Thinking in vain...

Well, when I set my alarm there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And I just figured I'd take pictures when I woke back up. Sadly, I didn't get to see it. At least I don't live in 1554... I'd be out of luck. ;)

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

found on gizmodo

Ha ha.

These are dog tags are engraved with several methods of locating Earth in our galaxy... you know just in case you need that.

I think $12.99 + $2.75 (S&H) is quite reasonable for your safe return should you in fact be abducted by aliens.


Via coworker Grant – who gets a link when he starts blogging. :)

I don't know about you... but quit messing with the protons. If there's even the slightest risk of destroying the universe, how about we not do it?!

More strife in Iraq. U.S. financial system in crisis. Rice prices soar.

None of these headlines will matter a bit, though, if two men pursuing a lawsuit in a court in Hawaii turn out to be right. They think a giant particle accelerator that will begin smashing protons together outside Geneva this summer might produce a black hole that will spell the end of the Earth - and maybe the universe.

Full article, via Geekologie

Or at least I am. An eclipse saved Columbus.

Stranded on the coast of Jamaica, the explorers were running out of food and faced with increasingly hostile local inhabitants who were refusing to provide them with any more supplies.

Columbus, looking at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German mathematician, realised that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on February 29, 1504.

He called the native leaders and warned them if they did not cooperate, he would make the Moon disappear from the sky the following night.

The warning, of course, came true, prompting the terrified people to beg Columbus to restore the Moon -- which he did, in return for as much food as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.

Full article here. Enjoy the eclipse tomorrow night.

Just kidding. Article here. I can't get to the article on www.badastronomy.com, site won't load.

So last night at dinner it was brought to my attention that there was going to be a "double moon."

Apparently, according to my source, this is a mirage caused by something I can't remember and the Native Americans sometimes referred to it as a Corn Moon and it signifies the start of Fall.

Needless to say I was psyched. And well.... that's the moon in the photograph. It did appear exceptionally large on the horizon last night (this was about quarter to 10). But unfortunately no double moon.

I've googled it and there are some sites that say it's tonight - and they are pagan in nature. I only found one mention of it scientifically. Of course, I also found out that there was a lunar eclipse last night or rather this morning. Unfortunately when I see eclipse on the 28th I think "oh, it'll start tonight," not that it started at 4am this morning. So I missed that too.

Although, I am crossing my fingers that there *could* be this "double moon" tonight and I'll get to see it.

Sorry, I thought that headline was corny... but then I got the song in my head and decided if I had to suffer... I'd share.

Earth is smaller than previously thought...

Scotty's Ashes Lost on Mountaintop?

But that plan went awry when the rocket carrying the ashes landed on top of a mountain in New Mexico's San Andres range -- a location so remote that it was even feared lost. Now, search teams say they know where the rocket is, but they can only reach it by helicopter. A recovery mission is planned for Wednesday.

Name that song and I'll give you some of my "Food Sticks" when they arrive. ;)

How pretty is that?

This 3-D computer simulation, created by the University of Chicago researches and released March 22, shows the death throes of an exploding white-dwarf star the size of Earth. The green sphere represents the extent of the star, and other colors stand for hot temperatures (yellow and orange) and cooler temperatures (blue and red). A flame bubble can be seen emanating from the stars core.

This image was one of 1,600 images France's National Center for Space Studies agency released. If it's not a UFO, that's the coolest lightening phenomenon I've ever seen.

Their server crashed over the weekend because so many people came to look at over "100,000 pages of witness testimony, photographs, film footage and audiotapes from its secret UFO archives."



From MSNBC's March space slideshow

Software Ensures Earth-to-Moon Supply Chain

Now let's see if we can get hydrogen-fueled cars.








(click images for larger view.)