On Manatees and Lovely People

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”

Mental Illness Awareness Week

I realize that it is Wednesday and thus halfway through the week BUT… this week is Mental Illness Awareness Week. And you all should be aware that mental illness is a real thing. The brain is an organ in your body that can actually give you an illness. If you are having problems, you aren’t just “crazy,”Continue reading “Mental Illness Awareness Week”

Dark Skies, Bright Kids on CosmoQuest

Wow. Things have been really busy here at the brand new job! Last night, I hosted the CosmoQuest Weekly Science Hour over on Google Plus. I had a lovely conversation with my UVa friends Paul Ries, Rachael Beaton, and Ryan Lynch about astronomy outreach with Dark Skies, Bright Kids. Listen in to our conversation forContinue reading “Dark Skies, Bright Kids on CosmoQuest”

Chat about Astronomy Outreach Tonight!

Re-post from the CosmoQuest blog: Am I not so lucky that Joe has already posted an introduction to the fabulous universe of CosmoQuest Hangouts? Join us live on Google+ this evening (4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern) for a roundtable chat with several members of Dark Skies, Bright Kids, an outreach program to schools in central Virginia. ThisContinue reading “Chat about Astronomy Outreach Tonight!”

Feast your Eyes on the Universe

I’m in the last day of a meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico and will be heading back to my new home in Illinois tonight. Sadly, that means I’ll miss the annular eclipse that is about to happen, but I’ll be sure to make plans for the 2017 total eclipse that will be visible acrossContinue reading “Feast your Eyes on the Universe”