Big brains, small brains, no brains. . . it's your call!

“People are not prepared for this discussion,” Dr. Linde said. Now THAT I can agree with . . . but everything else in this fascinating article in today's New York Times leaves my head spinning. I don't know if...

Size 'em up!

Dave Buhrman just sent me a wonderful link to a site that does an excellent job of comparing the sizes of the planets, Sun, and other stars. Of course anyone can do this - but not everyone can do it...

Epi, epi, epicycles!

Boy if you ever wondered about those crazy epicycles that folks had so much trouble explaining when they assumed we were the center of the solar system (universe?) and not the Sun, take a look at this Astronomy Picture of...

Where we were November 11, 2006

I love trying to get a grip on reality - and it's not easy when it comes to looking at the sky from the perspective we get on the surface of this tiny planet. Really understanding what we are seeing...

No house burning, but . . .

As I've said before, "The Star Splitter" by Robert Frost is a favorite poem of mine and many amateur astronomers, not only because it captures the wonder of starry nights, but because it captures the obsession – and the pressure...

Going beyond "wow!"

I was asked to deliver the "mesage" - sermon - at Allen's Neck Friends Meeting Sunday on the broad subject of space. I wrote it out - then delivered as much of it as I could in an informal manner,...

Twinkle, twinkle little nuclear explosion

I had a father and his10-year-old son come for their first visit to the Observatory yesterday and this time I think I started them off right. I’ve learned a lot during this first year of public observing sessions and...

Do you see what I see!

The Orion Nebula as only Hubble can see it - the image is another reality in itself. “The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again.” J. Krishnamurti One...

Hey, Einstein! I understand!

So – for a good deal of my first 64 years I have been trying to understand relativity, special and general. I know it’s not supposed to make intuitive sense, but it should make some sense. And there have...

Me, you, and the universe

I’ve been following the debate about visual observing vs various form of imaging on various online discussion lists. I’m a dedicated visual observer, but I have the greatest admiration for those doing asronomical imaging today and do not see...

Awe, awareness, and astronomy – or why I look at the night sky

I am inspired by what Einstein said many years ago: Sadly, many of the people I meet appear dead – they go busily about their lives with their eyes closed and they will go to their graves having never lived....