Pluto , second-largest dwarf planet in Sol's planetary system and prototype of the plutoids (trans-Neptunian dwarf planets), is a rejected planet. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. The news of the demotion didn't move me particularly, even though I remember from Grade 1 or 2 listening to one of those books to be read along with an audiocassette and hearing the thin methanogenic winds when...
The position of Jupiter and the Moon provided ideal landmarks to find Neptune with binoculars this evening. So I attempted to find it. How many times have I looked at Neptune with a telescope? Quite a few, an easy blue-green ball, it always seems fairly bright with the larger aperture and light gathering power of a good sized 'scope. With binoculars it was a bit more difficult, even when I knew right...
Did Saturn square Pluto set off the ClimateGate Tsunami? "Why Does it Feel Like Something’s Going to SNAP?!!" - Saturn-Pluto2009 Something did go 'snap' ... The Pseudo-Science Man Made Global Warming emails flooded the Worldwide Web, engulfing low-lying scientists with a rise in awareness as streams of consciousness burst their banks, sending food waters across the Genetically Modified...
" Desmoulins graph : green peaks = JEV most aligned days. The Sunspot cycle which averages 11 years is still a mystery, with no real conclusive science that has been put forward with any certainty on what controls the varying length of the Sunspot cycle. Previously in my Neptune/Uranus article we discussed the work of Desmoulins who has graphed the “most aligned days” of Jupiter, Earth...
Astronomers have been searching for the mysterious Planet X for hundreds of years. It was the search for a theoretical planet beyond Uranus that turned up Neptune, and then again for Pluto. And even now there are some astronomers who think there's a more distant planet out there. Oh, and there are a bunch of [...]
If you are staying up or getting up to watch the 2009 Leonid Meteors , you might take some time and enjoy some other sights the universe has to offer while you are out under a dark sky. The notes here are for the night of the Leonids, November 17th, but as planetary configurations do not change quickly, much is accurate for several weeks either side of that date. Times may change a bit dependent on...
The Jeopardy TV game show today asked this question: What is the densest planet in the solar system? The planets that are much closer to the sun are dense planets. That is why Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are denser than Neptune, Jupiter, Uranus, and Saturn.Among Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, the densest planet is Earth. The second densest is Mercury.Rank - Name - Density (kg pr. cubic
The astronomy instructor offered to give extra credit to eight students – Jack, Jane, Jeff, Jess, Jill, Jodi, John, and Judy - if they’d help the rest of the class learn about the Solar System. Each student would choose one planet – Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune Saturn, Uranus, or Venus - and write a special report to [...]
Most 8 year olds can reel off the names of the planets with ease. These 8 names (they might have trouble remembering Laurele's 13 or 58 ) are easily recognised, even the ones of planets unknown in antiquity such as Uranus and Neptune. Since the first exoplanet - a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun - was discovered in 1990, we've found over 400 and the numbers are going up rapidly . These planets...
I haven't had time to add any posts for ages, for which my apologies. It's rather late to say this, but I just wanted to put on record a few of the thoughts I have been sharing with astrological friends for the past five or six years. Having predicted the current recession (to the month) years ago (and advised clients in advance), I thought I would say that the economic outlook remains troubled until...
FINALISTS for the official names of the planets Uranus and Neptune have resonances with ancient Greek and Jewish mythology: Some planets need Hebrew names, and you can help By Ofri Ilani ( Haaretz ) Tags: Israel News, Hebrew Language For more than 1,000 years, when Hebrew speakers looked at the sky, they saw five planets - Hama (Mercury), Noga (Venus), Maadim (Mars), Tsedek (Jupiter) and Shabtai (Saturn)....
Campaigning journalist, newsreader, writer, radio and television broadcaster, Ludovic Kennedy who died this weekend, was born into relative privilege and spent his life confidently promoting justice and compassion. He helped to end the death sentence in the UK and promoted voluntary euthanasia. Known for his pursuit of justice in cases of miscarriage thereof, he was often controversial and ahead of...
The 241-year-old reference authority is looking for the oldest complete set in private hands It tells us that flatulence can be cured by blowing smoke through the anus, devotes 40 pages to the diseases of horses and informs the reader that homo sapiens is divided into five varieties: "the American, the European, the Asiatic, the African and the monstrous". It is of course the first ever...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Waning Moon Neptune Retrograde Jupiter DIRECT Uranus Retrograde Rainy and cold Jupiter goes direct today, thank goodness. That should ease up on some of the hearth-and-home and tangible stuff. Neptune’s still retrograde — which, as my ruling planet is no fun, and Uranus retrogrades are just a pain in the ass, pun intended. Yesterday was busy [...]
Waimea was living up to reputation with a gusty wind and blowing mist. But this did little to dampen the Waimea Planet Walk sponsored by Keck and CFHT Observatories. A steady stream of parents and kids walked the length of the main street to visit the booths representing a scale model of the solar system. Keck Observatory's Ashley Yeager answers questions about the Sun at the Waimea Planet Walk The...
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