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Bob Trembley

About Bob Trembley

Bob is a lifelong amateur astronomer, and the 2019 outreach officer for the Warren Astronomical Society, and a volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador. Bob does a lot of astronomy outreach - he lectures about astronomy and space science, and sets up his telescopes at schools, planetariums, conventions, and other venues. From 2014-2016, he was the editor of the Warren Astronomical Society's newsletter.

Bob is fantastically interested in asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), and a HUGE fan of Kerbal Space Program; he is determined to improve the teaching of astronomy and Space History throughout Michigan, and the U.S. Follow Bob on Twitter, Facebook, The Web, and YouTube.

In the Sky This Week – May 12, 2020

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This entry is part 147 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

When it comes to astronomy, asteroids are pretty much my favorite subject; the Sun comes in #2 by a wide margin. I have a presentation about the Sun that I’ve given numerous times – I’m modifying it to present remotely to my wife’s middle-school science students, and creating a worksheet based on my presentation. Here’s me giving my Sun presentation to the Warren Astronomical Society before the total solar eclipse of 2017: I’ve also suggested to my wife that she show the following videos to her science students: Mars continues to pull away from Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern predawn sky; the Moon joins the early morning planets from May 12-15th. Mercury appears low on the northwestern horizon at sunset this week. Venus appears a bit lower each evening on the northwestern horizon after sunset.  Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) will be north of Venus and the star Capella, but may require binoculars or a telescope to see.   The Moon … Continue reading →

The Great Debate of 1920

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The beginning of the 20th century saw several occurrences that had a profound effect on the field of astronomy: worldwide construction of large and complex telescopes designed specifically for photographic imaging; the on-going Carte du Ciel international astronomical project, with the Vatican Observatory contributing thousands of photographic plates; Albert Einstein and his theories of special relativity, published in 1905, and general relativity in 1915 – forever changing the way we look at the cosmos; women acting as human “computers” who took part in several great astronomical discoveries, many only recently receiving the credit they are due. Exactly a hundred years ago, in the 1920s, the size of the universe was a major source of debate among astronomers. At the time, it was unknown if there was only one galaxy, and if the “spiral nebulae” astronomers had cataloged resided within that galaxy, or if they were many galaxies in their own right – much farther away. The debate brought into focus … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 5, 2020

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This entry is part 146 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

Libraries across the U.S. are looking for online presentations by NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors and NASA Night Sky Network members; my wife is having me give my presentation about the Sun (and possibly a tour of the solar system using SpaceEngine) to her science classes using Google Hangouts Meet. If you are an astronomy presenter and you have the equipment to present remotely, you may want to contact libraries and schools in your area to see if they would like you to do an online presentation. Mars continues to pull away from Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern predawn sky; the Moon joins the early morning planets at the beginning of next week. Venus appears a bit lower each evening at dusk in the western sky. Early next week, comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) will be in the same general region of the sky as Venus, however it will probably not be as spectacular as the depiction in the image below. … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 30, 2020

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This entry is part 145 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

I’ve been having a pretty rough time since the recent loss of my brother – thank you for the kind thoughts. I’ve been an avid computer gamer ever since the first computer games existed; I’ve recently started playing No Man’s Sky, a futuristic space exploration and survival game with more worlds than I could explore in my lifetime – it’s providing the distraction my mind needs right now. The conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the southeastern predawn sky – Mars has pulled far away from Saturn and Jupiter. Venus appears in the western sky at dusk accompanied by Betelgeuse and Capella. The Moon appears between the stars Regulus and Pollux high in the southwestern sky after sunset on April 30th, and very near the star Regulus on May 1st. The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first quarter Moon occurs on May 1st, it will be visible high in the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 21, 2020

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This entry is part 144 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

I lost my brother Victor to COVID-19 on April 12th. Please, everyone take precautions and stay safe! The triple-planet conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the southeastern predawn sky. Venus, Aldebaran and Rigel form a temporary triangle asterism in the western sky at dusk. The Moon appears near Aldebaran on the evening of April 25th, and near Venus the next evening. The star Vega and the constellation Lyra appear above the northeastern horizon at midnight. The Moon is a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise. The new Moon occurs on April 23rd. After April 23rd, the Moon will be a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. Moon News Made in isolation, depicting isolation. Here's how Earth looks from the Moon & how Moon looks from Earth, April 2020: showing accurate phases and rotations. CGI based on real NASA imagery, lunar topography (exaggerated for fun), using NASA data (see it 4K https://t.co/EQ2fdR0u95) pic.twitter.com/YwO6GG5B4D … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 7, 2020

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This entry is part 143 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

