“Another BIG EVENT in Rockwall brought to you by AstroDad! Actually, I’m merely your celestial tourguide, for this great event is brought to you by the Cosmos itself. ” – Max Corneau, Blue Ribbon News special contributor and NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador Join Max Corneau, aka AstroDad, for a special event at the Rockwall County […]
Jiminy Crickets! The Sun is belching out energy like windmill in a hurricane! This week gave us Sunspot group 1476, also known as Active Region 1476. This vast magnetic region that is blanketing the Sun’s heat and not allowing energy to escape is larger than Earth. These regions are usually 5,000-7,000 degress F. cooler than the […]
(Rockwall ISD) May 7, 2012 – Nebbie Williams Elementary recently hosted Max Corneau, a NASA Solar System Ambassador. Corneau shared his enthusiasm for space with all students and allowed for students to look through his solar telescope. Corneau, aka AstroDad, is also a Blue Ribbon News special contributor. Read some of his latest columns here: […]
To readers who enjoy this column, please accept my deepest apologies for the nearly month long absence. April is an amazing month for our family and this year, April took on a very special meaning as my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Who says romance, commitment, patriotism, adventure and most of all, […]
On 29 March, 2012, the Sun came back to life for many of us who pay attention to such events. Active region AR1429 rotated back onto the Earth-facing Sun on its northern hemisphere. In this case, the Sun is like a giant conveyor belt moving from our left to right. The last time the sunspots […]
This week in the Universe, Earth continued to receive a relentless pounding from the Sun, Sol, our home star and the giver of life to our little blue planet. You see ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a very active Sun right now as the 11-year solar cycle approaches its activity peak, known to scientists […]
Our Universe Today seems to be earning its readership. Here’s how you can tell if people read your columns. Based on prior experience writing for a publication whose name rhymes with Periled Tanner, I call this the “Snap Guy” hypothesis and it goes like this: Whenever you are out and about in the community, you […]
What is time? If someone owns an auto repair shop, they probably receive panicked phone calls at odd hours from family and friends asking to fix a broken vehicle. Similarly, doctors and lawyers are sometimes asked by family and friends for their advice on how to starve a cold and avoid a lawsuit, respectively. Amazingly, […]
Teach your children well Why are so many things seemingly falling out of space and landing on Earth? If you have not asked this question in the past, you are very likely to start asking it by the 15th of January, 2012. By this date, the failed Russian spacecraft, Phobos Grunt, will have seen its […]
…and not be disappointed. Part I: The Mount Hopefully if you are one of those special people with a newfound interest in amateur astronomy and have gotten this far, you know the Golden Rule of Telescope Purchase. For those of you starting here, the Golden Rule is: DO NOT BUY A TELESCOPE AT A DEPARTMENT […]