We all learned about the Tides in primary school. The explanation was always a bit murky, but we knew that the moon was involved. Sometimes the Sun got involved as well, and then we have spring tides. It was vague, it was oversimplified, and one got the impression that the teachers weren’t entirely sure how it worked either. Diagrams like the one below only added to the confusion. It might be of some comfort to know that for most of … Continue reading →
Cultures around the world set aside special days every year as festivals, or times of remembrance. Modern examples (Worker’s Day, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, Valentine’s Day and others) all last 24 hours and take place on the same date every year. But the really old festivals, as observed by world religions, are often a little more flexible. Their dates can vary from year to year, sometimes differing by as much as a month. What gives? Astronomy wasn’t always the aesthetically … Continue reading →
The incident referred to in the buzz surrounding the Hottel Report is probably the most familiar UFO story ever: Roswell. Many books could be written (and they have) on the Roswell incident, on what happened, on what really happened, on what “They” don’t want you to know, and more. It’s been confirmed, debunked, studied, de-debunked, re-debunked and ridiculed. There are so many versions of the truth out there that hardly anybody takes it seriously anymore. Roswell is a cultural phenomenon, … Continue reading →
Everybody knows that the Moon changes its face. Sometimes we have Full Moons, other times it’s a Half-moon, or a crescent, or there’s no Moon at all. And everybody knows that these are called the phases of the Moon. But not everybody knows that these faces follow a regular cycle, or that the common descriptions are misleading at best. A proper understanding of what’s actually happening to make the moon show different faces, and the nature of the “Dark Side … Continue reading →
Merry Christmas to all readers (Not just the christian ones, since Christmas long since transcended a celebration of the Christ. It’s even a huge deal in Japan, with less than 2% of the population reporting Christianity, for pete’s sake!), and a Happy New Year to you. Around this time of year, astronomers are often asked “What was the star of Bethlehem, exactly?”. It’s a difficult question, because we have so little information to go on, and what we have precludes … Continue reading →
