So, even when the viewing is marginal, seeing a total eclipse is an excellent experience. This is my second totality, I saw the 2017 eclipse in a clear sky and it was the moment I decided I had to see this one. I watched the annular eclipse with my grandson last year. This time, the… Continue reading Cloudy Eclipse of 2024
With My Own Eyes: Lunar Occultation of Antares
Yesterday, at 9:33 PM, I was out in the driveway, sitting in my lawnchair, staring up at the moon—and the tiny dot of the red supergiant star, Antares. I was waiting for the exact moment when the dark edge of the moon would move in front of the star and it would wink out. These… Continue reading With My Own Eyes: Lunar Occultation of Antares
Converting an Asteroid into a Space Station
I just ran across a lovely paper https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.12353 where David W. Jensen, Ph.D. describes sending a single rocket probe to a Near Earth Asteroid with a bunch of robots that … twelve years later have converted the asteroid into a massive wheeled space station. I highly recommend downloading the PDF and reading it. What was… Continue reading Converting an Asteroid into a Space Station