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Archive for the ‘Science!’ Category

Have You Seen This Rocket?

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , on August 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Early this morning, part of a SpaceX rocket was expected to hit the moon. Yes, our Moon! The bad news is that this is a pretty significant bit of littering. The good news is that the strike and subsequent impact crater were at least expected to provide some new observations for lunar science.

Sadly, despite a great deal of professional and amateur peering into the heavens early this morning, no one seems to have spotted the actual event. Yet.

SpaceX rocket thought to have crashed into the moon in unintentional collision

US and South Korean lunar satellites will be positioned to photograph the site after impact but it may take days to receive that information.

With any luck we’ll know more soon. If you have any information leading to the discovery of this rocket part and its impact crater, inquiring minds want to know!

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Photo by Rafael AS Martins on Unsplash

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Encounter with Mars

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , on August 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday we flew to the Moon, so today what say we go to Mars? 

Created from thousands of images, the sequence begins with Mars as a small crescent in the distance. During close approach on May 15, the Red Planet’s cratered surface fills the imager instrument’s field of view. As the spacecraft departs Mars, the changing perspective reveals the planet’s icy south pole.   

Want to learn more about the mission? Here’s an article from NASA:

NASA’s Psyche Mission Delivers Mars Flyby Data, Time-lapse Video

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Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

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Moon Magic

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 31, 2026| 1 Comment »

One of the (many) great things about NASA is that the images it produces are public domain. What might a curious and creative person do with such imagery? Why, cut it together as a moon mission movie, of course!

Filmmaker Turns Artemis II Footage Into Cinematic Short Film

“I have been completely spellbound by the images coming out of NASA’s Artemis II mission,” Boswell wrote on YouTube. “NASA / ESA deserves best cinematography at the Oscars! I dropped everything to put together a tribute to the mission, piecing together the best, highest resolution footage and mission photography with a custom eight-minute score.”

In case you could use a little space-based inspiration today. Thank you, John D. Boswell!

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

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Double the Fun!

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , , on July 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

A friend who knows I like rainbows and Star Wars sent this my way, and it is fascinating!

In case you’ve ever wondered what difference two suns would make:)

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Double rainbow but only one sun. Photo by Coralie Meurice on Unsplash

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A Red Sun Rises

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

My trip to the mailbox this morning began peacefully enough, a quiet stroll through a slowly brightening day. Then I looked up. The sun hung in a hazy sky, its light filtered by particulates from fires in Quebec, leaving a visible disk that looked like a second moon. The smoke changed the usual morning light from bright yellow to a darker, ruddier hue. Very dramatic.

Today’s forecast? Thunderstorms, which brought to mind the old adage about skies and sailors. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.” It turns out to be based on atmospheric science, and while the logic doesn’t hold up everywhere all the time (and yes, smoke can interfere with its accuracy), it can be useful. 

Red Sky at Night: Is the Sailor’s Saying Really True?

The folklore lines up with two pieces of plain physics: how air moves and how light scatters. Low pressure pulls air together and lifts it, which builds clouds and brings rain. High pressure does the opposite. Air sinks and spreads out, which keeps the sky clear and traps dust and fine particles near the ground. Sailors learned the shorthand long before anyone measured a millibar: low pressure for foul weather, high pressure for fair.

Happily, forewarned is forearmed (to use another old adage). Now I wait, and watch for the coming storm.

A red sun rises.

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Photo by Red Dot on Unsplash

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Waxing Poetic

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , on July 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We recently spent some time on the road, and drove through some fascinating geology. I had a professor once who was known to wax poetic about highway road cuts, and he wasn’t wrong. Millennia of geological processes are exposed to the light. It got me thinking about geology in general and rocks in particular.

Here’s a general introduction that emphasizes the connection of geology to everything from plate tectonics to the location of our cities:

I’d rather have polished stones from my local highway than diamonds, actually. And for fun, here’s a video on labradorite, a very pretty example of Earth’s stone modification skills:

Thanks for taking us to the Geology Department open house that one time, Dad. I still remember the rock polishing demonstration:)

And if you have a moment next time you’re on the road, watch the road cuts as you go by. Earth’s secrets are out there, waiting for you.

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Photo by Brian Cornelius on Unsplash

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The 99%

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , on July 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Another fun astronomy fact today (and for many other days!).

99% of people on Earth will get sunlight at the same time this Wednesday

On July 8, at about 11:10 GMT, about 99 percent of the world experiences sunlight at the same time.

That is pretty cool!

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Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash

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Hello Helios

Posted in Science!, tagged , , , , , , on July 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Apologies for being ever so slightly behind the times on this, but we just (as in yesterday!) experienced aphelion. That’s right, on June July* 6th at 1:30pm EDT, the Earth and all of its inhabitants (that’s us!) were 152,087,775 kilometers or 94,502,962 miles away from our favorite life-giving ball of fire.

Perihelion and Aphelion 2026

The Earth orbits the Sun in an elliptical path, which means that there is one point on the path closest to the Sun and one point that is farthest away from the Sun.

And in case you were wondering: Aphelion: Earth is as far away from the sun as it ever gets. So why is it so hot?

(* edited because it’s July now, somehow; catch up, brain! And on a related “really far away from the Sun” note, we just watched Project Hail Mary and thoroughly enjoyed it:) 

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Photo by Andrey Câmara on Unsplash

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Our (Martian?) Future

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Can you really survive on Mars? What science fiction gets wrong about off-world living | Space

Arnie said, “Get your ass to Mars”, but is it really a good idea? We asked the experts about our Martian future.

How likely is it that humanity will be able to live and thrive on Mars? Short answer, no. Longer answer? Still no! Doesn’t mean we can’t dream of new and exciting vistas in our future, though!

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Photo by Daniele Colucci on Unsplash

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Strawberry Moon Time

Posted in Food and..., Science!, tagged , , , , , , on June 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Tonight’s full moon is the first of the summer, and is also known for marking that sweetest of seasons, strawberry harvest time.

Strawberry moon: How to see the 1st full moon of summer

The moon will not actually appear dark red like a strawberry, but it may take on a slight orange or reddish tint when it first appears above the horizon. That color shift is caused by light scattering through Earth’s atmosphere, similar to the way some sunsets appear more vivid than others.

The farm down the road has pint baskets overflowing with red berries, and later I’m going to make a red and white dessert for Canada Day. 

As the moon watches from on high.

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Photo by Lucinda Hershberger on Unsplash

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