February 21, 2025
Hi, everyone. I know I haven’t posted in a while now (about three months).
Things happened. I’ll see if I can deal with that in a post this weekend before returning to regularly blogging about astronomy and etc.
Winter is still here! (In the northern hemisphere.) Going on walks and hiking in 3C windy weather only makes hot chocolate taste that much better…
☕️
November 12, 2024
The Taurids meteor showers get their name because the shooting stars appear to stream from a point in the sky where the Taurus constellation is located. Taurid meteors can be seen from pretty much anywhere on the planet except the South Pole.
I waited too long to post this! The meteor shower peaked last week, but might still be visible. The Orionids ended already (they appeared to fall from, you guessed it, the constellation of Orion, while the Taurids came from Taurus.
If you can’t see them, not to worry: the Leonids are on their way from next week (falling from, right again, Leo).
Very imaginative, these names. At least it makes them easier to spot. ☄️
September 2, 2024
Footage making the rounds on social media shows what appear to be astonishingly lifelike humanoid robots posing at the World Robot Conference in Beijing last week.
But instead of showing off the latest and greatest in humanoid robotics, two of the “robots” turned out to be human women cosplaying as futuristic gynoids, presumably hired by animatronics company Ex-Robots.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-company-humanoid-robots-humans
Apparently some people were convinced these women were actually robots.
For real? This just seems like another crass, sexist attempt at titillating fanboys.
July 18, 2024
The Perseids get their name because the shooting stars appear to stream from a point in the sky where the constellation of Perseus is located…The constellation rises in the northeast, but meteors should be visible all over the sky if conditions are clear.
The best time to watch is after midnight in the northern hemisphere. The meteors are actually debris leftover from the Swift-Tuttle comet, discovered in the early 1860s.
The annual celestial event started this past Sunday and lasts for about two months, but the peak this year is around August 12th.
Perseus looks like this:
See https://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/perseus-constellation/ for more information about this group of constellations as well as the famous Greek myth behind them…
March 27, 2024
How NOT to look at their smartphone while zombie walking on a train platform or stairs.
Smartphones should be programmed to send tiny electrical shocks into your hand when you walk while reading them. Put the thing in your pocket until you clear the field.
March 23, 2024
What is your favorite type of weather?
It depends on my mood.
I like cold weather in winter, especially on the weekend when I can take it easy and enjoy coffee properly.
I don’t mind rainy weather when I feel like being contemplative and writing.
I prefer clear sunny weather when I want to go watch a baseball game outdoors with friends and family.
I enjoy cool and dry windy weather in autumn when the falling leaves decorate the nearby temple and shrine.
What I don’t like is when the weather changes from winter in the morning to early summer by mid-afternoon, and I especially get irritated when people can’t tell the difference between weather and climate.
“You don’t need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows…”
March 13, 2024
Water molecules have been detected in asteroid samples returned to Earth, but this marks the first time that the molecules have been discovered on the surface of an asteroid in space. The team studied four silicate-rich asteroids using data from the now-retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy(SOFIA).
https://www.popsci.com/science/water-asteroid-space/
The asteroids in question are Iris (124 miles / 200 km in diameter) and Massalia (84 miles / 135 km). Both are in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Iris is about the size of the US state of Maryland, while Massalia is roughly the size of Connecticut.
Note that the same observatory also found water on the Moon, about a “12-ounce bottle” worth. Not nearly enough for a settlement, but where there’s surface water (albeit trapped in soil on the surface), there’s likely to be more underneath.
(See also https://www.swri.org/press-release/swri-scientists-identify-water-molecules-asteroids-the-first-time — the PopSci linked article above essentially plagiarised almost its entire text. Bad scientist, bad.)
Original article here: Arrendono et al. (2024) Detection of molecular H20 on nominally anhydrous asteroids. Planet. Sci. J. 5. 37 doi 10.3847/PSJ/ad18b8 – good luck trying to read it!
February 25, 2024
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
I would not ban any words from any language, ever. I am not a Language Nazi.
People should learn that words have power, words hurt, and words heal. People should learn when to say or write what to whom, when and where. Banning language does not prevent people from using language, and in fact simply adds to language power.
Only Nazis ban language. Think for yourself. Grow up!
February 23, 2024
A robotic spacecraft made history Thursday becoming the first privately built craft to touch down on the lunar surface, as well as the first American vehicle to accomplish the feat in more than 50 years.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/moon-landing-odysseus-touches-down-lunar-surface-n1308924
Congratulations! 🎉
You now have one week before shutting down permanently.
Jeez. Really? That’s a very expensive week at $118,000,000. Glad the taxpayers approve (?)
February 12, 2024
Mimas, the smallest and innermost of Saturn‘s major moons, is believed to generate the right amount of heat to support a subsurface ocean of liquid water
https://www.space.com/saturn-moon-mimas-stealth-ocean-world
Unfortunately the “stealth ocean” is only a few million years old, not nearly enough to harbor life.
But it demonstrates the fact that water may in fact be common in space, opening the possibility of finding life on celestial bodies with older (much older) water sources.
(FYI: Mimas orbits Saturn once every 22 hours, and is affected by tidal forces from Saturn that appear to have melted part of its icy surface.)
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