Tag Archives: Sun

Picking fights with a flat-earther

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They tell us we’re living in a post-truth world, whatever that’s supposed to mean.  All I know is that there’s a growing number of people who look at the vast store of human knowledge, and reject it.  People who hear experts speak on science, politics, medicine, and say “Nope! I saw a YouTube about this, and I know better!”.  And there’s no starker demonstration of this than the modern flat-earther. How does this happen? What makes sane adults, with an education … Continue reading →

Lessons learned trying to live-stream an eclipse

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Some months back, the Astronomical Society of South Africa (ASSA) decided use the upcoming partial annular solar eclipse to promote astronomy in South Africa, and perhaps drum up a few new members for ASSA. Now ASSA has decades of experience with public outreach, but they wanted to try something new: video.  My brief, as a committee volunteer, was to help them to live-stream an eclipse.  Overall, we felt we’d succeeded in the end, but there were definitely some lessons worth learning. … Continue reading →

African Solar Eclipse of 2016

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There is an enormous amount of publicity being built up for the Great American Eclipse next year, but there’s another eclipse coming up much sooner, and closer to home (for me, at least): The Great African Solar Eclipse of 2016! Sure, it’s only an annular eclipse and I won’t be anywhere near the path of totality (yes I know that strictly speaking, annular eclipses don’t ever reach totality. But you know what I mean!), but it’s tomorrow so you don’t … Continue reading →

Solar Flares

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As anybody with an internet connection has heard, on 21 December 2012 various events will coincide:  The appearance of the dread planet Nibiru, the alignment of the Solar System with the galactic core, the end date of the Mayan Long Count, which will cause (via various pseudo-scientific mechanisms) the Sun to go crazy, belching out Solar Flares which will strip the earth of its protective atmospheric layers and snuff out life on earth.  Gosh! Before we go on, I need … Continue reading →

How can I safely look at the Sun?

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 Update 5 June 2010: In less than a year, this article is already out of date.  First, NASA’s STEREO satellites have been supplanted by SDO as the ultimate solar observatory, and it’s gorgeous high resolution images of the Sun currently dominate astronomy image galleries.  Second, the Sun’s unusually long dormant period finally ended – there is now usually plenty for solar observers to see.  And finally, I am no longer observing for ASSA‘s solar section – personal commitments have not … Continue reading →