Across the Universe: Friends in high places

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This entry is part 72 of 185 in the series Across the Universe

This column first appeared in The Tablet in June, 2008; we first ran it here in 2016 The Mars Phoenix mission landed successfully near the north pole of Mars [in 2008]. Even though I don’t study Mars myself, I feel a special connection because the mission is being run out of my old department at the University of Arizona. I know those guys on the TV, explaining how they’ll be digging for ice in the Martian soil. Mars wasn’t the only tourist attraction that summer. The scientists of the Cassini/Huygens Saturn probes held a team meeting in Rome in June, 2008, and two dozen of them came out to visit me at Castel Gandolfo. I showed them our telescopes and libraries and meteorite collection. Friends of mine on the team arranged the visit. Why do I have so many friends in high places? It’s just the nature of my field. There are only a few thousand professional planetary astronomers in the world. We … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 25, 2019

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This entry is part 102 of 105 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon appears in the eastern early morning sky all week. Venus appears very low in the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise all week; a very thin waning crescent Moon joins Venus on the morning of July 1st. Saturn rises shortly after sunset; Jupiter, high in the southern sky, made an exceptional observing target this last weekend at the Warren Astronomical Society’s Star Party and Open House – free to the public every 4th Saturday of the month! Early in the morning, Saturn and Jupiter are both high in the southern sky – perfect observing targets! Mercury and Mars might be a wee bit of a challenge to see low in the west-northwestern sky at dusk all week. Jupiter’s Moons After clearly seeing Jupiter’s cloud bands and moons in a very small telescope – and through the very large telescope in the Warren Astronomical Society’s Stargate Observatory this last weekend, I just could not choose a different target! Go see … Continue reading →

Symposium to Honor the Legacy of Astrophysicist Dr. Vera Rubin

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A symposium in honor of Dr. Vera Rubin is being held at Georgetown University, June 24-26, 2019. Dr. Rubin (1928-2016) was one of the most important astrophysicists of the 20th and 21st centuries. She received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1954, and pioneered the study of galaxy rotation rates that provided definitive evidence for the existence of Dark Matter. Dr. Rubin was also a fierce and effective advocate for women in science. This symposium honors her legacy by bringing together astrophysicists whose research was made possible by Dr. Rubin’s discoveries; they will discuss the latest developments in the field, and the connections with Dr. Rubin’s discoveries. Symposium organizers expect some sessions will be particularly interesting to those involved in educating the next generation of scientists and scientifically engaged citizens. Some of the lectures/discussions include: Keynote lecture by Dr. Abigail Fraeman from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory – she will discuss the exploration that she leads of the Vera Rubin … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: October 11, 1909 – Eduard Study

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This entry is part 7 of 9 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from October 11, 1909, when Eduard Study made a visit. Next to his name, Christian Hugo Eduard Study (1862-1930) wrote “Bonn a. Rh. Argelanderstr. 126” (Bonn am Rhein, Argelanderstraße 126).  He signed the guestbook again on April 10 of the following year. Eduard Study was a mathematician who made significant contributions in the field.  At the time of his visit, he was a professor of mathematics at the University of Bonn. His contributions include the associative algebra of dual quaternions, kinematics, hypercomplex numbers, and, pertaining to quantum chemistry, a theory governing the coupling of angular momenta (that also applied to electron spin couplings). At least two mathematical concepts bear his name: Study quaternions (aka semiquaternions) and the Fubini-Study metric.   … Continue reading →

Max Planck on Religion and Science

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My post from last week was about a cool entry on the Vatican Observatory—Faith and Science site about Enrico Fermi (click here for that post).  I had come across Fermi again as I was doing a periodic review of all 500 entries in the site (which I edit), looking for errors and broken links. In that same review, I came across some other cool entries regarding Max Planck.  Planck was one of the key figures in the development of quantum mechanics.  I was thinking about doing a post on these Planck entries when Fr. Kurzynski’s “Dispelling the Myth” post appeared (click here for it).  Upon reading about yet another instance of the promotion in schools of the idea that there is conflict between religion and science, and about Fr. Kurzynski’s effort to present “an image of peace between faith and science”, I decided that a focus on Planck is in order. Again, in my opinion the best material to address … Continue reading →

Cruinniu na nOg 2019 – Apollo 11 Drawing Workshop

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  Cruinniu na nOg  means the meeting of the young in the Irish language. Creative activities are funded on that special day by the local authorities all over the country. The overarching body is  called Creative Ireland. Ireland as a country therefore  backs creativity nationwide for all her children. My drawing workshop Let’s Go To The Moon – Apollo 11 became part of this government initiative to stimulate creativity. Cruinniu na nOg is aimed to encourage children to get involved in new experiences while creating and also having fun.   Castlebar Library – Cruinniu na nOg The  first venue on June 15th, was  Castlebar library Co Mayo.  A really good presentation space with enthusiastic staff to help set up. An  audience of  young children along with a few parents showed total interested in the Apollo 11 mission.  Some of the children were very well versed in Apollo mission details. It is so refreshing to listen to children talking about the … Continue reading →

Across the Universe: New Worlds

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This entry is part 24 of 185 in the series Across the Universe

