites, their satellite’s varied
May 31, 2020 – Black Hole Nearby
There is a super massive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, a cool 25,000 light years away. I like to keep a good distance, don’t want to experience that intense amount of gravity. Get too close, past the
May 24, 2020 – How Old is That Star?
I know how old I am. Got a birth certificate. What about stars? No birth certificate with cute little footprints…do they still do that? Figuring out a star’s age is a labor of investigative science. Fortunately, we live in a time where
May 17, 2020 – Conjunctionitis…not
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, frequently called “pink eye”. Conjunctionitis (my word) is the inflammatory message sent to scare people that the next “super conjunction” will cause a major catastrophe on Earth. I give those folks the “snake-eye”. We have