Archives for April 2009
A timely novel
Published on 29 Apr 2009 at 4:05 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under science fiction.
I am a big science fiction fan. A couple of months ago, I was visiting a bookstore just down the road from where I live. I ran across an interesting book that I got around to reading a couple weeks ago. The book was called The Patron Saint of Plagues by […]
100th Carnival of Space
Published on 28 Apr 2009 at 2:11 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under blogging.
The Carnival of Space is now in its 100th edition. This week’s carnival is being hosted by the One-Minute Astronomer. So, be sure to go check out the blog entries collected for this week.
-Astroprof
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Occultation Photographs
Published on 27 Apr 2009 at 7:08 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under astrophotography.
Last week, I wrote about the occultation of Venus. You can read that posting to find out more about the event. I got several comments on the posting. One reader, Phillip Uttz took some photos of the event. He emailed them to me and said that I could post them, but I was at the […]
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Earth Day
Published on 22 Apr 2009 at 1:57 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Earth, politics.
April 22 is Earth Day. The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. I was in school at the time. Earth Day had been announced nearly a year earlier. There were plans laid for teaching about ecology, protection of the environment, energy conservation, etc. We had an aluminum recycling […]
Occultation of Venus
Published on 21 Apr 2009 at 3:20 pm.
7 Comments.
Filed under observing, skywatching.
On Wednesday morning, the Moon will appear to pass in front of the planet Venus for some observers on Earth. Whenever the Moon (or some other astronomical body) passes in front of another body, we call it an occultation. This lunar occultation of Venus will be technically visible for many North American observers, […]
Star Parties and Weather
Published on 19 Apr 2009 at 1:27 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under skywatching.
Last night was my binocular astronomy star party. This was a little different than most of my star parties in that the pre-observing lecture was a little more academic than most. The interpretive ranger at the park had asked for a binocular astronomy program that was sort of like a beginner’s class. […]
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The Mercury Seven
Published on 9 Apr 2009 at 10:31 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under NASA, history, space exploration.
Fifty years ago, the newly created NASA announced the selection of seven military test pilots who would be serving as America’s first astronauts. Officially, they are Astronaut Group 1, but most people call them the Mercury Seven. Selected from Naval aviators were Malcolm Scott Carpenter, Walter Marty (Wally) Shirra, Jr., and Alan Bartlett […]
