Category Archives: Astronomy

New Looks At Old Moons

Posted on 27 September 2016 by

I reading where they’ve finally detected evidence of water plumes on Europa, an ice-crusted moon of Jupiter. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, and W. Sparks (STScI)) Video here. Very cool, and not just because of a surface temp of minus-260 F. … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Satellite Imagination, Scripture | Leave a comment

Totality: A Year From Today

Posted on 21 August 2016 by

A total solar eclipse is certainly on my bucket list. A year from today I will be off from parish duty and driving south into Oregon to see something I’ve wanted to see since I was a little boy. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | 4 Comments

Visions of Andromeda

Posted on 5 August 2016 by

Some of my listening today: Symphony 48 of Alan Hovhaness. There’s a lot of familiar musical stuff here to the composer’s followers. Perhaps including his interest in astronomy, considering the subtitle: Visions of Andromeda. I wonder if he means the mythological … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ignatius of Loyola and His Stars

Posted on 31 July 2016 by

Received an email from the Vatican Observatory Foundation observing today’s feast. It included this quote from his autobiography: The greatest consolation that he received at this time was from gazing at the sky and stars, and this he often did and for … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Saints | 1 Comment

There Is No Full Moon Tonight

Posted on 13 May 2016 by

I don’t know who started this meme. A few friends on my facebook feed have insisted that today, a Friday the 13th, we have a full moon. It just happened in 2014 and doesn’t occur again till 2049. Transits of Mercury are … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Music | 2 Comments

Coma, As In Hair, Not Sleep

Posted on 1 May 2016 by

I like the mythological stories connected to the constellations of Earth’s sky. Often enough, some mortal gets rewarded for some effort of derring-do and in death ascends to the night sky to be admired and imitated by future generations. What … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, constellations | Leave a comment

Astronomers in Music

Posted on 29 March 2016 by

I’ve long been aware of Garrett Fisher’s opera Stargazer, which presents the confrontation of Galileo and Church authorities. This piece from the production illustrates the composer’s style with voice and instruments. Others are on YouTube, I noticed. Four years before … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Music | 3 Comments