Astro-Event of the Week: 03.30.09: 100 Hours of Astronomy!

You never know what you might see when you look up; Jupiter, the Moon, and Noctilucent Clouds as seen from Astroguyz HQ! (Photo by Author).
This week’s shout-out is not an event in the skies above, but a global happening right here on the good ol’ planet Earth. On April 2nd thru the 5th, the International [...]

Your Chance to Name a Moon!

  
Can you see Orcus? (Credit: Mike Brown/APOD/Samuel Oschin Telescope).

This is a quick call to arms: astronomer Mike Brown is asking for your help in naming s/1 90482 (2005), a moon of the Kuiper Belt Object Orcus, infamously touted as “the anti-Pluto…”  Mike will be entertaining entries until Sunday, April 5th, 2009…there is already quite [...]

Review: The Atom & the Apple by Sébastien Balibar.

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On Sale Now from Princeton Press…
  Science is frequently taught as a set of axioms and tables free [...]

Astro-Event of the Week:03.23.09:Can you spot Venus at Inferior Conjunction?

Warning: Do not attempt this weeks’ astro-feat unless the Sun is properly blocked, preferably just below the horizon! Sweeping the area near the Sun with optical equipment introduces the very real possibility of momentarily pointing at the Sun, which can cause optical damage!

Venus at Sunrise, as seen from Bangor, Maine, March 27th. (Credit: [...]

A Peek at the Structure of the Sun.

(Blogger’s Note: This paper is a Bloggified version of an essay I submitted last year in a quest for my science teaching degree…it has been re-edited to fit this format.)

One of the Many Faces of the Sun. (Credit: ESA/SOHO).
The Sun is often touted to introductory astronomy students as our nearest star. Of course, its proximity [...]

Astro-event of the Week, March 16th-22nd, 2009: The Spring Equinox.

Sunset from Ayampe, Ecuador (Photo by Author).
This week’s astro-event is an abstract meeting of the ecliptic and the equator; the spring, or vernal equinox, occurs on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 07:44 EDT. This is an interesting time to watch the true rising and setting positions of the Sun, as they are directly [...]

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