Archive of Writings
Additional articles can be found on EVSN.tv.
See you in San Francisco at Astronomical Society of the Pacific?
Another day and yet another plane. This time I'm on my way to the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's annual meeting in San Francisco, California. I'll be part of three different presentations: Panel: The Spectrum of Citizen Science Projects in Astronomy and Space...
Physics & Astronomy Women by the Numbers
Just pulling stuff into one place. I'm just going to let the numbers speak for themselves. From "Fighting the Gender Gap": In 1994-1995, female students typically scored 50 points lower on Physics SAT II In 1994 Women typically scored 150 points lower on Physics GRE,...
The International Year of Astronomy Travel
In case you somehow missed it, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. For me, that has translated into the International Year of Astronomy Travel. According to my American Advantage account, I've earned 71,616 qualifying miles for this year to date. Now...
Astronomy & Fire: Mt Wilson Observatory & JPL under threat
This has not been a good August for the hearts of observational astronomers around the globe. A few weeks ago, smoke filled the Canary Islands as fires swept toward - but not quite to - Roque de Los Muchacho, home of the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope . Now, the...
And on a personal note at IAU
A few random comments: We just had a brief potential moment of food and drink. People from countries derived from the UK politely attempted to line up (queue), while others, um, did not. A few lucky people got food (including cake!), wine or beer, and even juice or...
IAU Opening Ceremony
Please don't ask me why the opening ceremony is halfway through the second day. I do not know. What I do know is the background of the Opening Ceremony is an image of the minor planets Eris, Pluto (+Charon), Makemake, and Haumea. Anyway, today is the opening ceremony....
IYA@IAU: World Reports
(Can't find internet access that will allow me to upload photos - they will come) As an IYA organizer, one of my greatest delights has been randomly finding IYA logos in random places. My first moment of glee was at the National Maritime Museum in London where their...
IAU First Impressions
Let the chaos begin! I'm currently at the XXVII General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Rio de Janeiro. For the next two weeks, astronomers from all around the globe will converge on the SulAmerica Convention Center. I'm here to represent the USA...
Eclipse of the Century Part 3 of 3: My First Total Eclipse
I have had several near misses with the Sun. In 1984, I lived beneath an annular eclipse that occurred above rather thick and nasty rain clouds. In 1994 I viewed a partial eclipse from the upper peninsula of Michigan. Total eclipses, however, have always avoided my...
The Eclipse of the Century Part 2 of 3: Nagasaki
Writing this series of blog post got somewhat stalled as I tried to figure out how to explain Nagasaki. Some things are easy to communicate. For instance, I went to breakfast at a diner that had eggs and spent an amusing 3 minutes trying via much pointing and sign...