Last night, I gave the featured presentation during the Warren Astronomical Society’s online WebEx/YouTube meeting: The Challenges of Interstellar Travel. I cannot believe how much I learned putting this presentation together; honestly, there’s probably weeks more research I could do, and papers I could read. I discussed sending small probes and giant generation ships to the stars, and the enormous amount of energy, resources and manufacturing it would require. I talked about physical and mental problems related to space travel, and what it would take to keep humans alive during an interstellar voyage. I concluded my presentation suggesting maybe we should make sure all the life-support systems are functioning properly on the generation ship we all share, and are travelling through interstellar space aboard. The NASA at Home page has links to lots of online NASA resources for things to do at home – here’s a couple: Space Place parents and educators page: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/parents-and-educators/ Solar System Exploration’s 10+ things: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1192/10-things-to-do-with-nasa-at-home/ NASA … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 31, 2020

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This entry is part 142 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

A three-planet conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the early morning southeastern sky; Mars passes very close to Saturn on March 31st, and by the start of next week will be well beyond Saturn. Venus is high in the western sky well after sunset; each evening, Venus will move a bit upwards towards the Pleiades star cluster, until it appears to be part of the cluster itself on the evening of April 6th!   The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first-quarter Moon occurs on April 1st, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening. After April 1st the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night. Apollo 8 and 13 – Jim Lovell at 92 Happy Birthday Captain James Lovell 92 today! A former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Naval captain who made historic … Continue reading →

Fr. George Coyne “Virtual” Memorial

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We’ve already collected more than a dozen remembrances from people who knew and worked with Fr. Coyne on our Fr. Coyne memorial page. Many have mentioned what a wonderful person he was, how much they enjoyed working and talking with him. If you have memories of Fr. Coyne you’d like to share, please use this form. We’re about 20% of the way to our fundraising goal – thank you to everyone who has donated! Donations to the Fr. Coyne memorial fund are still being accepted, and will go towards the creation of a book with a selection of Fr. Coyne’s writings and the remembrances posted on our site. We were planning on having a memorial gathering for George at the University of Arizona back on St. Patrick’s day, but alas the coronavirus led to the shutdown of the University, so that event has been postponed at least until the fall. Meanwhile, however, Br. Guy has created a video to show at … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 24, 2020

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This entry is part 141 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife and I have finished moving out of our home of 22 years, and are now living in her parent’s basement; we were planning on taking our time looking for a new home, but with Michigan on COVID-19 lock-down, any home-hunting plans have gone out the window. My wife’s school is having teachers interact with students via Google Classroom, and the Warren Astronomical Society held their first online “virtual meeting.” I saw a comment on a Solar System Ambassador (SSA) forum that the greatly increased streaming activity is putting a lot of pressure on the internet. In one SSA’s community, she could not connect to Skype or Facebook Live because of internet congestion. With so many communities going to telework, tele-education, etc. and also streaming HD video around the clock, the internet is very congested on a limited bandwidth. Some people cannot stream a doctor’s appointment; some doctors cannot get pages to load to refill much needed prescriptions. For … Continue reading →

Visit NASA’s Space Place YouTube Channel

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NASA’s Space Place just updated their YouTube channel so you have a one stop shop for over 100 NASA videos at home via thematic playlists. You can use this link: https://www.youtube.com/user/nasaspaceplace?app=desktop, or watch the videos in the gallery below. Launched in 1998, NASA Space Place’s mission is to inspire and enrich upper-elementary-aged kids’ learning of space and Earth science online through fun games, hands-on activities, informative articles and engaging short videos. With material in both English and Spanish and resources for parents and teachers, NASA Space Place has something for everyone. Visit the Space Place website: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ Follow the Space Place on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nasaspaceplace Follow the Space Place on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nasaspaceplace Space Place YouTube Channel:

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In the Sky This Week – March 10, 2020

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This entry is part 140 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

Times are interesting for me right now – we’re packing to move out of our home of 22 years; the big stuff is all in storage, and there are only a couple rooms left to go. The house echoes, and my poor parrots are confused… My granddaughter is a month old, and visits frequently, I’ve got a bit yet to do for taxes, and I’m working on a presentation about interstellar travel for the Warren Astronomical Society… and I keep getting distracted by all the cool things I keep finding – like a paper about suspended animation research being done for Mars missions. The three planets in the early morning southeastern sky are a bit closer than last week – Mars will appear much closer to Jupiter by week’s end. The Moon appears high in the southeastern sky at midnight on March 10th. On March 12th, the Moon appears above the horizon near the star Spica. The Moon joins the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 3, 2020

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This entry is part 139 of 158 in the series In the Sky This Week

Yesterday, I gave the “In the News / In the Sky” presentation at the meeting of the Warren Astronomical Society – how convenient that all the news I covered, and all the images I created for that presentation would appear today’s post! Early-risers continue to have Saturn, Jupiter and Mars to observe above the southeastern horizon. The waxing gibbous Moon appears near the constellation Orion high in the southern sky on March 3rd. On March 5th, the Moon appears near the star Pollux. The Moon appears near the star Regulus on March 7th.   The Moon is currently a waxing gibbous, one day past first quarter – it will be visible to the southeast in early evening, and be up for most of the night. The Full Moon occurs on March 9th – rising at sunset, visible high in the sky around midnight, and up all night. Moon News: NASA is Accepting Astronaut Applications Want to go to the moon? NASA … Continue reading →