(Rockwall) July 12, 2013 – How many folks out there recall the strange debate in 2006 generated by a laughing stock “media” scientist in New City to “demote” Pluto from planetary status in our Solar System to “Dwarf Planet” status? The public found out about this debate and began to cry out for and against […]
(Rockwall) June 25, 2013 – Adults today who grew up in the early 1960s and 70s experienced the Apollo program as well as the most iconic science communicator of all time, Dr. Carl Sagan. Many of you gentle readers in the infosphere who are in your early 50s were around to experience the wisdom of […]
See what happens when 10 members of the Rockwall High School Academic Decathlon team spend an evening at AstroDad’s astronomical observatory in Oklahoma… (Rockwall) June 11, 2013 This past weekend I had the privilege of hosting ten students from the award-winning Rockwall High School Academic Decathlon team at my observatory in Oklahoma. It was my privilege […]
(March 25, 2013) It’s that time of the year, when the trees explode in the skies above Rockwall and our school children in just about all grades begin studying the wonders of our Universe. Chances are better than 50/50 that if one of your children passed through the Rockwall ISD in the past decade, they […]
(February 9, 2013) On February 15, small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will fly so close to Earth that it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. The flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14 is the closest ever predicted Earth approach for an object this large. If it impacted the Earth, this asteroid […]
During 2013, as the Sun approaches its maximum energy output, Earth will frequently be bathed in destructive radioactive particles released when the Sun belches out solar flares and coronal mass ejections. (January 3, 2013) Welcome to 2013! This year promises to serve up at least a couple of remarkable events in our Solar System. These […]
…and we are the first to see the results From 22-25 November, 2012 I took advantage of time off from work and a spate of extremely clear, unusually cold night skies to image the Orion Nebula, also known as M42. During late November this iconic deep space phenomenon does not rise above the horizon until […]
(November 20, 2012) There is a rich history of astronomy in America, although much more contemporary than, say, the ancient Persian and Chinese practitioners of this field. Known as “astrologers” in ancient times, these (almost exclusively) men frequently held seats of great power in dynastic and even feudal governments. Since America has only been a […]
September 29, 2012 – On Saturday, September 22, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Rockwall County Library, 250-plus Rockwall County residents of all ages observed the First Quarter Moon as part of 2012 International Observe the Moon Night. Despite the extreme light pollution in the library parking lot, the Moon shone brightly as the […]
September 22, 2012: Under the Same Moon On Saturday, September 22, 2012, our planet will celebrate International Observe the Moon Night. Dear reader, please consider yourself invited to the IOMN event in Rockwall at our very own Rockwall County Library. The Rockwall County Library is one of our community’s jewels and I really consider it an […]