children - Sacred Space Astronomy

Ultima Thule – resistance is futile

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Deirdre KelleghanNovember 9, 2018

During World Space Week I was invited to do my workshop Pluto WOW !!! for a small group of children . I put the workshop together in order to highlight the incredible images sent back by the New Horizons Spacecraft. This year it was impossible to resist including Ultima Thule the new flyby target of New Horizons. Pluto WOW ! When I was a child there were nine planets in the solar system , that was my reality. Pluto being the farthest planet was almost a myth as there were no proper images of it for many years. The Hubble Space Telescope wonderful as it is only managed unclear nondescript photographs. When New Horizons left Earth to flyby Pluto it was still a proper member of the planet family. Along that journey the status of Pluto was altered forever, when it was demoted to being merely a dwarf planet. New Horizons continued its pioneering journey to discover what Pluto … Continue reading →

Hymns of Faith and Science

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Br. Guy ConsolmagnoMay 29, 2017

A few years ago, I gave an astronomy-themed retreat in the UK and among those attending was Trevor Thorn, who among other things writes hymns. He shared a few of his astronomy-themed hymns with me. Now, I’ll be honest, I find most such mash-ups tend to be pretty cringe-worthy. So I was all the more surprised to read his; they were very good… as you can see, on his blog site, The Cross and the Cosmos. (Which also includes a lot of other faith/astronomy themed art.) One particular bunch were written with kids in mind, and they’re quite fun. He’s “test-run” some of his songs with local church schools in Cambridge. Here’s a short video about that effort: … Continue reading →

Christopher M. Graney October 16, 2019 at 10:22 am on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItThanks for the comments. A funny thing happened at the observatory: the ISS did not show up. A visitor there had an app on his phone, and that app did not show the ISS as passing by Saturn. I later went back to Stellarium, and Stellarium did not show the...
Jim Cook October 12, 2019 at 12:06 pm on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItTwenty years ago, give or take, I had my telescope set up for a stargazing program at my local park. Earlier in the day, I had checked to see if there would be any bright satellites passing overhead. Back then, before there were satellite pass web sites like heavens-above.com, I...
Ed Yepez October 11, 2019 at 9:46 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I have enjoyed John Scalzi's work, but I must admit I would not recognize him. Let me know if you ever attend an orthodontic meeting. They won't know me either, but it would definitely encourage me to attend! The motion of planets and teeth?
Tracy Lunquist October 11, 2019 at 1:19 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I've had dinner with Buzz Aldrin -- a long-time friend of mine was dating him for a little while (yes, you can imagine my reaction to hearing that little tidbit of news). He is certainly a unique character, and I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him. But indeed, of...
Christopher M. Graney October 4, 2019 at 10:34 am on ‘Hot Jupiter’ Exoplanet Found with 18-Hour OrbitWow. Do we know *anything* about planet formation any more? Obviously, everything I was ever taught has turned out to be WRONG. This is such a cool area of discovery.
Robert Macke September 23, 2019 at 4:53 pm on Specola Guestbook: June 20, 1910 – Arthur L. DayEd Lindgren: Thank you for the correction and the additional information. It is nice to know that readers take an interest in this column. And there are more geologists/geophysicists yet to come!
Ed Lindgren September 22, 2019 at 12:41 pm on Specola Guestbook: June 20, 1910 – Arthur L. DayBr. Macke - Nice to see a geologist/geophysicist get recognition as a VO visitor. Just want to clarify the the Wollaston Medal is the highest award of the Geological Society of London. The first recipient was William "Strata" Smith, who received the Wollaston Medal in 1831 for surveying and preparing...
Tim Williams September 19, 2019 at 12:08 pm on Across the Universe: New Heavens, New EarthYou need to read the sacred hieroglyphs using the true decipherment of electricity into ancient scripture. Once you have deciphered positive and negative charge, the animals and plants explain how God powers the heavens. See my website GodElectric [dot] org for the answers ...
Christopher M. Graney September 11, 2019 at 10:56 am on The Lion King’s SkyThanks for the link to the star atlas. And yes, I see much as you do. An even bigger beef is how the sky in the image above is an almost uniform see of faint (but not-that-faint) stars. It is as if the entire sky is the Milky Way. (I...
Br. Guy Consolmagno September 9, 2019 at 5:14 am on ⓜ Million Miles Away… Diary of 8 September, 2019I had already posted this before I realized it was September 9 already! Well, I did write most of it the day before...
Jim Cook September 7, 2019 at 8:47 am on The Lion King’s SkyI have not seen the Lion King, so I will have to take your word for the other problems you've raised, but as far as recognizable constellations go, the night sky in the screen shot you've provided is kind of, somewhat accurate ... sort of. The four brightest stars in...
Br. Guy Consolmagno September 2, 2019 at 4:04 am on Specola Guestbook: May 4, 1910 – van de Sande BakhuyzenComet Biela was an important link in our understanding of the connection between comets and meteors. I wrote a chapter about this in a book published many years ago called "Cosmic Pinball"... here's the highlights: In 1772, the French astronomer Montagne had discovered a faint comet. It never grew bright...
Richard Hill August 31, 2019 at 12:30 am on Across the Universe: Clouds from Both SidesGuess I'll quit complaining about our monsoon weather!
Bob Prokop August 24, 2019 at 10:50 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceOh, I am far from defending the objection. Just reporting that I come across it all too often. My most effective defense against the idea that you can't be both interested in science and believe in God is, believe it or not, myself. As an amateur astronomer (I prefer stargazer),...
Christopher M. Graney August 24, 2019 at 9:16 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceTwo comments re Bob K's remark: 1) From my work, I find that such lists are of value to believers, who fear that science as it is portrayed today excludes them. Seeing that "people like them" made great contributions to science helps in this regard. And it then follows that...
Tina Graney August 24, 2019 at 8:59 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceJocelyn Bell Burnell is an example of a contemporary scientist of faith. Not to mention all of the scientists who are not listed, but are working at the Vatican Observatory right now!
Bob Prokop August 24, 2019 at 7:26 am on Caucasus triangleGreat image! My personal favorite Lunar mountains are the Montes Spitzbergen, on the floor of the Mare Imbrium. Especially when they're just emerging into the sunlight, surrounded by a pool of black. Pure magic!
Bob Prokop August 24, 2019 at 7:19 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceSuch lists, as wonderful as they are, generally do not impress nonbelievers (at least, not the ones I know personally), because they are primarily composed of people from past centuries. The usual answer I get when bringing up Copernicus or Secchi or Mendel, etc., is "Well, of course they were...
Ed Yepez August 24, 2019 at 6:23 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceGreat observations from an educators view! My impression so far, whether talking to Atheist or Young Earth Creationist, is that they wish to set up boundaries between science and religion (I probably do it too unconsciously!) in order to organize knowledge/ideas in both fields. But then I feel like I...
Fr. James Kurzynski August 14, 2019 at 4:33 am on What Was Your Experience Of Apollo 11?Incredible and personal response Jim! Thank you for sharing this. I completely forgot about the other "Summer of 69" events that made that summer truly historic for US history.