Category Archives: Science

Trinity, I Think Not

Posted on 29 January 2009 by

A curious quote from the usually competent Elizabeth Lev of Zenit: An increasing number of people believe Galileo to be the father, Darwin (whose Origin of the Species is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year) the son, and Albert Einstein … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 2 Comments

Miracle of the Sun

Posted on 5 November 2008 by

Zenit reports that Pope Pius XII experienced the “miracle of the sun.” From the pope’s diary: The sun, which was still quite high, looked like a pale, opaque sphere, entirely surrounded by a luminous circle without the slightest bother. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Science, spirituality | 6 Comments

Microwave Survival

Posted on 6 October 2008 by

I like stories like this. Two big challenges with lunar colonization are finding water to drink and oxygen to breathe. If explorers have to haul it up from the Earth, space exploration will never really take off. Who would imagine … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Science | Leave a comment

What Is It?

Posted on 7 August 2008 by

I haven’t done one of these in a few weeks. What is it? a. A space probe’s view of Saturn’s rings appearing over the planet’s horizon (astronomy) b. A microscopic view of silk strands being laid on a pupa (biology) … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

Higher Love

Posted on 18 July 2008 by

Perhaps soon the tropical beach will drop to number two in the eyes of engaged couples seeking exotic knot-tying locales. Rocketplane Global plans to cater to folks who want to express a higher love. That’s going to have to include a higher … Continue reading →

Posted in Rite of Marriage, Science | 1 Comment

Searching for Know-How

Posted on 26 June 2008 by

This should be an interesting tussle as aerospace engineers have come up with a faster and cheaper alternative to NASA’s new Ares rockets. The agency is playing up the strong, silent angle. But it points out the huge disadvantage in … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 1 Comment

Life on tv

Posted on 21 June 2008 by

Since my return to the realm of television in 1993 (I hadn’t owned one and watched little since the mid-70′s), I’ve been an admirer of David Attenborough‘s documentaries. I first saw The Private Life of Plants around the time I got married and … Continue reading →

Posted in film, Science | Leave a comment

Stranded In Space

Posted on 11 June 2008 by

Ian O’Neill at Universe today reports on astronaut Mike Kelly’s concern that a person could get stranded in the center of the ISS’s new Kibo module. Interior space is thirty-seven by fourteen. An inattentive astronaut might drift slowly to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Science | 4 Comments

Mystery Image

Posted on 5 June 2008 by

I haven’t done one of these in a while. Take a guess as to what this might be. Here are some possibilities: a) luminous bacteria in the deep ocean (biology) b) aurora borealis (physics) c) a ring of Saturn (astronomy) … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | 4 Comments

On the Bookshelf: Fiction

Posted on 23 March 2008 by

I’ve cut back on reading fiction this past Lent. It was truly more from being busy than from a resolution. I did enjoy, for the most part, a breakthrough novel of sorts by veteran sf writer Kay Kenyon, Bright of … Continue reading →

Posted in On My Bookshelf, Science | 1 Comment

Bodies

Posted on 29 February 2008 by

The exhibit Bodies Revealed opens in KC’s Union Station today. Lots of interest and commentary in the local media, the blogosphere, and other circles. My bishop has weighed in too: Catholic moral teaching regards the human person as a unity … Continue reading →

Posted in Church News, Commentary, Science | 9 Comments

Pareidolia on Mars

Posted on 25 January 2008 by

What we see on Mars: rocks, dunes, outcrops, even the occasional cloud should be enough to satisfy the scientific and artistic imaginations. Nancy Atkinson at Universe Today takes apart the notion that the “human” figure imaged by the Spirit rover … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Science | Leave a comment

The Perils of Prediction

Posted on 12 January 2008 by

The main danger is the lack of common sense. Just check out the Paleo-Future blog for a few laughs at how previous generations thought we’d be living. Whatever did happen to jet packs, monorails, and houses on the moon? LiveScience … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Leave a comment

Pope Appoints A Green Darwin

Posted on 11 January 2008 by

Professor Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe of Princeton, Pope Benedict’s new appointee to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, speaks on some topics of some slight controversy. Climate change: From a scientific point of view, there is overwhelming evidence of serious anthropogenic impact related … Continue reading →

Posted in Church News, Science | Leave a comment

Pell On Climate

Posted on 10 January 2008 by

Discussions here led me to a general criticism of Cardinal Pell’s views on climate change, briefly documented here. I was critical Monday of Pell’s suggestion that the furor over climate change constitutes some kind of new religion. I made my … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Science | 4 Comments