Category Archives: On Science and the Cosmos

“Sokath, his eyes uncovered!”

Posted on July 11, 2022 by ksedinger

The James Webb Space Telescope has returned its first imagery, and a teaser image was released today: The field of vision here is the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. That absolutely astonishes me. Also, the visible … Continue reading →

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Tab Closing Day

Posted on July 6, 2022 by ksedinger

Time to close out some tabs I’ve had open for a while: ::  The Future Republicans Want A look at the unbelievably fascist document that is the official platform of the Texas Republican Party: The fundamentalist religious fervor perhaps extends … Continue reading →

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On Dams

Posted on May 14, 2022 by ksedinger

While on my lunch break the other day, I watched this short film about dam removal on streams in the Hudson River watershed. Fascinating film, with amazing photography (well-worth watching in full-screen HD). Were there a place I could say … Continue reading →

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The Result of a Rabbit Hole

Posted on March 23, 2022 by ksedinger

In order, these things happened: SiriusXM played “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot. I looked up the song and read through the lyrics, where I learned that the last transmission from the ship was the Captain reporting, … Continue reading →

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WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!!!

Posted on March 19, 2022 by ksedinger

The very first alignment images from the James Webb Space Telescope are coming back: From the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Flickr page: On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as “fine phasing.” At this key … Continue reading →

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Happy Pi Day!!!

Posted on March 14, 2022 by ksedinger

Today is March 14, otherwise known as 3/14, or, Pi Day! Enjoy some circle-related calculations today, or failing that, just enjoy some pie. And there’s no reason you can’t do both!   Share This Post

Posted in On Pies In Faces, On Science and the Cosmos | 1 Comment

An item of local geography

Posted on March 13, 2022 by ksedinger

A good marker of being an adult is when you find yourself regretting the lack of attention you paid in one class or another in grade school. In my case, sometimes it’s Earth Science, and I really did pay quite … Continue reading →

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Starbirth, in progress

Posted on February 21, 2022 by ksedinger

I saw this image on one of NASA’s Flickr streams and I had to share it. It’s a Hubble image of a star-forming region called the “Chameleon Cloud Complex”. Look how gorgeous this is! Here’s some explanation: The segment in … Continue reading →

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Godspeed, John Glenn!

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Kelly Sedinger

(A repost from exactly ten years ago, because today is the SIXTIETH anniversary of John Glenn’s flight on Friendship 7! I’ve fixed a bit of wording and removed a dead link.) Sixty years ago today, astronaut John Glenn launched in … Continue reading →

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And now, some Cosmic Perspective

Posted on February 5, 2022 by ksedinger

Here’s a photo from the Hubble Space Telescope: From NASA’s Flickr stream: In this image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures a side-on view of NGC 3568, a barred spiral galaxy roughly 57 million light-years from the Milky Way in … Continue reading →

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