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ⓜ Diary for February 11, 2019

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Br. Guy ConsolmagnoFebruary 11, 2019

This entry is part 36 of 36 in the series Diary

(ⓜ = members only!) This week… a trip to Boston, with my immediate schedule, and a sneak peek of a coming big deal, for members only… I am on the train from Boston to Philadelphia as I write this. On Monday afternoon I am speaking at Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania (free admission but register online), then Tuesday I head back to Boston for talks at Harvard on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday finds me at the great Boston science fiction convention, Boskone: My Schedule for Boskone 56: My Favorite World 15 Feb 2019, Friday 18:00 – 18:50, Burroughs (Westin) What fictional (or nonfictional) world would you most like to visit? Or inhabit? What makes it particularly attractive to you? Our panelists join in a lively, fun discussion of what it takes to become a preferred planet — and whether or not we need an escape plan to get back. Why do/don’t all our choices measure up? … Continue reading →

Christopher M. Graney February 18, 2019 at 8:20 am on Navigating the Fourth Day of Creation by means of Jupiter’s MoonsYes, minutes mattered. The effect of the speed of light was only a few minutes, but they noticed it.
Richard Saam February 17, 2019 at 3:38 pm on Navigating the Fourth Day of Creation by means of Jupiter’s MoonsChristopher, It is interesting to note the coordinate change between Tycho Brahe Observatory (Ven) 55.9082° N, 12.6956° E and Paris, France 48.8566° N, 2.3522° E Therefore the longitude change is 12.6956° - 2.3522° = 10.3434° Given that 15° (360°/24) of longitude is 1 hour then Tycho Brahe Observatory and Paris,...
Bill Mullin February 14, 2019 at 7:28 am on Fond Memories of the Vatican ObservatoryBeautiful tribute.
Jeff Renner February 13, 2019 at 10:58 pm on Global Vs. Local Perspective. The Difficulties In Helping People Understand Climate Change.The examples offered are very helpful. The power of story and metaphor also can be useful. Three I've used (as a meteorologist called to talk about climate change)...include 'hey, it's dark at night, how can I be sure the sun will return?'...or 'I still have checks in my checkbook, how...
Richard Saam February 12, 2019 at 11:47 am on ⓜ Diary for February 11, 2019Br Guy, Ultima Thule will surely be addressed 15-16 Feb. Alan Stern addresses the latest in arXiv:1901.02578 [pdf] astro-ph.EP Overview of initial results from the reconnaissance flyby of a Kuiper Belt planetesimal: 2014 MU69. The 15.9 hour rotation is most interesting having the characteristic of the quantum mechanical rigid rotor...
Fr. James Kurzynski February 12, 2019 at 3:30 am on Global Vs. Local Perspective. The Difficulties In Helping People Understand Climate Change.That is a brilliant insight! And in language that can resonate with many I know in Wisconsin! I'll have to put this into a future presentation. Thank you!
Richard Saam February 11, 2019 at 7:54 pm on Global Vs. Local Perspective. The Difficulties In Helping People Understand Climate Change.The Wisconsin extreme colds do not negate climate change. Think of our atmosphere as a heat engine analogous to a car engine. The difference between a hot(say burning gasoline) and cold(the radiator cooler) drive a car. The greater the hot-cold difference, the more available energy to do work(go 100 mph...
Fr. James Kurzynski February 11, 2019 at 4:23 pm on Global Vs. Local Perspective. The Difficulties In Helping People Understand Climate Change.Steve. I love your example! I'll have to see if I can incorporate this into a presentation sometime in the future! Keep the ideas coming!
Steven Lanoux February 11, 2019 at 3:17 pm on Global Vs. Local Perspective. The Difficulties In Helping People Understand Climate Change.Father, the same thing happens to us in the Rio Grande Valley, so don't disparage your folks in Wisconsin. The data does not lie; people do (aka, "The Administration"). Deniers cannot change the facts. Species of animals and plants that were only rarely seen north of Central Mexico are now...
Br. Guy Consolmagno February 11, 2019 at 10:14 am on Across the Universe: Stories of the BeltI know I was taken out to see Sputnik but to be honest the first satellite I actually remember was Echo I, in 1960, which was much brighter! (For those of you too young to remember... Echo was a giant inflated ball of aluminum foil that was designed to passively...
Bob Prokop February 7, 2019 at 9:43 am on Across the Universe: Stories of the BeltHah! It seems that you and I are almost the same age. I was also just 5 years old when Explorer 1 went into orbit. In fact, it is the very first "news" memory I have. (I have no memory of Sputnik 1.) I can still recall the headline and...
Fr. James Kurzynski February 5, 2019 at 11:56 am on Lost in Cyberspace! Or at Least on the Arizona 101 Loop.Thanks Jeff! It was a joy to get to know all of you. I LOVE the quote, "People will not conserve what they do not love..." I'll need to steal that for a future post!
Jeff Renner February 5, 2019 at 11:07 am on Lost in Cyberspace! Or at Least on the Arizona 101 Loop.Father James; My thanks for all you did to make FAW 2019 so memorable; certainly the very special Mass you celebrated under the night sky in the Arizona desert, but also the gentle and insightful perspectives you provided. A question-if my memory serves me correct, you had mentioned something about...
Fr. James Kurzynski February 4, 2019 at 1:59 pm on It’s Ultimately About Relationship – A Brief Reflection On FAW2019Thanks Chris! And thank you for a wonderful presentations at FAW2019! From my ministerial work, what I hear in your students is what I call the "myth of certitude." The student who is trying to affirm God doesn't exist is trying to find the skeleton key they presume science possesses...
Fernando Comeron February 2, 2019 at 4:57 am on Fond Memories of the Vatican ObservatoryChris, another nice article of yours. To reinforce your impression in its last sentence, I remember a conversation at VOSS'90 with Bob Garrison (1936-2017) in which he also talked about himself as a quaker. You can read more about Bob, his passion for his work and his outstanding personality at...
Christopher M. Graney January 30, 2019 at 1:30 pm on It’s Ultimately About Relationship – A Brief Reflection On FAW2019>We discussed how the strongest bridge between faith and science >is not a series of apologetic arguments, but people who are >searching for truth and meaning. In that exploration, we can >either strive for a relationship of honesty, transparency, and >charity or continue the unfortunate culture of distrust that has...
Bob Trembley January 21, 2019 at 4:59 am on ⓜ This week at the Specola, 20 Jan 2019Awwww, Br. Guy! People were asking... a lot... where you found me? =Gulp!= I suppose it depends on the inflection of the asker: "Where did you find HIM?" -vs- "Where did you FIND him?" I got SO many nice comments from attendees of the FAW, it's seriously going to give...
Jim Cook January 12, 2019 at 8:32 pm on ⓜ This week at the Specola (ⓜ = members only!)" Over the next couple of months we'll try out various kinds of content, to see which ones are most popular with our members." I have an idea -- let alumni of the Faith and Astronomy Workshops submit posts. Obviously, there would have to be some guidelines, but it would...
Bob Trembley January 11, 2019 at 2:13 am on China Lands Probe on Moon’s Far SideThanks! :)
Br. Guy Consolmagno January 8, 2019 at 2:08 am on Across the Universe: Looking overheadClaudio Costa replied to one of your updates: From Claudio Costa: "Hi Guy, thanks for putting my picture of Orion and the Pleiades above the Schmidt dome into your last post on The Catholic Astronomer. It would have been worth to mention, in my opinion, that the picture was taken...

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ⓜ Diary for February 11, 2019