I’ve been hesitant to write about this, since it was a rather private affair, but astronomy lost a shining star recently when my friend Heidi lost her battle with cancer. She was Assistant to the Director at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and worked in the Dean’s office at the University of Virginia before that.Continue reading “On Manatees and Lovely People”
Tag Archives: picture
OM NOM Sun
In case you missed the solar eclipse last weekend due to weather, bad placement on the Earth, or general life distractions, you can see lots and lots of pictures of it from generous people all over the world. One such collection can be found at Universe Today. My favorite came from UVa astro alum AlokContinue reading “OM NOM Sun”
Oo! Look at the (Astro) Pretties!
Why yes, I am quoting Kaylee. I was going to include this gorgeous image in with a recent Discovery post, but it had nothing to do with the actual story. So, here it is for you to ogle… This ghostly image of the Orion Nebula was taken with the Spitzer Space Telescope in the infraredContinue reading “Oo! Look at the (Astro) Pretties!”
The Face in your Bellybutton
Somehow, I missed out on being part of an excellent experiment at SciOnline a few weeks ago. A group of scientists and science communicators have teamed up to explore the “wildlife of the body” through Belly Button Diversity. They took samples from bellybuttons of various conference participants and let them grow in an agar solution.Continue reading “The Face in your Bellybutton”
Runaway Star!
And no, not the spoiled-teenage-actor type… Instead, it’s this: WISE, or the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, captured a quickly moving star creating a bow-shock as it plows through interstellar gas and dust. Dust is “warm,” not as hot as stars, and thus can glow in infrared light while being invisible to optical telescopes. The dustContinue reading “Runaway Star!”
Sagan Day 2010
So before 2010 actually ends, I promised a recap of the Carl Sagan Day in Florida that I attended in November. Sad that you missed it? Well, all of the talks are still archived on video! Since I actually missed many of the talks due to my other duties, I’m glad for that. If youContinue reading “Sagan Day 2010”
SDO is GO!!!!!
Today, we could finally, honestly, say… SDO is GO!!! The Solar Dynamics Observatory launched today at 10:23am EST by an Atlas V from Kennedy Space Center. (The wha? The this! And this!) And there’s video of it as well. I haven’t seen an embeddable version yet, but click to see this one hosted on spaceweather.com,Continue reading “SDO is GO!!!!!”
Time Management Fail
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote up a personal mission statement with the hope that it would help me focus my activities. This was followed a few days later by a meeting with my thesis committee, which, as always, helps me to refocus my research and my career goals. For the past couple ofContinue reading “Time Management Fail”
Dragon*Con Post-Op
Holy. Frakkin. Wow. So, I attended, no, experienced my very first Dragon*Con. It was on a scale of something that I have never seen before. Tens of thousands of freaks and geeks, many in costume, descended upon downtown Atlanta to laugh, squee, drink, and just be themselves (or whoever they want to be) for aContinue reading “Dragon*Con Post-Op”
Dr. SETI and "Cosmic Carl"
Fans of Skepticality (and let’s face it, who doesn’t love Derek and Swoopy?) know that the latest podcast includes an interview with Daniel Loxton, editor of Junior Skeptic and the man behind “Where Do We Go From Here?” and “What Do I Do Next?” He unveils his latest project, Skeptics Mix Tape, which is aContinue reading “Dr. SETI and "Cosmic Carl"”