Saturn, Mars, and the Big Guy

A Perfect Balance > Let's go planet hunting! There are several planets out now and visible to the naked eye. Probably only one is worth getting out the scope for, namely that überbright guy climbing higher in the southeastern skies lately. But we'll get to him in a moment.

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Posted by Mark Ritter at 2008.07.13 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

The Siberian Shake-Up of 1908

The Solar System > Imagine getting up one fine June morning in the middle of a forested wilderness, taking a deep breath, letting out a long sigh, and enjoying the beautiful morning sky. Then suddenly the sky splits in two with a bright flash, only to turn into a blinding fireball so hot you feel you might burst into flames. Thunderous booming sounds overcome your pleasant surrounds and shake the earth. Your quiet, noneventful world has literally been rocked.

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Posted by Mark Ritter at 2008.06.29 08:29 PM | Comments (0)

At last, summer...

Observing >

At last, summer. Not that many of us are looking forward to the hot weather, the most likely higher gas prices, and the escalating political rhetoric.

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Posted by Mark Ritter at 2008.06.15 08:25 PM | Comments (0)

What's the Obsession with Water?

A Perfect Balance >

The Mars Phoenix Lander finally made it. After years and years of planning and testing and engineering and innovation - and the most nail-biting 7 minutes in recent JPL history as it touched down - we have a robotic lander near the north pole of Mars.

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Posted by Mark Ritter at 2008.06. 1 10:48 AM | Comments (0)

Get Out Your Number 2's!

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'Tis the time of the year that our poor public school children are subjected to those dreaded California State Tests. To help us all feel their pain, if only for a few minutes, I'd like to subject you to some questions similar to those that are plaguing our children during these weeks. They are all astronomy related, so regular readers here should find all this easy like Sunday morning. Got your Number 2 pencils sharpened and ready?

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Posted by Mark Ritter at 2008.05.18 10:38 AM | Comments (0)