During his years working in the Swiss Patent Office, Albert Einstein often imagined what it would be like to ride on beam of light. This thought experiment would come to play a key role in the development of his Special Theory of Relativity, one of the four great works produced during his 1905 Annus Mirabilis. … More Going to the Stars, Riding on a Beam of Light!
A new study released on 26 April, using data and images from the spectacularly successful Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan, has concluded that Saturn’s enigmatic moon Titan is host to a vast sea of pure, liquid methane, confirming wide-spread belief that such seas exist on Titan. It is also believed that this sea bed … More Cassini Explores Methane Sea on Titan
Visible to our friends south of Belize in the constellation Pavo, the Peacock, is the beautiful barred-spiral galaxy NGC (New General Catalog)-6872. Originally featured for public access at Astronomy Picture of the Day for Tuesday, 26 April, this image shows the galaxy’s true extent of 700,000 light years, or 7 times that of our Milky … More A “Stretched” Spiral Galaxy
With the waning gibbous moon, Mars and Saturn in Ophiuchus, just north of the red supergiant star Antares, all within 7 degrees of each other, the view to the south in the deep night, tonight, very early morning, tomorrow through Wednesday, April 27th promises to be absolutely stunning. For best effect, a pair 9×70 binoculars … More Late April Stunning Early Morning Sky
Since the summer is almost upon us and, with it, all the favorite constellations of summer such as Sagittarius and Scorpius, this would be a good opportunity to point out and discuss the often forgotten 13th constellation of the Zodiac, Ophiuchus. In classic astronomy (and astrology), the Zodiac is the circle of 12 30º sections … More Ophiuchus, the Forgotten Sign of the Zodiac
Well placed on the meridian at around 9:00 pm, EDT, tonight, April 17th (01:00 UTC, 4/18) is the stunning spectacle of the waxing gibbous moon and mighty Jupiter within 1/2 degree of each other. Having just passed Regulus, the heart of Leo, the lion, the duo is within 5 degrees of Denobola, the lion’s tail. … More The Moon and the Beautiful Dance of Jupiter’s Moons
This is a follow-up article to my original piece. A follow-up piece to this article presents real science answers to some Flat Earth claims. The science on this was settled over 2,500 years ago? The reason I continue writing on this topic is because I deeply care about the truth and the future. If it … More Flat Earth Update
In a world that is in sore need of inspiration, the following excerpt from the 1994 book “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space” by the late, great, world-renown astrophysicist Dr. Carl Sagan is perhaps more relevant now than it was in 1994. The iconic image of the Earth as a … More Pale Blue Dot
Astronomy Topic Of The Day 