Tag Archives: Earth

International Observe the Moon Night

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Saturday September 26th InOMN 2020 In this very difficult year, the world needs global cooperation however small to help us cope with life. Every country on the planet is affected by the pandemic and its spiralling destruction of normality. International Observe the Moon night has a part to play even if it is considered tiny. The moon does not care about anything, it is a spherical rock in space.It is battered by impacts and scared by its journey to be our only moon. However, when most people look at the moon they are warmed by its beauty in the night sky. Its dark surface manages to reflect the light of the sun very well indeed. Our moon deals out its nearside face in increasing slivers as it waxes toward full every month of our lives. Moon Humans Our moon represents the only other body in space where humans have walked. Moments in time that have genuinely united world in awe. … Continue reading →

Mars Earth Merge Painting

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When I first saw this image I thought it looked like petrified trees dotting the surface of Mars. Likewise the image could be  microscopic hairs on strange skin:-) However this amazing image is, in fact, a photograph which shows dark sand emerging on the surface of the red planet. This is  as a consequence of some of the ice-covered dunes melting in the warmth of spring sunshine. This classic view of Mars was taken by HiRISE one of the most incredible cameras working in space. The camera rides onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It subsequently produces feasts of data and true beauty to share with all of us.  A little Mars chat Earlier this  week I found a lovely NASA poster in my outreach box. It compares Mars to Earth in their similarities and differences. My grandson was fascinated by both planets even though he is only 3 and a half. We had a great chat about it all. As a … Continue reading →

Rainbow Challenge

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Normal Just a few weeks ago I was lamenting ( in this blog) the fact that I had nothing to offer an annual Irish creative festival. Cruinniu na nOg (The meeting of the Young). This is a free festival for children and young people all over Ireland. Last year I was in libraries in Castlebar Co Mayo with my workshops Lets Go to the Moon. The previous year I was in Birr Library Co Offaly with Stars Wonderful Stars. They were actual workshops with lots of children, pre COVID 19 when face to face was normal. New normal I decided almost as I was writing that blog to try to make a video which might be relevant. My idea was based on the fact that children have been drawing and painting rainbows as a response to the COVID 19 crisis. A lot of rainbow hugs for healthcare workers. So I figured maybe a little knowledge about how rainbows come about … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – December 31, 2019

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This entry is part 130 of 165 in the series In the Sky This Week

By mid-February 2020, I will be a grandparent! Thoughts of what the world might be like when my granddaughter is an adult naturally come to mind. What new things will astronomers have discovered in the cosmos? What new inventions will change society forever, again? I also have to give a thought to my granddaughter’s quality of life, and in this I have to admit to no small amount of trepidation… Before I started writing this post, I was collecting notes about what I wanted to discuss – the list of topics grew WAY past my expectations, and needs to be an article all by itself. Many, but not all of the topics relate to pollution in its various forms: microplastics, air pollution, light/electromagnetic pollution, compromised city water systems, PFAS, space junk – the list goes on and on… Let me condense all those notes into one single question: Do you believe humanity is acting as adequate stewards of this Earth, … Continue reading →

Eratosthenes Experiment – September 24, 2018

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Teachers! Take note! Have your students take part in the Eratosthenes Experiment – Sept. 24, 2018! Eratosthenes was a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist who lived in ancient Greece. In 240 B.C. Eratosthenes made the first good measurement of the size of Earth’s circumference. You can join with classrooms around the world and repeat his experiment with your students! The Experiment: Ask your students to calculate the circumference of the Earth and submit your data to the experiment’s website. Find the time of your local noon at your location. Please use the web-based NOAA Solar Calculator or Solar Calculator or the Stellarium software (A short guide for using Stellarium to calculate your local noon at your location can be found here in English and in Italian). Take a one-meter stick (H= 1 meter, see figure below) and place it vertically to the ground. Ask your students to measure the length of the stick to make sure it is one meter long. At the time scheduled to conduct the experiment, … Continue reading →

California Wildfires: Reports of “Weird Skies” and a Red Gibbous Moon

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Last Friday evening, the western Michigan sky had a very unsettling hue to it. It had been cloud-covered and raining all day, but instead of typical shades of gray and red-orange of sunset, the sky was a sickly yellow. “That’s not right” I said, staring at it in confusion. Trails of smoke and carbon monoxide from massive wildfires in California have drifted eastward across the U.S., one branch moving toward Texas and the other forking toward upper Michigan and Canada. Carbon monoxide is a pollutant that can persist in the atmosphere for several weeks, and be transported long distances; it plays a role in both air pollution and climate change. There are several photos online showing an orange-red first-quarter Moon – which is just WRONG! A couple friends said they saw this… all I’ve seen for days is clouds and haze. The Blood Red Moon fighting her way through the Forest Fire Smoke and Haze in our Calgary sky last night. … Continue reading →

Does Studying the Universe Change Your Perspective of the Environment Around You?

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An 8th grader doing a research project on astronomy recently emailed the Warren Astronomical Society asking “Does studying the universe change your perspective of the environment around you?” In this post, I expand upon the response I wrote back to that student.   Absolutely it does! Astronomy and cosmology are enormously wide fields of study, encompassing everything from quantum mechanics down at the sub-atomic level, to the interactions of (as of yet) unseen dark matter on the large-scale structure of the universe. Climate studies Studying how gases in Earth’s atmosphere and liquid in the oceans reflect and adsorb light, and radiate heat is but a small part of understanding how Earth’s climate functions and can change over time. The same principles used to study the Earth’s atmosphere can be applied to the atmospheres of other worlds; Venus is an example of a “runaway greenhouse effect,” and should be viewed as a cautionary tale for Earth’s ever increasing CO2 level (410.31 parts per … Continue reading →

Earth’s Drifting Magnetic North Pole

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It’s been known for quite some time that the Earth’s magnetic poles are not aligned with the Earth’s geographic poles, and that the Earth’s magnetic poles drift over time. In 2018, the north magnetic and geographic poles are closer then they have ever been… well… since we’ve been observing them – only 390km! This tweet from BBC Science Corespondent Jonathan Amos caught my eye: Most people know that the magnetic north pole is not at the geographic north pole. It’s drifting away from Canada towards Russia at a rate of 55km/yr. BUT, this year, the magnetic pole is closest to the geo pole. A separation of just 390km. @ESA_EO #Swarm #EGU18 pic.twitter.com/lxM1PXW1Jf — Jonathan Amos (@BBCAmos) April 10, 2018 I didn’t recognize the hash-tags at the end of Jonathan’s tweet, so I looked them up – which sent me down an hour-long rabbit hole: @ESA_EO refers to the ESA EarthObservation twitter account. They seem to be doing a lot of education and outreach… I … Continue reading →