Urban Astronomer - Making sense of the universe one page at a time

Why did I defend the geocentric model?

Posted on 8 Oct, 2019 by Allen Versfeld9 Oct, 2019

Diagram of Copernicus's answer to the geocentric system

In this eighth episode of the second season, I defend my defense of the Ptolemaic geocentric system of crystal spheres! I hadn’t even realized till I started recording that this is our 50th ever episode. I really should be so blown away that I’ve kept things going this long, but I’m not, somehow? Perhaps it’s just become a habit, and I stopped noticing milestones! But anyway, 50 episodes, I think that’s pretty amazing and I’m very proud to have made … Continue reading →

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Carnival of Space #631

Posted on 29 Sep, 2019 by Allen Versfeld29 Sep, 2019

Carnival of Space Image Credit: Jason Major

Hey everybody, you’ve just found the 631st Carnival of Space! The carnival is a roving web-space which settles in a new host blog every week. It features the best space science and astronomy article from around the web. Each new host collects those articles and presents them for your entertainment. Universe Today Elliptical Galaxy Messier 110 Has a Surprising Core of Hot Blue Stars Venus Could Have Supported Life for Billions of Years Rosetta Saw Collapsing Cliffs and Other Changes … Continue reading →

Interview with Dr Jarita Holbrook

Posted on 24 Sep, 2019 by Allen Versfeld24 Sep, 2019

In Episode 7 of the second season of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, I chat with Dr Jarita Holbrook of the University of the Western Cape about her interest in cultural astronomy. This was one of the longer and more interesting interviews of my career, and our conversation continued for some time after the microphones were turned off! Unfortunately, the audio quality isn’t as good as I’d hoped. There’s a terrible echo on my voice which comes and goes as the … Continue reading →

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Saturn’s Rings older than we thought

Posted on 18 Sep, 2019 by Allen Versfeld18 Sep, 2019

One of the oldest mysteries in modern astronomy is the age of Saturn’s Rings. The Cassini mission seemed to have settled the question once and for all, but now a team of researchers have just claimed that things might not be so clear-cut. Cassini showed that the rings were mostly made up of clean ice particles. There wasn’t much of the dust and organic gunk you’d expect to accumulate over time. This meant that the rings couldn’t have been around … Continue reading →

Why do planets orbit in the same plane?

Posted on 10 Sep, 2019 by Allen Versfeld9 Sep, 2019

Outer solar system, by Riffsyphon1024 at en.wikipedia [Public domain]

In episode 48 of the Urban Astronomer Podcast, we’re doing another Science Explainy bit! These segments are where you get to hear my droning voice explain some fundamentals and answer listener questions. Today we get asked why it always is that planets orbit in the same plane, and why the Moon can be seen during daylight. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to tell a friend about the show, and make a small donation on our Patreon account. … Continue reading →

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