August 7, 2012 – The modern world seemed to get a hitch in its giddy-up late Sunday night through early Sunday morning as mankind’s largest ever planetary explorer hurtled toward the Red Planet, Mars, at a top speed of 13,201 mph. Throughout the weekend anxiety increased as rapidly as the Mars Science Lab’s velocity to […]
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, […]
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 II: The Telescope Tube In part II of this story, we will address the optical tube, the telescope – the thing you put your eye in so as to see into space (stars, nebulae and galaxies, or near space, planets). (If you missed Part I, you’ll want to go here before reading […]
…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 […]
NASA successfully launches Mars probe two weeks after Russian Mars mission fails This past weekend, on Nov. 26, 2011, NASA launched the Mars Science Lab (MSL) in a flawless event that propelled the automobile-sized (mini-Cooper) spacecraft on course to the Red Planet, Mars. Named “Curiosity” by sixth grader Clara Ma, who competed in a NASA JPL […]
Howdy!* Looks like I’m the newest columnist here at the Blue Ribbon News. Our family is into our second decade of living in Rockwall and I’m very passionate about astronomy. Since my personal mission statement (it’s on my astrodad website so it must be true) is to elevate the human condition by increasing our sense […]