The Science of Galaxy Zoo

Monday night Chris Lintott, another researcher and journalist and an all around cool guy, is going to be giving a talk here at SIUE (please come if you are local – more details and links to maps here). For those of you not in a position to drive to Southern Illinois, please watch the talk on this site...

Cleaning up the Light: Astroimaging and sodium lights

Yesterday I spent the day at the MidAmerican Regional Astrophysics Conference. This year this roaming astronomy meeting was held just outside St Louis at St Charles Community College. I have to say I was really impressed with the quality of the presentations and the staff took care of me extraordinarily...

Yes, there is water on Mars (Didn’t we know that?)

In case you haven’t heard, NASA has come out and stated that the Phoenix Lander has <gasp of wonder> found ice on Mars. The little lander dug a cute little trench with its shovel and uncovered some white stuff that over the course of several days disappeared in a manner consistent with water ice...

Meet Me & Chris Lintott in Edwardsville! (near St. Louis)

Summer “vacation” is turning into a busy series of talks and conferences. Luckily, I’m not the only one doing all the talking. On Monday June 30, Chris Lintott, the man behind Galaxy Zoo’s ongoing goodness, will be visiting me here in Edwardsville so we can work on some plans for IYA....

Multi-periodic Variables, or Playing Sudoku with Stars

As a researcher, I have to admit that I have been a bit unfocused, or perhaps dually focused is a better way to put it. My first research gig was doing a Quasar survey at 17 using a 6-meter optical telescope. My next job had me working in radio on T Tauri variable stars at Haystack observatory using VLA...