First published in The Tablet in June, 2007; we published it here in 2015 In early 2007, a team lead by Stéphane Udry of the Geneva Observatory announced the discovery around the red dwarf star Gliese 581 of a planet that is only eight times the mass of Earth and about 50 per cent bigger in radius. Orbiting close to its sun, its year is less than two weeks long; but because that star is so small and dim compared to ours, temperatures on the planet should range between zero and 40 degrees Celsius (about 30 to 100 Fahrenheit). Room temperature. Water should be liquid there, perhaps covering its surface with oceans ripe for life. At least, I hope it’s covered in oceans. Swimming would be easier than walking on a planet where the gravity is three and a half times that of Earth. The star is only 20 light years away from us; robot spaceships in the next 100 years … Continue reading →

Inspiring a New Generation of Scientists and Space Explorers

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I was at STARBASE One at Selfridge Air National Guard Base on June 11 & 12, 2019 as part of their Summer Academy – I taught the students how to fly rockets in Kerbal Space Program. I created several different rockets for them to launch: a small and large sounding rocket, and a crewed sub-orbital and orbital vessel; I related the sub-orbital and orbital flights to those of Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Their first rocket was aimed down at the launchpad, so they got to see something explode! For some reason, the students seem to get a kick out of this… but it does show that rockets in KSP can crash. When the students launched sounding rockets, I mentioned the Keweenaw Rocket Range; Michigan launched its first sounding rocket into space on Jan. 29, 1971! My wife and I visited the launchpad in 2016. When I showed the students how orbits are raised, a common comment was “that’s weird!” Yup! Orbital mechanics sure … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 18, 2019

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This entry is part 101 of 105 in the series In the Sky This Week

Mercury and Mars almost appear to be almost touching low in the west-northwestern sky at dusk on June 18th – don’t miss this conjunction! By next week the two planets will have drifted apart. Venus appears very low in the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise all week. The Moon appears between Saturn and Jupiter in the southern sky on June 18th; on June 19th, the Moon appears very near Saturn. Conjunction of Mercury and Mars As I was writing this, I posted my Mercury-Mars conjunction image from above on Twitter; I noticed a couple different versions of the same image – that kinda settled it as the observing target of the week! Mercury passes 12' from Mars today at 18UT/2 PM EDT in the closest naked eye planet vs. planet conjunction for 2019 – the view tonight at dusk looking west: pic.twitter.com/CabfT1u3n3 — Dave Dickinson (@Astroguyz) June 18, 2019 The Moon is a waning gibbous, just past full – rising … Continue reading →

Easter and Avengers End Game: A Reflection On Time, Power, and Scapegoating.

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One of the understandable occupational hazard that can greatly increase the stress of a Catholic priest is Easter. Amid the culmination of Lent, the spiritual and emotional power of Holy Week, the joy of Easter Sunday, First Communion, Confirmation, and St. Olaf’s parish festival, my time has been rather crunched, but in a good, fruitful way! Many approach Easter as a day and for understandable reasons. Between Easter sales in stores, Easter Egg Hunts, and grown adults who dress up in a bunny costume (kindof odd when you think about it), Easter is a feast that the broader culture has turned into a day of chocolate, chocolate… and a lot more chocolate! For Christians who observe a liturgical calendar,  Easter is not only a day of celebration but a season. The lead-up to Easter is the 40 day period (give or take a couple days) of Lent. The symbolic understanding of this time is multilayered, symbolizing the 40 days Jesus … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: June 5, 1909 – George Ellery Hale

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This entry is part 6 of 9 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from June 5, 1909, when George E. Hale made a visit. Next to his name, George Ellery Hale (1868-1938) wrote “Mt. Wilson Solar Observatory, California.” The year prior to his visit, he used the Zeeman effect–(see the previous post on H. A. Lorentz)–to discover magnetic fields in sunspots. He also found that, between sunspot cycles, the magnetic polarity of fields through sunspots in northern vs southern hemisphere switches orientation – what is today known as Hale’s Law (or the Hale-Nicholson Law). In 1913, Hale advised Albert Einstein of the possibility of observing the effects of general relativity on starlight passing near the Sun, which he suggested might be possible during a total solar eclipse.  This led to the eclipse observing expeditions of Arthur … Continue reading →

ⓜ Why Br Guy is home in bed, exhausted… Diary of 15 June, 2019

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This entry is part 42 of 43 in the series Diary

It’s no joke, alas; I am under doctor’s orders to stay home, and go to bed when I am tired (which is most of the time), after having cancelled half of my events scheduled for June. That, under the orders of several friends who are doctors and several other friends who are genuine and certified Jewish Mothers! First, the business: I did a brief update in May showing 129 subscribers and on April 16 we had a reach of 8465 readers. Well, as of today, we have 131 paid subscribers and 8701 people who get notified of new postings. We continue to grow, but not nearly fast enough to keep us in business. Please tell more people about our site; and if you can, please subscribe at a rate of $10 a month (that’s two visits to Dunkin Donuts for me) or $100 per year. That’s also no joke. As for the exhaustion… read on! Let’s just outline what I’ll … Continue reading →