Tag Archives: astronomy

Pluto Demoted

Posted on August 24, 2022 by swabby429

16 years ago today Pluto was demoted. During a meeting of the IAU (the International Astronomical Union) members voted to downgrade the then ninth Planet to “Dwarf Planet” status. Since then, the reassignment has been one of astronomy’s most controversial … Continue reading →

Posted in Controversy, cultural highlights, Science | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Happy Earth’s Rotation Day!

Posted on January 8, 2022 by swabby429

“Any person, brought into the presence of this fact, stops for a few moments and remains pensive and silent; and then generally leaves, carrying with him forever, a sharper, keener sense of our incessant motion through space.”–Leon Foucault Generally speaking, … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural highlights, History, Science | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

The Moon

Posted on October 25, 2021 by swabby429

According to the last count, Saturn has 83 moons to lead all of the Solar System’s Planets in sheer numbers of natural satellites. Jupiter comes in a close second with 79, Uranus and Neptune have 27 and 14 to round … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural highlights, Meanderings, philosophy, religion, Science | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Examining The Sky

Posted on April 5, 2018 by swabby429

We can all remember certain events that expanded our consciousness in some major way. For me, one of those was the very first time I looked through a powerful telescope at the night sky. A grade-school pal’s father’s hobby was … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplation, cultural highlights, Environment, History, Hobbies, Hometown, Science, Youth | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Happy Equinox Again

Posted on March 20, 2018 by swabby429

As we speedily spiral our way across the Universe, we have once again arrived at a biannual equinox. As we learned in grade school science class, this occurs because our home planet rotates on a tilted axis so the surface … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural highlights, Environment, Meanderings, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Perihelion Is Tonight

Posted on January 2, 2018 by swabby429

January weather in North America seems counter-intuitive. Some of the coldest temperatures of the year occur around the early part of this month. If we reckoned temperatures by our distance from the Sun, our winter temperatures should be less severe … Continue reading →

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Disaster From The Sky

Posted on August 14, 2017 by swabby429

“So, what’s new?” I asked Jorge during a long lag in conversation. My friend exclaimed that he could hardly wait for the Swift-Tuttle comet to arrive in our part of the Solar System. I was rather surprised at his statement … Continue reading →

Posted in cultural highlights, Friendship, History, Hometown, Science | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments