For the kid in you...

My boyfriend's eight year old son lives in Chile and has recently earned the honor of presenting a speech to classmates and city dignitaries. With the world's topics at his fingertips, the young scientist jumped out of the box, and off the Earth as it were, to discuss to his peers The Origin of the Universe. Sensing the ambition beyond this endeavor he decided to relax just a little and focus in specific on the creation of the Solar System.
Although the young mind does not need my assistance, he nevertheless asked politely for my advice on his research. I did not want to give him any aswers. The hardest, yet most important part of learning is finding the right questions to ask. I just hoped to aim his questions and curiousity in the right direction...
Compiling a short list of websites and animations, I helped steer his mighty quest with this letter, written in English and translated into Spanish by my language expert, Alejandro.


Janito,
I hear you earned a prestigious opportunity to show your classmates how smart you are! What an amazing adventure. And even more so because you choose one of the most difficult yet wondrous topics in the entire universe. Your speech will be 100% yours, but you know I love any opportunity to talk about the science of astronomy, and I hope I can help you in any way possible. There are great websites and videos available to you for research, and I have included a few to get you started. But maybe I can tell you a little story first...

Humans have always looked up with wonder at the sky above. Ancients believed the sun and moon to be gods, and that their movement through the stars influenced the growing of plants, the movement of the wind, even the lives of men. The stars were so important, professional astronomers watched the sky over hundreds of years, trying to unlock the secrets of the heavens.

Some of the things we have learned in the last in 7000 years...

The planets are not stars, they are more like us made of rock and gas. The word planet means "wandering star" because every night they move just a little across the "surface" of the sky.

The planets move in a line across the surface of the sky. It is like the equator but at a funny angle higher, or lower than the equator at different times of year.

The sun and moon also move along this line. Because of this, the line is called the Ecliptic because it is on this line that the sun and moon meet. This meeting is beautiful to watch from Earth, we call it the Eclipse. You can find this line if you look East and trace a line across the sky all the way to West.

For thousands of years humans thought that the sun, moon and planets are all moving around the earth because the earth is the center of the universe. This idea is called the Geocentric theory. If go out and look at the sky tonight, you can easily image why they thought this, it really does look like the sky is moving around us!

But, about 400 years ago, scientific observation showed us something new! A scientist named Copernicus noticed that the planets Mercury and Venus move very strange across our sky. Playing with the mathematics of their orbits, he imaged almost as a joke, "what if the sun was at the center of the solar system not the Earth?" He laughed, and so did many people, but the math was too good and some people stopped laughing and started looking up at the sky.

Galileo Galilei as one of the men who looked up. Using the spyglass that was used for war, he looked up to the sky to see what was out there. First he looked at the moon. He observed that the moon, like the earth, has big mountains and valleys. How did this happen? Then he looked at Jupiter, the biggest planet and saw that it had four orbiting stars of its own! The little moons were moving around Jupiter just like our Moon moves around Earth! "Hmm", he thought, "what if Copernicus is right and the sun is really at the center and all the planets, including Earth, move around it!?"

This was an amazing idea! Scientific observation was showing humans a very different world. A world tiny and distant from a giant, blazing hot sun. This idea became known as the Heliocentric model or... the Solar System.

And the rest of the story belongs to science. Many men and women have devoted their lives to understanding WHAT, HOW, WHEN, and WHY the solar system looks the way it does. Where did the sun come from? What are the stars made of? How do planets form? Why do some planets have moon and others do not? Are there more planets in universe? Is there maybe life on other planets?

Best of luck on your journey to explore the universe. The best way to talk to teach other people about something is to love whatever it is you are talking about. The stars are huge and the math that governs them is precise, but everyone can understand and love the sky if they stop, look, and think about what they see. And remember, we all look up at the same sky. Have fun!!

Heavenly Hugs

Tonight, here at about 28° N latitude in Tampa, Florida a stunning Moon will gracefully slide by Jupiter in a heavenly greeting. Even before the sunsets, in the darkening twilight, the two sisters will shine brillantly to unsuspecting eyes.
Pull out the telescopes for an extraordinary double dose of wondrous sights. Waxing away the shadows, the sunlight illuminates the jagged terrain of La Luna while Jupiter and his loyal moons perform a celestial ballet. Near zenith at sundown, the two will remain in the sky until late evening providing the opportunity to witness movement among the Galilean moons over the hours. While you have the scope out look to the East just a the horizon. Orion returns to the winter sky, boosting his beautiful Nebula just under his three-starred belt within the faint dagger. A telescope will reveal the misty web of the nebula's cloud of gas and dust. Four little stars shine brightly blue in the fog forming the Trapezium constellation.
Chilly, dry and clear tonight should be perfect star gazing conditions. Keep looking up.

A View of Galelio's Sky

400 years ago, in 1610, Galileo Galilee took the Spyglass that was used for war, and turned its gaze to the heavens. Although Galileo did not invent the telescope, he was the first to use its powerful viewing lens for astronomical observation. Looking up, he positioned his two small pieces of glass to the most stellar of our outter space companions, La Luna. The Moon. Her silvery glow illuminates the dark night, enticing men with her perfectly spherical curve and complexion. The slow dance along an invisible trail puzzled early watchers as they stood mesmerized by the gentle waxing away of shadows and the inevitable return of the dark curtain. Yet the shy beauty, with all her grandeur and luminosity, bowed to the golden flame of master sun. A perfect companion to the king of the heavens.

And yet with a watchful eye, Galileo discovered imperfections. Deep caverns and rifts depicted not a polished, smooth surface but rather a jagged terrain scarred from the violence of an active beyond. With each passing night, the silent wax and wane of shadows spotlighted features which screamed of revelation. The Moon, goddess companion to The Sun, dethroned by the vulgar peeping eyes of one Italian. Modesty could not save The Queen, for in his observations Galileo revealed her earthlikeness. The Queen became The Sister.

Enraptured by his revelations and eager to discover all the secrets of the heavens, Galileo turned his scope away from little sister and onto her baby brother, wandering star Jupiter. Following in her steps and shining brilliantly, Jupiter crawls through the night sky as if trying to show his big sister how important he too is.

And in one fateful evening, Jupiter dethroned the entire human model of the universe.

Triple taking the sight within his lens Galileo observed four tiny stars hugging the glittering giant. Desperate for answers his gazed remained fixed for hours. In those moments his old eyes watched as the stars moved around like dancers around a campfire. Each maintained a personal rhythm, a style. Night after night the loyal children accompanied their great father through his tireless journey across the ecliptic. Doubtlessly familiar with Archimedes’ work Galileo might have shouted “EUREKA!” or “TROVATO!” as he was Italian.

With the evidence collected via his  “far”scope, Galileo set out to prove good old Copernicus’ heliocentric universe. And the rest, as they say, is history. 400 years later our earthbound skies tell a very different story. We now know we live in a universe filled with rocky earthlike planets, moons, comets, asteroids and dust grains so fine they sparkle like glitter. King Sun’s throne has been appropriately moved center, while our little planet glides 94,500,000 miles from its heat.

This is a great time of year to time travel back to Galileo’s days. At sunset Jupiter shines brilliantly through the darkening eastern sky, reaching our Florida zenith (straight up) around 10pm. Go out and find him. And when you do, erase your modern knowledge…and just look. Imagine yourself 400 years in the past, when the Moon was a graceful queen, the sun our loyal orbiter and the earth, the center of it all.

Head above the clouds



Above the clouds over Snowdonia, New West Wales Copyright John Rowlands



Although we astronomers curse clouds by night, the dreamer in us prays for clouds by day.

 Clouds- nature's elegant storage system for the most precious compound on Earth. The wisdom of the stars owes gratitude to dancing percipitation. Without the occassional absence man would never have looked past the earthbound fog, never have measured and predicted the movement and position of our fellow playmates in the universe.



And yet without clouds' rain and mists and suncanopies, the Earth would be a more deserted palaette of sands. Traveling across the planet with a determined crawl they deliver reflecting crystals of life down to lush greenspaces, gathering fluid bodies and thirsty heartbeats. Only after long journys over mountains and plains, through rock and mud, and along twisting rivers can the tiny droplets begin the ascent back into the formless tangle at the outter space above.

The Cloud Appreciation Society dedicates itself to the wide appreciation of our cumulus, stratus and cirrus friends. Browse photos, read inspired poetry, or add to the abundance of cloud art.







Rings of Mars

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   Towering among the old oaks like a makeshift tree house, the stage whispered enticements to all who passed. Flying down Magnolia on my two wheels I passed walking students, strollered children, leashed dogs and even raced a few skateboards. Together we mustered on the brown hay field. Standing at full attention or kneeling on blankets as if in prayer we waited through a torrent of openers, waiting for the moment when the clouds would part and Mars would take the stage. Thirty Seconds to Mars, that its. Last Friday night, just after sundown, a free concert featuring the kings of promise, New Politics and Neon Trees graced the fields of campus. 

A music devotee, I saddled my schwinn, cruised down to The Meadows and claimed a choice canopy spot in the 5^th stage orbital. My peers in this outer space sat cuddled together in talk or fiddled with their cell phones. Ahead of us lingerers tiptoed on the outskirts of the pulsing crowd, waiting for their chance to enter, or perhaps daring no closer. With each foot deeper, the rings grew more energetic. Barely able to fit into the tiny inner space, bodies jumped around utilizing the space above. On the stage more bodies danced and jerked in the glowing ethereal greens and blue hues. 

And then, darkness. All was quiet. In the moments of set change, the energy died to a faint hum. But the crowd did not cease and the pressure of their compacted bodies bore a tension which seemed to strum the strings and beat the drums onstage. A melody of anticipation. A rhythmic cardiac bass, mixed with a delicate slide along the chimes and now spiked with hard beats of drum drama. My back straightened in reverence, my skin aglow with boiling excitement. Flexing my head back to deeply inhale the moment, I recognized two heavenly spectators out to cheer on their planetary pal. Positioned over my right shoulder brilliant Jupiter beamed gaily while over my left a waxing gibbous Moon smiled gracefully. Outstretching my hands to each and opening my chest to the waves of music I felt like a buoy bobbing from the vibrations of energy but powerless to move.

Bringing my eyes back down to Earth I fixed my sight on the Rings of Mars. Lost in their sonic synthesis  the Letos and Tomo radiated sunbursts of energy into a chaotic and dense cloud of satellites. With an inescapable gravitational pull the stage collected massive rings of dancers, listeners and air guitarists. From the comfort of my 5^th ring, I was safe from the occasional comet loosened by a trip or shove from the pit. Beyond my ring, yet another slower moving ring coalesced from passersby, police officers and their groupies. Though on the fringe, they too were powerless over the paralyzing melodies and exhaustless vigor. 

Under a velvet black sky 100% free of clouds and boasting a beautiful view of the heavens, the band erupted into The Ride and stole the glory of the night. Goosebumps from the music and chills from the air, I took my leave. Coasting home, the remaining score escorted my ride with reverberations from building walls while open sky lit my path in flickers of moonlight.

*Greatest Movie Intro EVER*

I finally figured out how to embed a video directly- so here it is- the little frog that taught me so much about love, beauty and the power of a good interview. There's magic in this melody, charms in the lyrics. The first few meaures could always get me flying into the room as a child, falling to the floor with a blanket to watch Kermie. The aerial decent into the swamp was something humbling and exciting for my little human mind, this was my home, my swamp, but here little creatures played the banjo and stargazed too.
All movies should begin with an intro like this-especially children's movies. Hook in the young philosophers too damp with youth to know thine selves. Thanks Mr. Hensen, Kermit.

Jason Mraz and Sarah McLachlan offer amazing covers-check them out....happy sky gazing

Seeking Satellites

Resource by NASA, European Space Agency.
Artist's rendering of our Earth's orbiting satellites,
visible as a ring from space.

One of my favorite nitetime gazing games is looking for satellites. In this image of our Earth, courtesy of NASA, an artist has shown the hazy halo of our buzzing satellites. Though exaggerated in the image, the multitude is quite real.

From space Earth has a ring, of debris.

I'll ignore the potential for a "go green" speech here and just appreciate the magic of spotting these satellites among the immobile starshine of the night. In the silent darkness of the twisting realm above us, little stars skate across our dark field like snails on a wet window.Lying back, eyes wide open and ready to take in the faintness of starlight, you may just glimpse these tiny wonders.

Slowly...slowly...it makes it transearth orbit. Though moving at over 17,000 miles per hour(thats 15 trips around the earth a day) the bullet glides through space with uninterreupted grace. The constant glow of its reflective material marks the earthbound boundary of gravitational orbitting. You can nearly hear the faint...dat....dat....dat....of its internal computers and atomic clock settings. An abandoned victory of the tickerings of man. Watch for them. With an open, glazed eye, seek out satellites. Traveling relics of our kind's knowledge in this great big universe.

NASA

Planet Hunting

This is a beautiful time of year to go planet hunting. All 5 of the visible planets- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn- are out for gazing. But just how do you know you've found a planet? And how do you even begin to look for one??
There is an easy answer for both of these questions and the answers will acquaint you with the heavens above. The sun is at the middle of our solar system. You probably knew that. And you probably also know that the planets all move around the sun in fairly circluar orbits. But did you know that all the planets will remain on one flat plane? Gravity hold them there! So if you can find this invisible flat plane, you are on your way to finding planets!!
The sun is your starting point, find it or its trail of 'movement' and you are on your way. The sun appears to move because of our own planet's movement around it. You may have also hear that from time to time the moon will cross in front of the sun. This spectaular event is called...an Ecllipse. Thus this apparent line that the sun and moon travel along is called...the Eclliptic. Its all very exciting once you know the basics.
Observe the sun at sun rise when the Earth spins back toward it's gaze. It appears to rise from the East. Then in the evening, when we turn away, it appears to set in the West.  You have just discovered the line of the Eclliptic! And it is along this line that all the planets will sit, at least for a short time before they too dance along this tightrope. Raise your arm and point to the West, then slowly wave your arm across the sky until you hit East- you have traced this line and you are ready to hunt planets.
So tonight....
As our Earth spins away from the sun this evening, in the West you will see a radiant object will glowing amongst the colors of sunset. This is Venus our sister world. Very close in that region will be tiny Mercury, but you will have to wait patiently to see it as sunlight will always win against this faint planet. Heading slightly East you will soon run into Mars and Saturn. Mars glows a red shade due to its rusty terrain and Saturn will be a brilliant shade of white. One trick about planets: they don't twinkle. Like the moon, they do not possess energy of their own so they simply reflect the light of the sun.
Just before midnight, rising in the East is extremely bright Jupiter. This beast of a planet hosts over 60 moons and with a telescope you can often see four of the biggest as they spin around their big brother.
Happy planet hunting tonight!

Sol Luna Terra

"The Sun, the bringer of day, who carries the light of the Lord in his rays

The Moon, and the Stars, who light up the way, unto your throne..."

Beautiful words once sang by a young child's delightful spirit. Words written in devotion by a mind bent on the beauty of this world. Whispers of eternity ride on every sun beam, every moon shine, every twinkle of every star.

I too feel infinity in those rays.

The glory of sunlight toasts my skin, powers my muscles and send me running through its days. The days give me life, so I may live for the night...

The night is full of so many wonders...

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